5 SEC Football Coaches Facing the Toughest Tasks This Spring
There aren't any SEC head coaches entering spring practice in 2015 on the proverbial "hot seat," but there's still plenty of work to do.
Several coaches in the nation's toughest football conference have plenty to fix this spring, with the eyeballs of the college football world on them.
Which coaches are facing the toughest tasks this spring?
Our picks, based on job security, personnel and pressure to win, are in this slideshow.
5. Jim McElwain, Florida
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No, first-year head coach Jim McElwain isn't under any pressure to win in order to keep his job.
But man alive, he's got his work cut out for him this spring.
Injuries and early departures have decimated Florida along the offensive line, where there are only seven healthy scholarship offensive linemen available this spring. At linebacker, there are also only six scholarship players available thanks to injuries that will keep Antonio Morrison and Jarrad Davis out this spring.
"It will be a little different," McElwain said in quotes emailed by Florida. "Based on those numbers, even if you get one dinged or a couple dinged here and there, then that's really gonna change how we do things. And yet, out of all the positions, those O-linemen are gonna get some valuable reps, now. There's no replacing true reps and so when you see kind of how we practice guys aren't standing around."
From a logistical standpoint, simply running practice is going to be a challenge this spring for McElwain and his staff. That's not a problem you want to have in your first spring at a job.
4. Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
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Dan Mullen surprised the college football world in 2014 when he led Mississippi State to its first No. 1 ranking in program history, its first Orange Bowl berth since 1941 and its third-ever double-digit-win season.
Now comes the tricky part—sustaining it.
That kind of success in Starkville is unusual, and he'll have to try to replicate it in 2015 with five of seven starters gone off the front seven, three new starters on the offensive line and a new running back in place of bowling ball Josh Robinson, who rushed for 1,203 yards and 11 touchdowns last year.
Has Mullen raised the ceiling too high in Starkville? Probably not. Mississippi State's administration and fanbase was very patient with Mullen as he built the program up to this point. That likely won't change.
If you're Mullen, though, wouldn't you rather not find out if that patience has worn thin?
3. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
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South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier isn't at risk of losing his job in 2015 after posting a 7-6 record last year—a year in which his Gamecocks were picked to win the SEC East at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama in July.
He could leave it on his own, though.
The Head Ball Coach famously said he'd be around for two to three more years in December, according to GoGamecocks.com, before amending that to four to five years later in the month, according to the same outlet. Why? It's safe to say that prospects, in the middle of the most important part of the recruiting calendar, didn't want to hear that they will be going through a coaching change if they sign with the Gamecocks.
Spurrier is 69 years old, and whether he's going to be around one, three or 20 more years, he's clearly thinking about the right time to hang the visor up.
Will he do it if the Gamecocks go 6-6 in the regular season again? It's possible, especially considering Butch Jones and Jim McElwain are rapidly building Tennessee and Florida, respectively, back into competitive programs.
If he wins the division, will he ride off into the sunset? I could see it happening. The outcome of the 2015 season could send the South Carolina program in a wide variety of different directions, and the foundation of that season begins now.
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2. Mark Richt, Georgia
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Georgia head coach Mark Richt raised the bar on himself this offseason when he got raises for himself and his staff and kicked the can down the road toward an indoor practice facility—which has been Georgia's version of a unicorn for nearly a decade.
Those are all good things for Richt, Georgia and the fanbase, but it also has cranked up the pressure during a spring session that includes a switch to new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, a three-man quarterback battle that's wide open and the search for a brand new starters along the defensive line and middle of the linebacking corps.
A tough job? Sure. It's not an impossible one, though.
There's plenty of talent on the roster for Georgia to be successful, and the quest to develop that talent starts this spring.
The program's continued dedication to Richt, though, has upped the ante quite a bit, and those seemingly annual inexplicable losses won't be tolerated much longer.
1. Les Miles, LSU
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Les Miles isn't on the hot seat after last season's 8-5 season, but he isn't exactly comfortable, either.
This spring, the Mad Hatter has to find a solution to LSU's seemingly never-ending quarterback problem and hope that new defensive coordinator Kevin Steele can figure out how to pick up the pieces left by former coordinator John Chavis.
Those pieces include a defensive line that is searching for answers after the graduation of defensive end Jermauria Rasco and early departure of Danielle Hunter, in addition to the fact that—even with those two—LSU managed just 19 sacks a year ago.
Offensively, Brandon Harris or Anthony Jennings has to prove to pose a legitimate threat through the air, because LSU can't contend for the SEC West title as the "Leonard Fournette Show."
If history repeats itself, and LSU finishes the season 8-5 again, Miles' seat might heat up again.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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