This year the SEC boasts the best collection of coaching talent. Five have national championship rings, and four have been head coaches in the NFL. You can argue this is the deepest lineup of coaches since Bryant, Dooley, and Jordan roamed the sidelines. Here is a list from 1-12 of who is the best in the SEC.
1. Mark Richt, Georgia. Richt is fourth among active Div. 1 coaches with a winning percentage of .791 (72-19). In five years he has brought two SEC titles to Athens, and the Bulldogs will go into this season as the favorite to be playing in the BCS title game.
2. Urban Meyer, Florida. A two time national coach of the year, Urban has won at every school he has coached. In his second year at Florida he won the BCS title, and has turned Florida into one of the top programs in the country again.
3. Les Miles, LSU. With a 34-6 record a SEC title and a national championship, Les has proved he can win in the SEC. In his fourth year at LSU he is building a dynasty on the Bayou.
4. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn. It is safe to say "Tubs" is the most underrated coach in the SEC. In nine years on the plains, Tuberville has a 80-33 record, five Western Division titles (two outright, three co-championships), and a 13-0 season in 2004. He also boasts a six game winning streak in the Iron Bowl.
5. Nick Saban, Alabama. No matter what you think of Coach Saban, he is a winner. With a BCS title on his resume at LSU, Saban brings that winning "process" to the Capstone. With his unmatched work ethic in recruiting and a feared presence on the sideline, He is bringing back the winning attitude in Tuscaloosa.
6. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina. Spurrier has a national title in 1996, and six SEC titles that makes him an all-time great. But his return to the SEC as been less than great. With four years under his belt in Columbia he has yet to get them to the upper level of the SEC. Another year of missing the post-season and the honeymoon may be over for Gamecock fans.
7. Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee. The longest tenured coach in the SEC, Fulmer has brought stability to the Volunteers. But with the last SEC title coming in 1998, the same year the Vols won the BCS title, fans in Knoxville are getting restless.
8. Houston Nutt, Ole Miss. He may have overstayed his welcome in Arkansas but Nutt is one of the best talent evaluators in the SEC. With three Western Division titles in Fayetteville expect him to do good things at Ole Miss.
9. Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State. Mississippi State is smart in being patient with Croom. He guided the Bulldogs to their first bowl game since 2000, and has big wins over Alabama and Auburn. Now the tough part is keeping the success in a tough SEC West.
10. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas. The newest member to the SEC, his track record speaks for itself. He turned Louisville to a Big East power and I expect him to do the same with the Hogs.
11. Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt. It’s hard to win at Vanderbilt, but Johnson has done a pretty good job. With wins over Georgia, Tennessee, and Arkansas, Johnson has Vanderbilt SO close to their first bowl game since 1982.
12. Rich Brooks, Kentucky. Coach Brooks has experienced success at Kentucky, and with his NFL mind he will continue that success on the bluegrass. But with the exit of talent, this year will be a struggle to keep up in the very combative SEC East.
5 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Tim Pollock about 1 year ago
The quality of coaches is ridiculous in the SEC; it's strong from 1-12. We could debate 1-5, maybe even 1-7, all day long, and all would have valid points.
A few issues:
- Giving Richt, who hasn't been in a National title game, the #1 spot.
- Not so sure Petrino's "track record speaks for itself." Last I checked he bailed on an NFL team after never winning the big game in a watered down Big East.
- It's tough to give any coach in the SEC number 12, but Rich Brooks is a darn good coach.
- This is Spurrier's 4th year at Carolina.
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Faimon Roberts about 1 year ago
The funny thing is that I can't really disagree with your rankings, even with Richt at no. 1. He is obviously an excellent coach, his teams just haven't caught the breaks at the right time. Kind of like Tuberville, who has coached a team to an undefeated season, but has no crystal football, whereas Miles, who has had 2 losses every year, does have one. It just speaks to the strength of the SEC that a coach with a national title under his belt (along with lot more over his belt) ranks in the bottom half of the conference. Almost half (5, in fact) have won national titles.
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James Doker about 1 year ago
I would assume you're ranking how good you think the teams are, because this list doesn't make sense if you're ranking how good the coaches are.
A ranking of the coaches would look more like:
1. Meyer
2. Miles
3. Richt
4. Tuberville
5. Spurrier
6. Saban
7. Petrino
8. Fulmer
9. Nutt
10. Croom
11. Brooks
12. Johnson
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Tim Pollock about 1 year ago
James: I think it's clear that the writer is ranking based on coaching ability. Just because you don't agree doesn't mean it's wrong. For example:
Fulmer behind Petrino? I know you're a FL student and all, but come on...like him or not, Fulmer has a national title, and his team was in the SECCG last season.
I've got Petrino down around 10-11. The guy has a lot to prove; he only has 4 years of college head coaching under his belt, and the SEC is just a tad more difficult than the Big East Petrino left in 2006.
As for your number 1. Clearly Urban Meyer is a great coach, but he's been in the league for 3 years, he is 31-8 overall with one NC. Meanwhile, Les Miles has also been around for 3 years, has an overall record of 34-6, and also has an NC. What makes Urban the clear winner there? Couldn't someone from LSU argue Miles' case, and with good reason?
A good case can be made for almost all of these guys.
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James Doker about 1 year ago
I was including their performance before they got to the SEC as well. Meyer has a better track record prior to joining the SEC than Miles did. In fact, among active coaches, Meyer has the highest winning percentage of any SEC coach. But you're right, Miles has performed better at LSU than Meyer has at Florida. I didn't say Meyer was the "clear winner," I just ranked him higher.
As for Fulmer and Petrino, you're probably right. Petrino did feast on a weaker conference than Fulmer, but he did regularly have solid wins against big-name nonconference teams. And look what happened to Louisville without him last season. Fulmer had a great run in the late 90s, but hasn't been too stellar since. He may have gotten to the SEC championship last season, but most people had both Florida and Georgia ranked ahead of Tennessee at season's end. But I can see the reasoning if you don't put more emphasis on the last five years. In that case, big ol' Phil's just as good as anybody.
I can't imagine what reasoning you have to put Petrino around 10-11, though. He's got to be considered better than Brooks and Johnson. And while Croom is doing a swell job with MSU's slow turnaround, he's got nothing on Petrino's track record. Nutt might have won the SEC West a few times, but he's never reached the upper tier like Louisville quickly did under Petrino.
I'd say the lowest Petrino could be is 8th, and that the top 8 SEC coaches are a ridiculously good bunch.
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