Ranking SEC coaches by head coaching experience

[aubiefifty 18,114]

 

secrant.com

 

Ranking SEC coaches by head coaching experience

Posted by TN Tygah Member since Nov 20232434 posts

~4 minutes

---

Experience is important, no utopian rewriting of the rules will change that. This is a crucial topic of discussion as we prepare for the upcoming season. Let’s start:

#16: Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State (0 years) - Mississippi State raises the bar just by having a pulse on the sideline. Let's see if Lebby can find a heartbeat for the Bulldogs.

#14 (tie): Mike Elko, Texas A&M (2 years) & Brent Venables, Oklahoma (2 years) - Elko, the Duke 7-5 magician, takes the helm at A&M, aiming for a return to mediocrity, SEC style. Venables ventures into the SEC jungle, hoping his Oklahoma success translates. Will he survive the ruthless competition, or become another coaching casualty?

#12 (tie): Shane Beamer, South Carolina (3 years) & Clark Lea, Vanderbilt (3 years) - Beamer, the aspiring leader, got his SEC baptism by fire. Can he defy expectations this season, before the inevitable pink slip arrives? Lea, the lone wolf at Vanderbilt (who might be leaving the conference anyway), builds his program in the shadows of the giants.

#10 (tie): Kalen DeBoer, Alabama (4 years) & Sam Pittman, Arkansas (4 years) - DeBoer, fittingly going to a team that also took an embarrassing and painful shite in the playoffs, inherits the Crimson throne. Lack of experience is a concern, but that’s what happens when Saban’s 3 choices turn down the job, they had no choice but to settle. Can he stop the rapid decline, or will his SEC inexperience be their downfall? Meanwhile, Pittman, the blue-collar coach in a perennial joke of a program (Arkansas), fights for respect in a ruthless conference.

#9: Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri (5 years) - Drinkwitz, the impressive but forgotten coach, leads Missouri. Does the SEC even recognize Missouri exists? What category of “south” does Missouri, as a state, fall under? Someone get this man a map!

#7 (tie): Billy Napier (Florida, 6 years) & Josh Heupel (Tennessee, 6 years) - LSU dodged a bullet by avoiding Napier. Heupel, a fantastic coach stuck in a Tennessee nightmare, wrestles with the impossible task of winning in Knoxville.

#6: Kirby Smart, Georgia (8 years) - Smart has finally brought Georgia to the big boy table. I say it’s about time! Will they be a flash in the pan or build a dynasty? Only time will tell.

#5: Steve Sarkisian, Texas (10 years) - Another coach with the Bama baggage, Sarkisian seeks redemption in Texas. Can he overcome the stink of his "Bama-esque" meltdown and lead the Longhorns back to the promised land?

#3 (tie): Mark Stoops, Kentucky (11 years) & Hugh Freeze, Auburn (11 years) - Stoops, the enigma, remains a mystery wrapped in another enigma, and probably the most boring coach on this list. Freeze, the opportunistic coach, eyes a power grab in Alabama, with the very attainable task of dethroning the already fallen giant (Bama) and return Auburn to glory.

#2: Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss (14 years) - Kiffin mourns the inevitable solitude of his "Western Champs" banner with the division's demise. Can the "Ole Miss Miracle" continue, or will his flamboyant persona overshadow his coaching prowess, like it has for his entire life?

#1: Brian Kelly, LSU (21 years) - The king has arrived in Baton Rouge! Kelly, a coaching titan, inherited a program in bad shape that is now primed for success. With an SEC championship appearance in his first year, Heisman winner in his second, and a veteran staff, LSU is poised for a dominant run under his reign.

Discuss.