What does it take to make the ultimate SEC coach? SEC Network analysts debate that topic
What traits would you take from the 14 Southeastern Conference coaches to make the ultimate league coach?
That’s a topic that was recently discussed on the SEC Network as host Peter Burns and analysts Gene Chizik and Roman Harper shared their takes on what it took for several league coaches to stand out among their peers.
Leadership, recruiting ability, culture and team development, play-calling and the ability to give a pregame speech were all discussed with Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Mark Stoops, Dan Mullen and Ed Orgeron all getting mentions in the clip below.
Check it out, courtesy of the SEC Network:
Leadership: Saban
Recruiting: Smart
Culture/Team Development: Stoops
Play Calling: Mullen
Pregame Speech: Orgeron@Harp41 and @CoachGeneChizik build the ultimate SEC 🏈 coach ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/CRqi9csOYf— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 9, 2020
If you’re going to put in “play-calling” then you should also have a category for defensive play-calling.
They included both offense and defense, and still picked Mullen.
Saban has a case for all 5 of these, except maybe play-calling, but that would be boring. My only major quip is “culture/team development”. Ever heard of The Process? You know the culture that Saban has implemented and instilled in every player, coach, administrator, etc. since he walked through the door back in 2007. Saban has developed and adapted the greatest winning “culture” of any football program, maybe ever.
Smart is a great recruiter, no doubt, but he reminds me of a used car salesman.
He’s selling a fourty-year-old narrative that Georgia can win the Natty. Georgia is like a vintage sports car that will blow past everyone until it overheats and comes to a screeching halt just before the finish line.
forty*
And yet that bowl cut salesman dweeb has been to Atlanta three years in a row and lost one home game in the past three seasons.
The best head coaches let their assistant coaches call plays.