First and 10: Power ranking every SEC head coach
1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …
Forget what you know about coaching rankings. Focus instead on the fluid, frenetic and born-to-fail nature of coaching in the SEC.
Ranking coaches in the SEC is unlike any other experiment, a yearly dive into a rabbit hole of the unknown that almost always ends in the unthinkable.
This is the same conference that, in the past 2 offseasons alone, had its member schools fire:
— Ed Orgeron at LSU, 2 years after winning a national title.
— Dan Mullen at Florida, a year after appearing in 3 consecutive New Year’s 6 bowls.
— Gus Malzahn at Auburn, a year after he beat legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban for the 3rd time— more than any other coach in SEC history.
There is no greater example of the fluid nature of coaching in the SEC than what transpired with Auburn coach Bryan Harsin this offseason.
If star tailback Tank Bigsby stays inbounds against Alabama, the clock runs and the Tide’s ability to score on the last drive of the game is all but eliminated. In that scenario, the criticism that Harsin ran off players and assistant coaches because they didn’t fit (which every first-year coach does after every first season) never would’ve materialized.
Instead, Bigsby ran out of bounds, Alabama won and the next thing you know, those with money at Auburn decided Harsin had to go because players and coaches are leaving and Harsin doesn’t know what he’s doing.
Or as one former SEC coach told me: “If that kid doesn’t go out of bounds, (Harsin) gets a (contract) extension.”
Instead, he’s coaching for his job this fall.
Ranking the SEC coaches, by tiers:
2. The safe champions
1. Kirby Smart ($7 million per season; expected extension this month): His team is the defending national champion, and he has proven he can recruit and develop better than any other coach in the game.
Think about this: In the age of quarterback means everything, Smart won a national title — and is a favorite to win it again this season — with a game manager at the most important position in football.
He was a blown coverage in the secondary from winning the 2017 national championship, and Georgia is a recruiting machine — with or without NIL. He’s locked in at No. 1 until he’s knocked off the mountain.
Which brings us to …
2. Nick Saban, Alabama ($9.1 million): He is the mountain. The gold standard for college football coaches, and other than Bill Belichick, all football coaches.
But it’s hard to ignore what his No. 1 student has accomplished at Georgia — and how it has been to the detriment of Saban and Alabama. All of those elite Georgia defenders are the same players Smart was recruiting and developing at Alabama as the Tide’s defensive coordinator.
There’s a reason Alabama’s defense has declined (from its own elite standard) over the past 5 seasons. It’s not the DC or the scheme; it’s the players.
It’s close, but in the SEC, it’s not about what you’ve done. It’s about what you just did. Right now, Smart has the edge.
3. Mark Stoops, Kentucky ($6.75 million): Why is Stoops a champion, you ask? Because anyone who wins 10 games at Kentucky (twice in 4 years), falls into that category.
UK is the prime example of how NIL can change the look of the game. Stoops just had a top-15 recruiting class, and is winning recruiting battles against SEC blue-bloods and neighboring Ohio State.
Athletic director Mitch Barnhart deserves a ton of credit for not only keeping Stoops at Kentucky, but not panicking after Stoops’ first 3 seasons produced 12 wins.
Since Barnhart stayed with Stoops after the 2015 season, Kentucky is 47-29 with a school-record 6 straight bowl seasons — and Stoops has 2 of the 4 10-win seasons since the school began playing football in 1892.
3. Big money = big expectations
4. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M ($9.5 million): If the Aggies were’t gutted by COVID last December, they would’ve played a hot Wake Forest team in the Gator Bowl.
If Wake beats a depleted Aggies team, does Fisher get another fat contract extension after losing to Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU and Wake Forest?
Still, it’s hard to ignore significant moves for the program under Fisher: the wins over Alabama and Florida, the Orange Bowl, 3 straight top-5 recruiting classes — including the best recurring class in the history of the sport in February.
If Fisher figures out the quarterback position, he can win a national title at Texas A&M.
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5. Brian Kelly, LSU ($9.5 million): Three coaches have won national titles at LSU in the 2000s, and two weren’t considered the elite of their fraternity (Les Miles, Orgeron).
Kelly has won big everywhere he has coached, from the NCAA lower divisions, to Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Notre Dame. Only a loss to Cincinnati last season kept the Irish from advancing to their 3rd Playoff in the past 4 seasons.
He’ll recruit big and win big (championship big) at LSU. Time is the only variable.
6. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss ($7.25 million): It’s more difficult to recruit at Ole Miss than it was at USC and Tennessee, but Kiffin has found a workaround with the transfer portal.
It’s more difficult to build a roster through the portal (and high schools), and advance to a 4-team Playoff. But a 12-team Playoff is very doable.
Kiffin is an elite offensive mind, and he is growing as a head coach and face of the program. He fits at Ole Miss, and at this point in his career, there might not be a better place for him.
7. Sam Pittman, Arkansas ($6.2 million): The fallback candidate just keeps proving everyone wrong.
Football at the college level is about recruiting, developing and motivating players, and Pittman has surrounded himself with a strong staff of teachers (including DC Barry Odum and OC Kendal Briles). His charismatic personality is infectious, and he has rallied the state — and more important, the state’s top high school players — around the program.
Recruiting has improved dramatically, and the product on the field gets better — and the play is smarter and tougher — with each passing game.
4. Boom or bust
8. Mike Leach, Mississippi State ($5 million): Because of a quirky state of Mississippi law, coaches can only have 4-year deals (which can be extended annually). Leach will begin Year 3 this fall, and could be looking at a make or break year.
QB Will Rogers returns for his 3rd season as a starter, and should produce prolific numbers. The defense will be good again. Leach’s Texas Tech teams made significant move in Year 3, but it didn’t happen until Year 4 at Washington State.
It has to happen this season at Mississippi State, or Leach could be given the remaining $5 million on his 4-year deal to walk away.
9. Shane Beamer, South Carolina ($2.75 million): Beamer’s first year as a coach was remarkable: turning over a roster and winning 7 games despite using 3 quarterbacks — all of whom weren’t SEC-caliber players.
His offseason might have been just as impressive: landing transfer QB Spencer Rattler and a group of skill players that will immediately improve the Gamecocks’ ability to score points in an offense-fueled sport. Beamer connects with young players, and NIL gives South Carolina the ability to recruit at a top 20 level.
Then there’s the history of the program: only one coach (Steve Spurrier) has accomplished anything of note since the Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1992. Can Beamer be unique?
10. Josh Heupel, Tennessee ($4 million): There are positive signs everywhere, and for the first time since Butch Jones’ back-to-back 9-win seasons, there is hope on Rocky Top.
The key question: What happens when SEC defenses adjust to Heupel’s Blur Ball offense? He’s recruiting well, and the offense is fun to watch. But if the defense doesn’t get better, it will soon become an anchor around his record-breaking offense.
11. Billy Napier, Florida ($7.1 million): Potentially, a terrific hire — but absolutely a gamble. The Gators have tried everything over the past decade to get it right — the hottest assistant in the game (Will Muschamp), the hot Saban assistant (Jim McElwain), an SEC head coach with Florida ties (Dan Mullen) — and nothing has worked.
Napier is a reach, but he’s also a proven recruiter and organizer, and is comfortable connecting with today’s player and today’s system (NIL). If his QB coaching and play calling skills match, Florida may have finally found something.
5. Win or walk
12. Bryan Harsin, Auburn ($5.25 million): It was an odd fit from the start — and it had nothing to duo with Harsin coaching a majority of his career West of the Mississippi.
Harsin doesn’t put up with nonsense, and he most certainly doesn’t put up with meddling boosters. So the very thing that fuels Auburn (boosters with endless cash/bad ideas) knocked heads with Harsin from Day 1.
I can’t see Harsin surviving unless he wins 9 games. The Auburn establishment (see: meddling boosters) already has been embarrassed and will only be held off again if Harsin wins.
13. Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri ($4 million): Last month at the SEC spring meetings, Drinkwitz leaned on a wall across from the meeting rooms and talked about the impact of NIL on college football in the years ahead.
He stopped mid-conversation, and his always gregarious personality turned serious: “Y’all are talking about years down the road. We’ve got to win games now.”
Needless to say, he has read the room in Columbia. Fair or not, Drinkwitz can’t afford another 5- or 6-win season.
His recruiting ability will make it harder for Mizzou to walk away — the Tigers had a first top-15 recruiting class in February — but it’s a results-based business. He’s 11-12 at Missouri, and in the new NIL world, that’s not enough.
Barry Odom won 7, 8 and 6 games in his last 3 seasons at Missouri and was fired.
14. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt ($2.5 million): Vandy has always been the outlier, if for no other reason, it never really spent money and invested in the idea of winning consistently.
Now they’re spending ($300 million athletic campaign), and the football program is a big benefactor. The need to win and show progress likely won’t happen until Year 3.
6. Your tape is your résumé
An NFL scout analyzes a draft-eligible SEC player. This week: Florida QB Anthony Richardson.
“He’s an unreal specimen. He does things effortlessly. He glides when he runs, and he runs away from people. He flicks his wrist and the ball jumps off his hand. Mechanically, he needs to be cleaned up. His foot work, his pocket awareness, the ability to climb and throw. The accuracy. It’s just work and repetition. He’s a huge ball of clay right now. That new staff will earn their stripes on how they develop this kid.”
7. Powered Up
This week’s Power Poll, and one big thing: The top head coaching candidate on the staff.
1. Georgia: Co-DC Glenn Schumann.
2. Alabama: OC Bill O’Brien.
3. Texas A&M: AHC Elijah Robinson.
4. Kentucky: DC Brad White.
5. Arkansas: DC Barry Odom.
6. LSU: DC Matt House.
7. Ole Miss: OC Charlie Weis Jr.
8. Mississippi State: DC Zach Arnett.
9. Tennessee: OC Alex Golesh.
10. South Carolina: DC Clayton White.
11. Florida: AHC-Defense Corey Raymond.
12. Auburn: DC Jeff Schmedding.
13. Missouri: AHC-Offense Marcus Johnson.
14. Vanderbilt: AHC-Tight ends Justin Lustig.
8. Ask and you shall receive
Matt: I hate to ask this because I don’t want him back in the SEC, but is there a chance an SEC team will take a chance on Urban Meyer? — Susan Walters, Orlando.
Susan:
The deeper we get into the NIL era of college football, the more it becomes critical for SEC schools to have a dynamic and charismatic face of the program — especially if comes with a winning track record.
All of Meyer’s sins — and there have been plenty in both college football and the NFL — will be overlooked by a college program that sees the future of the sport and the path toward winning. There are only a handful of Power 5 schools that would have the guts to hire Meyer — and one of them is Auburn.
Let’s be honest: Auburn hired a men’s basketball coach who had NCAA violations at his previous 3 schools that all led to sanctions — and was given a show cause order at his last school. Do you really think what Meyer did at Florida and Ohio State (and to a lesser extent, the Jaguars) is going to scare off Auburn while it looks directly in the face of Saban, Smart, Fisher and Kelly?
If it doesn’t work with Harsin, Auburn will go after Meyer. If Texas doesn’t beat the Tigers to it.
9. Numbers
23. We’ve heard it over and over from coaches at all levels, and specifically at the college and NFL levels: Turnovers are the most defining statistic in the game.
Although, apparently not at Kentucky. The Wildcats won 10 games last season but were negative-11 in turnover ratio — last in the SEC and 125th out of 130 FBS teams.
UK had only 5 turnovers in their 3 losses to Georgia, Mississippi State and Tennessee, and were negative-4 in those games.
10. Quote to note
Florida coach Billy Napier: “Coach Saban was really good to me and my career. I certainly wouldn’t be standing here without him. He hired me two different times. A lot of what we learned, we applied here, and certainly going forward, will continue to apply.”
Meyer isn’t coming back to college ball, if he were to, it sure wouldn’t be in the SEC.
It won’t be in the B1G or the Pac-12 or the ACC. What teams in the B12 have the money and name to hire Meyer?
I don’t think he is coming back but if he did so I think the author nails it with Auburn.
Kansas may be desperate enough to do it.
When things ‘fold up’ I can see Kansas because of CBB and being an AAU member school (which means zip to me but is important to the B1G) ending up in the B1G?
The B1G = no more Meyer.
Kansas as situated today has hired a heck of a new coach who beat TX last season and will have KS CFB competitive in the restructured B12.
Yes, if the B1G chooses to move to 16, the first school it will take will be Kansas.
AAU may mean zip to you, but universities are ‘institutions of higher learning’ and it’s nice to have a faculty and staff capable of conducting high-level research and produce new knowledge. The SEC is making progress. They’ve gone from just Vanderbilt and Florida adding Texas A&M, Mizzou, and eventually Texas as the conference’s AAU members.
This is so simple a caveman could do it. 7 NCs. Discussion over. Nick Saban is the GOAT.
Gus Malzahn at Auburn, a year after he beat legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban for the 3rd time— more than any other coach in SEC history.
Here’s a little-known tidbit: Spurrier has a 3-1 record against Saban in SEC games, the best winning percentage (. 750) of any coach who has played against him multiple times. When I asked Spurrier if he knew his record against Saban, he replied: “Of course, I do.”
Of course Saban did beat Spurrier in the Citrus bowl while at Michigan St so the all time series was actually 3-2. Does the writer only count games while Saban was at Bama? If so, that is more of a claim of Bama’s greatness than Saban’s.
Spurrier’s teams outscored Saban’s teams 140-54. And people think I’m crazy when I say Spurrier was the better coach.
LOL. No, Spurrier wasn’t/isn’t the better coach.
Saban 7 titles and Spurrier 6. Spurrier has been retired for 3 of Saban’s titles. By the way Spurrier is/was 3-1 head to head against Saban. bayou tiger, you are not crazy. I would say Spurrier is/was every bit as good as Saban, and probably better.
Sorry I’m wrong about sec titles. 2 at LSU and 8 at Bama.
And the fact that Saban has 7 National Championships to Spurriers 1 makes no nevermind to you?
“And people think I’m crazy when I say Spurrier was the better coach.”
I wonder why?
Probably because Saban has all those natties at Alabama.
Well, to be fair….Saban also has as many titles at LSU as Spurrier has in his entire career.
I give the HBC alot of credit for having Saban’s number like nobody else, but he also didn’t cross paths with him very much.
Sometimes the program has as much to do with winning a natty as the coach. Stallings, a losing coach everywhere else, won a natty at Bama. Orgeron at LSU. I expect Kelly to do well at LSU because it’s LSU. Florida did not have the built-in advantages. It was mediocre when Spurrier took over. It’s kind of a ridiculous argument anyway. Let’s name the GOAT. Hmm, who has the most natties? Okay, that’s the GOAT.
What kind of program was LSU before Saban arrived….
Prior to Saban their last NC was when again and weren’t they coming of a decade of being tr@$!?
BamaTime… LSU was coming off 2 horrible seasons with DiNardo when Saban was hired. Actually, LSU had opportunities to win most games in 98 and 99 but gave up late less or went for 2 when shouldn’t have.
1995-1997 were actually decent years. Not 21st century good, but they were good teams that won all 3 bowl games including the Independence Bowl against Saban’s Spartans, Peach Bowl vs Clemson that ended with a 10 win season, and Independence Bowl win vs Notre Dame.
I’ll never understand why anybody hired DiNardo
Spurrier is by far a better X’s & O’s coach than what Saban !!
Spurrier rode is self made fun & fun offense to a conference championship at a place like Duke. Saban on the other hand only goes 34-24-1 at Michigan St., with only 1 season with less than 5 losses !!
Hell, Spurrier even won the east and had 3 straight 11 win seasons at South Carolina. Saban has been nothing without being to put talent all of the other teams that he has to play against. Take away all of those #1 ranked recruiting classes and you’ll see just how good of a coach Saban is. Championships ??
Spurrier didn’t have the luxury of coaching the majority of his teams during the BCS & CFP era like Saban has, that makes for a big difference. The BCS & CFP era has allowed for Saban to have more opportunities to be awarded a mythical FBS football national championship than what Spurrier was during his hay day of the 1990’s. Then, you had to go into the postseason ranked #1 or hope that whoever was playing the #1 team in the postseason beat them ( which wasn’t always the #2 ranked team ), with you also winning your postseason bowl game. Spurrier did more with less than what Saban ever has. I would’ve loved to’ve seen Spurrier with all of those #1 ranked recruiting classes at his disposal !!!
LSU already had a very good roster before Saban became their head coach despite their win / loss record during DiNardo’s last 2 seasons. LSU was a 9 & 10 win team just 2 seasons prior to Saban becoming their head coach. DiNardo replacing Carl Reese with Lou Tipper after Reese left to be the defensive coordinator at Texas. Tipper was absolutely terrible with his soft zone defense, that was DiNardo’s downfall at LSU !!
Yes, like it or not but LSU called a fool for hiring a no name coach in Nick Saban by the national sports news media outlets, Saban was far from a household name prior to LSU hiring him !!
Some of you people need to learn your college football history before you talk !!
That’s fun & gun offense !!
The biggest issue that Spurrier had was Bowden was in an in-state rival at his peak (they both were at their peaks) in the 90’s. If either team didn’t have the other to contend with, they would have won multiple titles.
Saban had already left for LSU during that Citrus Bowl. Michigan State was led by interim coach Bobby Williams.
I stand corrected. You are right.
Defending National Champion is probably not the right term. That 2021 team has basically moved on. New year, new team. Go Dawgs!
True. Nobody is defending anything. That trophy is not going anywhere.
Exactly..
All I have to say is “touche” to my bayou buddy up there. The more I find out about Georgia, the more I realize life isn’t even close to fair and my expectations get smaller about beating them in Lexington. That’s why they play the game though. Ugh
Les Miles also beat Saban 3 times.
Paul Dietzel was not elite before LSU. Neither was Saban, Miles, or Orgeron, yet they all won national titles there. CBK will do the same.
I have a hard time believing Meyer will be allowed to coach in the SEC, especially with still staying away from High Freeze. Sankey will discourage that.
“High Freeze.”
?
Autocorrect. Love it
Nothing can make people look dumber faster than autocorrect!
An I-CEE laced with wacky tobaccy.
I believe Urban Meyer is burned-out and is retired now.
From CFB yes. But back at FOX to replace the Q-less Stoops on the FOX Big Noon show.
Bigsby didn’t run out of bounds, he was dragged out of bounds by an Alabama defender.
Correct. Great play by the defender. Tank should have just flopped much earlier in the play. But he thought he could get the 1st down. He’s a competitor.
Its easier for media and “writers” to publish it as so because it presents a better headline and gets more attention than say the actual truth. There’s a lot of that going around in 2022.
Matt Hayes is a perfect example of the sensationalistic, hack writing that is the norm on this site. I wonder if he thought Smart was the better coach in December after suffering his fourth straight overall, and second consecutive blowout loss to Saban.
Just once after one of his nonsensical takes about Alabama’s defense in the aftermath of Smart leaving, I would like for him to address the fact that Alabama has given up fewer points per game than Jawjuh in 4 of the 6 years since Kirby left to take over their program.
You would think that SDS would like to have writers who actually know how to read a stat sheet, and maybe, just maybe…..know something about football as well.
Figured we hear from you. haha.
Someone has to call out this garbage for simply not being factual, let alone being completely devoid of context that makes his sophmoric opinion even more absurd.
But since Hayes will never defend his horrible takes, maybe you might care to refute anything I said?
He doesn’t have to defend it. He’s accomplishing his goals by getting you to click on the stories and post comments. That’s what pays the bills for SDS. The more clicks and interaction, the better the advertising.
I agree that Hayes is pretty much a hack. I would just say in this instance he says Coach Smart, right now, at this point is sitting on top and he is. He may not be there this time next year and he certainly doesn’t compare to Coach Saban from a career perspective and probably won’t coach long enough to do so.
So we’re just going to call the guy who won the most recent game the best coach now? I guess than made Ogeron the best coach at one point, which is impossible to say with a straight face.
Like I said…..sensationalist hot takes are absurd, especially given the fact that the one guys best team as a HC was still only .500 in that one season against the guy he supposedly supplanted at the top.
But that isn’t even the bigger gaff in his article…..it’s his repeated pushing of a narrative while disregarding simple facts and statistics that prove otherwise.
Reading comprehension is key.
Indeed it is….although I’m not sure what is so difficult for you to comprehend.
When Joe Hack Writer does a “power poll” of coaches, he is establishing a certain order supposedly based on results. By saying that Coach X is in the #1 spot, and Coach Y is in the #2 spot, he is attempting to establish a narrative that Coach X is better than Coach Y….which in this case is completely unsupported by the facts, and appears to be based solely on the outcome of one game.
Coach x was better than coach y….
last year.
Gabriel RTR, you have to see the difference between orgeron and smart. Orgeron built a one year one wonder, thanks in large part to a transcendent qb and offensive genius (Brady). Smart is building a machine. Elite recruiting, development, and discipline. He learned from the GOAT. Sabans still on top, but it’s not 1-2, it’s 1-1a.
If only Metchie and Williams were writers on this site, they’d be No. 1!
Roll Tears Roll.
The fact that you keep bringing them up says alot about how insecure you are regarding your *championship
Nah, we just keep bringing them up to make fun of you Gabby Troll Cried Troll. So I guess by your logic, the fact that you have to vomit Backpedaling Fragile Nicky’s resume every 3 seconds, makes you insecure about the fact the Kirby is further along in his career than Backpedaling Fragile Nicky was at his age.
Roll Tears Roll
“If only Metchie and Williams were writers on this site, they’d be No. 1!”
Hate to give out preseason awards but to this point…post of the year lol
But the refs Hump
And wasn’t preseason awards sort of Jawjuhs thing for like 40 years?
Oh GabbyRTR… I seem to remember the 2020 National Championship having a huge asterisk next to it. Is it possible you are maybe a little insecure about that fact?
It’s true…not a full field event so *******
But we dawg fans would never bring that * up over and over and over and over and over and over and….
Florida or Auburn will fire their coach within two years. Pretty much guaranteed.
That’s true every year for the last decade
“Auburn will fire their coach within two years.”
And hire who? AU fired Gus and ended up with Harsin.
I would say that this time they will hire who the boosters want or will at least try to do so. Money talks, but I would think top coaches look at the AU job with trepidation. They do not know who their boss is, administration or the boosters, and they know there is just as much of a chance of their reputation being ruined as it is them walking away with a life changing buyout. It is pretty much assured one of those things will happen. I don’t know what the answer is to the booster problem at AU, but they have one, and it holds them back.
No, the boosters are the reason AU is in this mess.
The problem at AU is the fact that the boosters won’t allow the HC full authority over the program.
I would say if they left with a ruined reputation than they also left with a huge buyout. They go hand in hand.
The only guarantees in life are death, taxes and a token Moron posting stupid sheet
I see Florida being a much-improved team and I say Kelly at LSU has to win a Championship within 4 years. I don’t see that happening. Why? All other teams that have been down including UF have a much better HC and also their roster has improved. Arkansas, Florida, Ole Miss, MSU, Texas A&M. Then there is UGA with Kirby, Alabama with Nick Saban. No way Brian Kelly who failed to win a Championship at ND will suddenly win one when those teams I mentioned above have mighty improved. Orgeron, Miles lucked out when those same teams were down.
Those teams that have improved last year will more likely stay the same and will likely not win a championship, but some will knock out LSU from being in the playoff. That is what I am seeing LSU going to be at. Might win 9-10 games but will ended up short of playing in the playoff. Also, Kelly has his work cut out when those other teams made huge improvements before he ever coached at LSU.
Your logic is so flawed. Winning a Natty is not just coaching. You have to have the talent and ND never had the talent under Kelly
poptiger,
“Your logic is so flawed. Winning a Natty is not just coaching. You have to have the talent and ND never had the talent under Kelly”
This is why Kelly failed to recruit better talents. Not because it is harder to do ii. He wasn’t a very good recruiter. and failed to get some key guys that went elsewhere. Kelly has his work cut out when the season starts this fall. He will be facing a much better Ole Miss team, Arkansas team, MSU team and Texas A&M team. Other out east Goergia team, and possible Florida but not right away though. BK will need 3-5 years to get things settled. Like Texas A&M. Are you telling me that LSU is going to be ranked at the end of this season? But Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and even Arkansas will be ahead of LSU. Those teams are new to getting those much-needed talents to compete against LSU. Kelly couldn’t get it done at ND. He will have his team go 8-9-10 win season. That is good in the tough SEC. The new SEC top SEC teams that will join the ranked will be Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Arkansas. Those teams will keep LSU from going to the playoff. Not all will beat LSU, but they will beat LSU more often now than ever before due to much better coaching and getting much better talents.
Then when OU and Texas come to the SEC it will be even harder for LSU to get back into the playoff.
Adding two teams to the SEC while adding 4 or 8 playoff spots makes it much easier for LSU to make the playoffs. Your logic is always so terrible. Trolling isn’t your strong suit.
Just so that we don’t let a silly think like facts get in the way…
Alabama since Gene Stallings in 1990 has had 6 HC
Auburn since Terry Bowden in 1993 has had 5 HC
This is not counting interim HCs. People forget that before Saban, Alabama was as big a mess as Auburn, rolling through DuBose, Franchione, Price, and Shula in the span of 9 years…it just takes 1 great HC hire to turn a program around…although in this day and age a coach staying at a school longer than 5 years is almost nonexistent even if somewhat successful.
The difference today is that the one that fires will be a lot worse off and the one that doesn’t might make only a modest improvement.
I don’t know if I would put Stoops into the “Safe Champions” category.
I appreciate everything he’s done, especially the two wins over Florida and the blowout of UT in Neyland, not to mention the two 1-win seasons, the bowl game win streak, over teams not named ECU.
But I think he needs one more thing before I put him up there, and that’s a better non-con schedule.
Playing two MAC/Sun Belt/C-USA schools plus an FCS school does not impress.
I understand that he was basically building this program from scratch, and that kind of scheduling made sense back when we were a JV team.
But now, I think it’s time to dump the FCS or one of the Group of 5 schools and schedule a series with a Power 5 team.
Don’t need to go and play Ohio St or Notre Dame or anything, but a home-and-home with a school like Virginia or Maryland or Purdue, more on our level, would make us look a little better.
And if we lose that game, we lose that game. We’re supposed to be a program that’s arrived, if not at the championship level, at the reliable 7-8 wins level. Big boys take risks.
That’s all.
Stoops is a good coach, but don’t be surprised if there is a reevaluation of sorts once the divisions are gone. If they had played a West Division schedule for the past few years…
That’s kind of what I’m saying. I want to see what he can do against a tougher schedule.
I don’t really understand the need to schedule another G5 or better P5 team. UL won’t be this awful for that long and that’s all we need and it’s not like we’re competing for a playoff spot where we need to beef up our schedule.
Our recruiting still has room to grow and it’s obvious when we get thin at a position (like DB and DL last year vs UT and MSU). I’d rather us get to the ‘SEC Depth’ before we even contemplate changing scheduling. This is all a moot point anyway if we go to another SEC game or playoff expands.
Stoops has done a great job at Kentucky. The program now has stability and wins enough games to keep the fans & boosters happy.
Good take. But KY’s OOC schedule with Louisville on it every season is not much different than many SEC OOC schedules for teams that have ‘built-in’ P5 games.
Look at the teams Bama is playing OOC in 2022 in addition to Texas? All 3 are cupcakes.
If the SEC ‘chickens out’ and opts to stay at 8 conference games to appease the bottom half of the conference this type of bad OOC scheduling will continue and likely get worse.
How about all P5 champs in a 12 team playoff and every conference plays 10 conference games? All P5 in plus a G5 rep means 6 AL spots are open.
The SEC will produce at least 25% of the playoff field year after year and seeding will take into consideration the relative merits of the conferences. (I believe the top 4 ranked teams should and will get a bye and not the top 4 ranked conference champs.)
In most seasons I see the SEC with 2 1st round byes, 4 teams in the field with at least one of the SEC non-bye teams hosting a 1st round game.
Instead of picking up 4 NY6 bowl checks the SEC will score far more money under a 12 team PO and this is why a 12 team PO with all P5 champs and a G5 champ in will happen.
The B1G and Pac-12 will be fine with 12 with the P5 champs in and the ACC’s ridiculous ‘holistic’ concerns will go away or the ACC will go away.
Nailed it. Sounds good, where do I vote?
Thank you my friend.
Lots of blame to go around but my guess is that within 18 months the 12 team PO will be agreed upon and put out to bid.
‘Member all those times Matt “Vile Libel” Hayes said Sideshow Dan the Clown was a better coach and developer of talent than Kirby Smart?
Pepperidge Farms ‘members.
I remember nobody cared but UGA trolls…
Roll Tears Roll
I remember some idiot predicting Urban Meyer would be the new USC Trojans head coach in 2020. I believe the Moron even changed his name to reflect such prediction
Wow… hey everyone… NoCajones is making an appearance!
Haven’t seen much of you since the Cocktail Party, NoCajones.
Hey, did you hear ya boy Sideshow Dan the Clown got fired? Now you got Sunbelt Billy handing out “Five Star Hearts” awards in the spring and getting his a– beat on the recruiting trail by Kirby just like Cousin Eddie used to do.
So… you know… not much has changed in Jortsville.
Welcome back!
Way to change the subject Moron. I’ve been around and this is not the first time I call you out for your stupid name/prediction
You finish off your Kirby take with this sentence:
“He’s locked in at No. 1 until he’s knocked off the mountain.”
Then you begin talking about Saban and the VERY next sentence that you wrote:
“He is the mountain. The gold standard for college football coaches, and other than Bill Belichick, all football coaches.”
As bad as that take is, it pales in comparison to his horribly dumb assertion that Alabama quit playing defense the day Kirby left. Alabama has had a better scoring defense than Jawjuh in 4 of the 6 years since Kirby left…but apparently statistics don’t matter to Matt Hayes
“…assertion that Alabama quit playing defense the day Kirby left…”
Let’s be clear on one thing, Bama hasn’t quit playing defense since Kirby left, they just aren’t as good at the in-game adjustments since Kirby left…I believe Goat Nick is 4-0 in National Championship finals with Kirby, what is his record without Kirby?
4-1.
They lost to Clemson in 2014.
Still dont want to touch the “higher ranked scoring D 4 times in 6 years since Kirby left I see”. Not surprising in the least.
But since you’re too cowardly to actually address the original point, I’ll play along. Saban is 5-0 without Kirby in the Semifinal that now immediately follows the long break Hump. Basically its the same as it was at any other time…..give Saban 4-5 weeks to prepare, and he’s probably going to win.
Again….context matters Hump. Feel free to look at the offenses and QBs Kirby got to face in NCGs with 5 weeks to prepare as Alabama’s DC, and compare them to the ones that came afterwards with with a week to prepare.
And don’t forget…..he was thoroughly embarrassed the one time he had to go up against a legitimate NFL QB. Saban and Kiffin just bailed him out.
Oh, and there is still that 4-1* record head to head to consider
Negative corch…2014 was not the final, it was a first round cfp. 4-0 in National Championship games, and 3-3 without Kirby (one of them was a loss to Kirby)
It’s funny that y’all are trying to belittle a coach who’s 7-3 in Natty title games. 7-3! That’s 10 appearances in the National Championship game.
Opinion…10 National Championship games is phenomenal. Winning 7 of them makes him the current goat
Fact…goat is 4-0 in national championship finals with Kirby running his defense. Fact…goat is 3-3 without Kirby running his defense.
By all means point out the belittling part, 17…
Who cares what his record is with/without Kirby? 10 appearances in the Natty is all that matters. Kirby was always just a pawn like every other position coach that’s gone through this dynasty. Heck, Saban was 1-0 with Brian Daboll as OC and only 6-3 without him, but who cares.
UGA fans trying to minimize Saban’s success by making it about Kirby. Don’t you forget, Kirby is the coach he is today because of Saban.
So Saban has been to more finals without Kirby?
Let’s see… Since Kirby left Bama Saban is 2-1 in the finals…
But go figure a dumb@$$ piece of UGA tr@$? Such a dawghumperU is arguing an irrelevant stat….. Isn’t it time you GFY?
Gabriel RTR. Still dont want to touch the “higher ranked scoring D 4 times in 6 years since Kirby left I see”.
I’m your huckleberry!
Why not look at the last 3 years, in which Kirby’s had the better scoring defense in 2 out of 3? The 3 years before – his Georgia defense was rebuilding, while – Bama was playing with Kirby’s own players…
If Kirby left Georgia and went to LSU, Auburn you name the school that has a similar record as Georgia did when Kirby was hired, any rational person wouldn’t expect Kirby’s new defense to immediately top the defense he just left at Georgia. You on the other hand…
BamaTime 8 HOURS AGO
“So Saban has been to more finals without Kirby?”
YES, 1 before and 5 after, but Nick has lost 3 of them…
BamaTime 8 HOURS AGO
“Let’s see… Since Kirby left Bama Saban is 2-1 in the finals…”
Negative, see above…Nick has lost 3 of them (one to Kirby) since Kirby left Bama…not being a math genious that means since Kirby left Bama Saban is 3-3 in the finals…
BamaTime 8 HOURS AGO
“But go figure a dumb@$$ piece of UGA tr@$? Such a dawghumperU is arguing an irrelevant stat….. Isn’t it time you GFY?”
Must not be too irrelevant, you responded even though no one was talking to you. Nice talk, have a great day…
As for you, 17Tide…you are absolutely correct, Kirby indeed is who he is because of Goat Saban, no one on the UGa side will dispute that…
17Tide 20 HOURS AGO
Who cares what his record is with/without Kirby? 10 appearances in the Natty is all that matters.
Glad to know the 10 Natty appearances is the measuring stick, it changes so often with you Bama fans…
26 years experience as a NCAA Head Ball Coach divided by 10 final natty appearances, that works out to 38%…incredible stat, no denying that.
6 years experience as a NCAA Head Ball Coach divided by 2 final natty appearances, that works out to 33%…the similarities are uncanny aren’t they…
They really aren’t that similar. I’m sure you don’t need a history lesson, but their career paths are completely different as Saban started at Toledo, then went to Michigan State, and finally to LSU, a terrible program at the time.
Smart took over an already solid program with great footing in the college football landscape. You really think he reaches 2 title games had he started at a team like Toledo or MSU?
A better comparison would be to use Saban’s time at Bama where he’s 9/15 or 60%. He also won 3 titles in his first six years at Bama.
I will say, Kirby has the best chance at matching Saban’s success but I doubt anyone ultimately will.
Finally something we agree on, anyone matching Saban coaching success is highly unlikely. With NIL all things are now possible, a coach of a very rich team perhaps…
“Negative, see above…Nick has lost 3 of them (one to Kirby) since Kirby left Bama…not being a math genious that means since Kirby left Bama Saban is 3-3 in the finals…”
By final I assume you mean NC game? Nothing in college football is called finals… Also please list these 6 CFP NC games Bama has played in since Kirby left…
I fat fingered 3-3 (should have been 2-3 since Kirby left). All time the Goat is 3-3 without Kirby running his defense. 1 win at LSShoe before, 2 and 3 at Bama since…not that it matters since according to you this dawghumper piece of tr@sh is arguing an irrelevant stat and you are wasting your time discussing said irrelevant stat…nice talk, see ya.
I guess you need a little help with reading comprehension. I’ll help you out. Backpedaling Fragile Nicky is the gold standard for college coaches. I’m not going as far as to say for all football coaches, because he was awful in Miami. Backpedaling Fragile Nicky is the “mountain” so to speak. Kirby’s UGA team stomped a mudhole in said mountain. So at the moment, Kirby resides on top. Does that make sense?
Nothing you say makes sense, but I appreciate the effort.
Lol, handing out participation medals are we, 17?
Since almost half those 17 aren’t real, the answer is yes, yes they are.
Wasn’t participation medals what Jawjuh lived off of for 40 years Hump?
Bama actually has 18 national titles, Corch.
Georgia has 7 but we only claim 3.
“Georgia has 7 but we only claim 3.”
Auburn has 9 but only claims 2.
9? Thought it was 8. Congrats, y’all must be claiming 2021 also…
not claiming^ 2021 too
“Georgia has 7 but we only claim 3.”
That’s cute, Congrats! Really though, so impressive!
That’s the difference between the Dawgs and Gumps, Fake17.
We don’t claim non-consensus titles. Y’all do.
Seems like y’all are super insecure about something, and lying about your actual number of national titles to compensate for that.
That’s awesome, Corch! How noble of the Dawgs!
We have 0, but we claim one.
Tennessee has 14, but we only claim 6
The Vandy coach could be the best coach in the conference at developing the talent he has and would anyone know or care?
Was James Franklin the best SEC coach when he took Vandy to a low tier bowl game?
‘Your record is what you are.’ Bill Parcells
IMO, this is a ‘good faith’ attempt by Matt that provides further proof of what we already know: the CFB off season is far too long.
Two reasons I do not see Auburn hiring Urban Meyer, EVER. AU, no matter the back and forth that is involved in a rivalry, has too much class to hire someone like Meyer. Number two, to hire a coach like Meyer means turning over the running of that program, no questions asked. I do not see the boosters at AU ever giving up their lofty positions and abilities to make decisions to anyone.
Bruce Pearl?
you mean Sweat Hog
“Bruce Pearl?”
What about him? Please show me comparisons between Meyer and Pearl.
You are correct. Myer hasn’t had a problem with the NCAA at every HC stop like Pearl nor was he given a show cause. Myers had off the field problems while Pearl has had cheating problems. I guess the comparison is that both have perceived character issues.
” Myer hasn’t had a problem with the NCAA at every HC stop like Pearl nor was he given a show cause.”
LOL NCAA!!!!! NCAA is irrelevant.
Let me know when Coach Pearl coaches future murderers and gets fired for abusing players, ma’am.
Go sell stupid somewhere else.
Oh, Albert Means says hello.
Yes Darth, that is the comparison.
Urban Meyer @ Auburn ? I’ll bet he and the big $$$ boosters would have a cocktail hour daily, right ? I doubt he wants to ever coach again. He’s burned a lot of bridges along the way.
AU hates Meyer.
Ron, didn’t Bama ‘hate’ Saban after he won a title at LSU?
“Ron, didn’t Bama ‘hate’ Saban after he won a title at LSU?”
No idea.
When did Saban get fired for abusing players?
Why does AU ‘hate’ Meyer?
What did Meyer do to AU that FL didn’t do to all the SEC schools the Gators defeated when UF won the SEC?
Tidefan, didn’t Auburn try to hire Freeze? But the SEC blocked it.
Also, their stadium is named after a coach who got into NCAA trouble, and their field is named for another coach who also got into trouble for cheating. Auburn would hire Meyer in a New York minute!
If wasn’t but for the God Awful officiating the Dawgs would have easily beaten bama in regulation in 2017. That’s an absolute fact.
Move on.
Sounds like you don’t know the difference between a fact and an opinion.
Cry Dogs Cry.
I have zero beef with this comment.
I am 75 years old and I have yet to hear a losing coach or fans of a losing team say that the refs called a great or even a fair game.
Actually the ref that called that game admitted that Tyler Simmons was not offsides and the officiating crew just didn’t feel like fixing the bad call.
They didn’t want to admit fault until they were safely retired from the sport and so Bama got the ball back and the rest is history.
And Bama’s RB was in motion. In a perfect world, it’s a 5 yard penalty and rekick
Ha so you just confirmed that the call meant absolutely nothing. Instead of a 5 yard offside and re-kick, it should have been a 5 yard false start and re-kick.
Ha what? That’s exactly what I said.
My bad. Yes, you’re correct in the assessment of that play.
Though I am certainly a Dawg, this is not a reasonably written article. Though Kirby is on the rise, there isn’t enough consistency for him to be entitled ahead of Saban. #1 for 2021 sure but not yet overall. Humbleness is needed backed with a longer elite track record.
I think 2022 will be an interesting year for UGA to defend a championship with a good team regardless of all they lost. They need to walk the walk more consistently, regardless of the media or opinionated writers. Staying focused and level headed is key for the team. Bleed out the unnecessary noise.
After reading the article; wanted to read through the notes. And pretty much got what I thought I would.
Truth – GOAT is Saban
Truth – best on the field coach I ever saw ‘Darth Visor’ at UF
Truth – a second Death Star has been built in the SEC – it’s at Georgia – so there is not Bama taking for granted that they will win the SEC or a National Championship and winning the East gets tougher every year that Kirby is in Athens.
Truth – Urban Meyer will never coach in the SEC again, unless Auburn gets that desperate and if they do – they will one day to regret that move to.
Truth/Opinion – Kentucky is rock solid – but will likely never win the East (as long as their is an East), much less the SEC
Opinion – Heupel will not last his contract at Tennessee.
Leach too high, move Heupel and Beamer up. It’s all opinion anyway. I could see Auburn calling Meyer and Meyer going. Hayes hit the nail about the Auburn hire of a BB coach with more luggage than a Greyhound bus. Myer’s luggage in carryon compared.
Meyer tucked tail and ran away from the SEC, faking heart problems (likely – panic attacks) He won’t come back, especially to Auburn because he doesn’t want to compete. That’s why he went to the Ohio St conference, where any decent coach can dominate every team in the conference every year.
2021? Don’t you think Ryan Day is a ‘decent coach?’
Matt Hayes?!?! – another SDS article where the journalist (and I use that term loosely) is factually incorrect. It takes very little effort to check. Jimbo has not recruited “3 straight top-5 recruiting classes”.
2022 – 1st
2021 – 8th
2020 – 6th
For those of you that don’t pay attention, a first or 2nd ranked class usually has 3 or 4 times as many “top 100” players than a 6th ranked class, so there is a world of difference in talent when you have stacked 3 top 5 classes.
I think the real question is are ANY of these (or any other coach) worth the salaries they are making?
Of course not. But it’s ‘Merica (at least temporarily) so good for them! It’s great to be wealthy when in your golden years. (Or, I GUESS it is) :)
So many times, national championships are based on the coach’s whining ability to the media and refs.
Rating Luke Doty as not SEC caliber is laughable. He was considered a top 100 player in the country as a senior in HS.
That’s a fact I’m excited to see what he can do when he has time to actually Develop and learn under a seasoned veteran like Spencer
Billy Napier is literally just Tommy Tubberville lmfao