SEC Coaches Ranked

[GTmorris1970]

Posted on Sun, Aug. 28, 2005


Ranking the 2005 SEC coaches


1. Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee, 123-31 (13 seasons); 123-31 (13 seasons)

The longest-tenured SEC coach has assembled another team that is poised to make a run at the national title.

2. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn, 51-24 (10); 51-24 (10)

Once doubted, he is the Plains’ favorite son after a 13-0 season, despite NCAA title-game snub.

3. Mark Richt, Georgia, 42-10 (four); 42-10 (four)

Richt has lost 10 games in three seasons as the Bulldogs’ coach, including two on the road.

4. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina, 142-40-2, (15); 122-27-1 (12)

He will try to prove that three years out of the college game didn’t dull his offensive intellect.

5. Urban Meyer, Florida, 39-8 (four years); first year

Is he truly invincible, or unchallenged at two previous stops? We will find out during his first season in the SEC.

6. Mike Shula, Alabama, 5-11 (two); 5-11 (two)

A troubled program has righted itself under Shula, who is trying to live up to the legacy of his father, Don.

7. Houston Nutt, Arkansas, 53-33 (seven); 53-33 (seven)

The Razorbacks last year didn’t play in a bowl game for the first time in Nutt’s seven seasons. They will need to settle quickly on a quarterback for 2005 revival.

8. Les Miles, LSU, 28-21 (four); first year

Oklahoma State soared to new heights under his watch. Can the loaded Tigers buy into his system fast enough?

9. Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt, 69-65 (11); 6-29 (three)

The Columbia native has improved the Commodores’ bowl chances from nearly impossible to unlikely.

10. Rich Brooks, Kentucky, 97-126-4 (20); 6-17 (two)

Brooks is the Wildcats’ third coach in six seasons, and 2005 might be his farewell tour if his team has a bad season.

11. Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State, 3-8 (one); 3-8 (one)

In his second season of a rebuilding effort, Croom should monitor his burnout meter.

12. Ed Orgeron, Mississippi, first year; first year

Orgeron has no experience as a head coach despite 20 years on the sideline, the past seven with Southern Cal.

— Kent Babb

[Jordan]

So what is the source of these rankings?

I can't believe Shula is ranked above Nutt, or possibly even Miles. Showing a good year this season, possibly... but at this point I'm just not seeing how anyone could rank him above Nutt?

[HSVTider]

So what is the source of these rankings?

I can't believe Shula is ranked above Nutt, or possibly even Miles. Showing a good year this season, possibly... but at this point I'm just not seeing how anyone could rank him above Nutt?

I don't understand this love fest with Houston Nutt.

The man manages to get pay raises by throwing his own name in the hat for other big name jobs (without even being contacted) that come open and then says "Oh wait a minute. I don't want to leave Arkansas".

He makes like 1.5 million a year right?? For what? Winning an average of 6.x games a season?

[razorhead]

Nutt is a middle of the road SEC coach. But he still should be ranked above Shula.

He has often beaten Bama utilizing less talent according to the so called experts. However, like Shula, this will be the year to see if he really has what it takes. Nutt should be gone if he endures another losing season. Shula should be gone if he wins less than 7 games this year.

[HSVTider]

Nutt is a middle of the road SEC coach. But he still should be ranked above Shula.

He has often beaten Bama utilizing less talent according to the so called experts. However, like Shula, this will be the year to see if he really has what it takes. Nutt should be gone if he endures another losing season. Shula should be gone if he wins less than 7 games this year.

Shula is safe this year no matter what. When 40% of your scholarshipped players are RS Freshman or True freshman, no one in their right minds would fire the man for going 6-5, especially if there are injuries. That said, Alabama could conceivably play for the SEC Title this year if they catch a lot of breaks (that we haven't caught since '99) and we stay healthy.

[GAMECOCK_FAN]

Shula is safe this year no matter what. When 40% of your scholarshipped players are RS Freshman or True freshman, no one in their right minds would fire the man for going 6-5, especially if there are injuries. That said, Alabama could conceivably play for the SEC Title this year if they catch a lot of breaks (that we haven't caught since '99) and we stay healthy.
I agree about Shula. He shouldn't be judged for another couple of years with regards to winning....2006 and especially 2007 should be the years where he either gets it done, or the Bama faithful bid him farewell. These first 3 years (2003, 2004, and 2005) should be judged purely on whether he runs a clean program and whether he makes progress toward rebuilding the team (after the severe penalties Alabama got handed to them by the NCAA for the violations they commited). And I believe the answer to both of these questions is that he's done a good job.

[OrangeCrush]

Well, until SOS has a couple of average seasons, he should remain #1 when you rank the coaches.

Phil is #2 and Tubberville is #3. If Tubberville can win at a high mark and take another game or two from the Vols the next time the two univeristies match-up, he will have just cause to claim #2. It will take a few years as Phil has so many wins to catch.

Richt is #4 and he just needs more time to cement his status as a top coach in the SEC.

I guess Urban can get the hype and be #5 five, but he has done nothing in the SEC.

#6 is for Nutt-jobs
#7 is a tie between Shula and Les Miles. Miles has done more than Shula, but Miles has done it longer and taken a team to new heights after being terrible for so long. Shula is in the process of doing it, but he has not got it done yet.

#9-#12 is really a toss-up. How do you judge a Vanderbilt coach? Orgeron has never been a head coach. Croom took over a train wreck and seems to be changing the attitude in Starkville. Brooks might as well be Tubby's caddy for all the good work he has done in Lexington.

#9 Johnson, #10 Croom, #11 Orgeron, #12 Brooks(just for gits and shiggles)

Unless Shula only wins 4 games, he will be back next year. Alabama has to stop the revolving door at the head coaching position.

[Jay_Lupo]

I don't understand this love fest with Houston Nutt.

The man manages to get pay raises by throwing his own name in the hat for other big name jobs (without even being contacted) that come open and then says "Oh wait a minute. I don't want to leave Arkansas".

He makes like 1.5 million a year right?? For what? Winning an average of 6.x games a season?


I don't what you're talking about dude. Nebraska was all over Nutt. They wanted him BAD!!!! Why? B/c he consistantly signs players out of Texas and he's beaten the ever-lovin s**t out UT twice in three chances. The Huskers haven't been close to that lately. Nebraska sent a jet to the airport in Fayetteville to get him. He chose not to go. LSU contacted him too. I promise he didn't call them up. But they weren't after him near as hard-core as Nebraska was. But I'll bet you they probably would've been if he hadn't withdrawn his name.

Nutt's got a 62 percent winning percentage at the UA and has been to 6 bowls including the Cotton twice and the Citrus bowl once. In that same span, Bama has a 54 percent winning percentage and played in 4 bowls: 2 Music City's, and Independence and an Orange. Nutt also owns a winning record over every SEC west team except for LSU, and he's 3-4 against them.

And Nutt doesn't average 6 wins a year. He averages 7.5 on the dot.

Houston's a good guy, he loves Arkansas, he's a good recruiter and phenomenal motivator and I for one am glad that he's my team's head coach. As for Shula being ranked ahead of him, I'll just have to shut up there. No comment. Well, a small one. HDN's 2-0 against Shula.

Bottom line is I like Nutt, Frank Broyles likes Nutt and he's a good football coach. I don't care what some uninformed alabama fan says.

[GATA_Rob01]

Richt has lost 10 games in 4 seasons not three.

[HSVTider]

I don't what you're talking about dude. Nebraska was all over Nutt. They wanted him BAD!!!! Why? B/c he consistantly signs players out of Texas and he's beaten the ever-lovin s**t out UT twice in three chances. The Huskers haven't been close to that lately. Nebraska sent a jet to the airport in Fayetteville to get him. He chose not to go. LSU contacted him too. I promise he didn't call them up. But they weren't after him near as hard-core as Nebraska was. But I'll bet you they probably would've been if he hadn't withdrawn his name.

Nutt's got a 62 percent winning percentage at the UA and has been to 6 bowls including the Cotton twice and the Citrus bowl once. In that same span, Bama has a 54 percent winning percentage and played in 4 bowls: 2 Music City's, and Independence and an Orange. Nutt also owns a winning record over every SEC west team except for LSU, and he's 3-4 against them.

And Nutt doesn't average 6 wins a year. He averages 7.5 on the dot.

Houston's a good guy, he loves Arkansas, he's a good recruiter and phenomenal motivator and I for one am glad that he's my team's head coach. As for Shula being ranked ahead of him, I'll just have to shut up there. No comment. Well, a small one. HDN's 2-0 against Shula.

Bottom line is I like Nutt, Frank Broyles likes Nutt and he's a good football coach. I don't care what some uninformed alabama fan says.

I remember when Fran left Bama, Nutt tossed his name in the hat while he wasn't even considered by the Bama athletic department.

Hey may be a great recruiter and motivator. However, I think Shula is a better recruiter (not sure about motivator) though, but at 7.5 wins a year (and some of those seasons had 12 games) is not a 1.5 million dollar coach.

This bama fan was just stating his opinion. He's your coach and you guys can do whatever you like with him.

[Jay_Lupo]

This bama fan was just stating his opinion. He's your coach and you guys can do whatever you like with him.

Ok, good. We choose to continue beating Alabama. :D

[HSVTider]

Ok, good. We choose to continue beating Alabama. :D

If you guys beat Southern Cal, then I definitely wouldn't put it past you. If you guys get clobered..welll..that's a tough two week stretch. But a lot can change between now and then.

We''ll see. I think Bama wins it (finally..its been two long years).

[fernandomike]

If Mustain's commitment has a snowball effect, then I think that any doubt as to whether or not Nutt is a superb coach will be removed in the next couple seasons.

[Jay_Lupo]

If you guys beat Southern Cal, then I definitely wouldn't put it past you. If you guys get clobered..welll..that's a tough two week stretch. But a lot can change between now and then.

We''ll see. I think Bama wins it (finally..its been two long years).


I was really just pickin at ya Tider :). I really don't see us beating the Tide this year and I definitely don't see us beating USC (so cal) :D

And Fernando, boy I sure hope so. We have a lot of good freshman (RS) and sophomores that'll be playing this year. I'm really excited about what are team's going to look like in 2006 and 2007. We'll loose a lot - 3 guys - off of our oline this year though and the depth is not where it should be. That's about the only area of concern as far as recruiting goes. If we can plug the holes on the o-line then the Razorbacks should keep getting better and better the next few years.

[GTmorris1970]

Richt has lost 10 games in 4 seasons not three.

It says four seasons. :confused:

[GTmorris1970]

Well, until SOS has a couple of average seasons, he should remain #1 when you rank the coaches.

Phil is #2 and Tubberville is #3. If Tubberville can win at a high mark and take another game or two from the Vols the next time the two univeristies match-up, he will have just cause to claim #2. It will take a few years as Phil has so many wins to catch.

Richt is #4 and he just needs more time to cement his status as a top coach in the SEC.

I guess Urban can get the hype and be #5 five, but he has done nothing in the SEC.

#6 is for Nutt-jobs
#7 is a tie between Shula and Les Miles. Miles has done more than Shula, but Miles has done it longer and taken a team to new heights after being terrible for so long. Shula is in the process of doing it, but he has not got it done yet.

#9-#12 is really a toss-up. How do you judge a Vanderbilt coach? Orgeron has never been a head coach. Croom took over a train wreck and seems to be changing the attitude in Starkville. Brooks might as well be Tubby's caddy for all the good work he has done in Lexington.

#9 Johnson, #10 Croom, #11 Orgeron, #12 Brooks(just for gits and shiggles)

Unless Shula only wins 4 games, he will be back next year. Alabama has to stop the revolving door at the head coaching position.

Thanks for the compliment, and I agree. Wasn't going to say it. Didn't want to be a homer. But you look at the number of wins, number of Sec titles, etc., how could SOS not be number one? :confused:

[razorhead]

I was making an indirect compliment to the Bama program earlier when I said Shula should be gone if he doesn't win 7 games. I mean that. Bama should be right behind LSU in the west this year, maybe even win the west.

In response to Mr. Lupo: HDN is not an exceptional coach. I think he is a good guy, and a pretty good coach. But I don't ever see him getting the Hogs anywhere past just an SEC title game every 6 years. If he had a legitimate QB this year, I would say less than 7 wins should get him fired. But I'm willing to wait a couple years now for Mustain to get his chance. The rest of the offense is proven, and the defense should be improved with Reggie Herring at the helm. If the defense could have played a lick last year, the Hogs would have won 8 games.

[Jay_Lupo]

I was making an indirect compliment to the Bama program earlier when I said Shula should be gone if he doesn't win 7 games. I mean that. Bama should be right behind LSU in the west this year, maybe even win the west.

In response to Mr. Lupo: HDN is not an exceptional coach. I think he is a good guy, and a pretty good coach. But I don't ever see him getting the Hogs anywhere past just an SEC title game every 6 years. If he had a legitimate QB this year, I would say less than 7 wins should get him fired. But I'm willing to wait a couple years now for Mustain to get his chance. The rest of the offense is proven, and the defense should be improved with Reggie Herring at the helm. If the defense could have played a lick last year, the Hogs would have won 8 games.

I never said Nutt was an "exceptional" coach, but he's the best we're getting. Those of you who want to fire Nutt and hire Butch Davis are dreaming. Davis doesn't want this job. Nutt does. Broyles loves Nutt. He ain't going anywhere, so get used to him.

But I agree with the last part. Matt Jones masked what was Nutt's worst team at the UA last year. Without Jones, that team wins 3 games. If that team had a "lick" of D last year, Arkansas wins a min. of 7 and probably eight, b/c we blew 4Q leads against Texas, UGA and South Carolina. UT and USC no doubt would've been wins. But coulda shoulda woulda.

Nine players played/started for the first time on the D last year for a crappy DC, not a crappy coach, but a terrible DC. Nine players return defensively this year and most of them will return the next and a significant portion the next. If MJ returned this year, my expectations would be through the roof. But don't be fooled by the loss of the amazing Matt Jones. Arkansas 2005 is much, much better than Arkansas 2004. Our offense should be clicking from the word go and if the o-line stays healthy, it (the offense) should continue to be one of the better ones in the SEC. But don't expect miracles out of Herring. The D is much, much more experienced and is actually probably one of the most "experienced" D's in the league. But they were god-awful last year. I'm definitely banking on improvement out of the D though.

[coachprice.net]

Remember when you see Phil and he ain't eating something - he is losing body mass!

[cocky4ever]

I never said Nutt was an "exceptional" coach, but he's the best we're getting. Those of you who want to fire Nutt and hire Butch Davis are dreaming. Davis doesn't want this job. Nutt does. Broyles loves Nutt. He ain't going anywhere, so get used to him.

But I agree with the last part. Matt Jones masked what was Nutt's worst team at the UA last year. Without Jones, that team wins 3 games. If that team had a "lick" of D last year, Arkansas wins a min. of 7 and probably eight, b/c we blew 4Q leads against Texas, UGA and South Carolina. UT and USC no doubt would've been wins. But coulda shoulda woulda.

Nine players played/started for the first time on the D last year for a crappy DC, not a crappy coach, but a terrible DC. Nine players return defensively this year and most of them will return the next and a significant portion the next. If MJ returned this year, my expectations would be through the roof. But don't be fooled by the loss of the amazing Matt Jones. Arkansas 2005 is much, much better than Arkansas 2004. Our offense should be clicking from the word go and if the o-line stays healthy, it (the offense) should continue to be one of the better ones in the SEC. But don't expect miracles out of Herring. The D is much, much more experienced and is actually probably one of the most "experienced" D's in the league. But they were god-awful last year. I'm definitely banking on improvement out of the D though.
Those are good points. I've always thought that Nutt was a good coach. Granted, I havent kept up with them as much as some other people may have, but the things he has managed to accomplish while at Ark. have seemed pretty impressive to me. He is centered in what is probably one of the hardest places to recruit, yet seems to manage top 25 classes almost every year. He is in the hardest conference in the country yet has made it to many, many bowls. I think he is the biggest piece for Ark. to keep in place. They could fire him and spend many more years looking for a good coach that will come in and take them where they want to be right away, and quite possibly not ever find him. Like I said with Nutt there I think that the main piece is in place. With the hiring of Herring I think he put the next big piece of the puzzle in place. Not only is Herring a GREAT defensive mind, but is exactly the type of coach that will fit in good in Nutt's system. A great recruiter would be his next step, and even with the talent he has I think he could over acheive with Herring and himself there. I think Arkansas is taking the right steps, and when/if they get where they want to be the stability acquired in the process will make them hard to remove from that spot.

[razorhead]

It shouldn't be that hard to recruit to Fayetteville. It is one of the best cities in the nation to live according to some national publications. Almost everything up there looks new and impressive. There are around 250K people in the area as well. It's not as small as most people think. Stan Heath has no problem getting top talent in there although he obviously doesn't know what to do with it.

The facilities are second to none. I know the old time SEC folks will never see it this way, but Reynolds Razorback Stadium is one of the nicest (if not the nicest) stadiums in the SEC in terms of comfort, aesthetics, and amenitites. Plus they have one of the largest weight rooms in the nation.

I don't buy the excuse that it's hard to recruit to Fayetteville.

[RW13]

Fulmer, Richt, and Nutt would be my top 3, SOS has to earn it again and it will be hard with an historically mediocre (in good years) team....

[Jay_Lupo]

Spur is a legend. I think I'd probably put him No. 1 even if he were coaching Kentucky. He's proven himself. Florida's one thing, but Duke? I mean, come on. He made Duke a decent program, :).

It shouldn't be that hard to recruit to Fayetteville. It is one of the best cities in the nation to live according to some national publications. Almost everything up there looks new and impressive. There are around 250K people in the area as well. It's not as small as most people think. Stan Heath has no problem getting top talent in there although he obviously doesn't know what to do with it.

The facilities are second to none. I know the old time SEC folks will never see it this way, but Reynolds Razorback Stadium is one of the nicest (if not the nicest) stadiums in the SEC in terms of comfort, aesthetics, and amenitites. Plus they have one of the largest weight rooms in the nation.

I don't buy the excuse that it's hard to recruit to Fayetteville.

I agree 100 percent Razor. Most people just disregard it b/c it's in Arkansas. But the Fayetteville-Rogers-Springdale area combine for one helluva city. I lived there for 4+ years while I went to college. It's the best place in the world as far as I'm concerned and I'm counting the days till I get to move back.

If you can get the kids to come to Fayetteville, it'll sell itself.

[cocky4ever]

It shouldn't be that hard to recruit to Fayetteville. It is one of the best cities in the nation to live according to some national publications. Almost everything up there looks new and impressive. There are around 250K people in the area as well. It's not as small as most people think. Stan Heath has no problem getting top talent in there although he obviously doesn't know what to do with it.

The facilities are second to none. I know the old time SEC folks will never see it this way, but Reynolds Razorback Stadium is one of the nicest (if not the nicest) stadiums in the SEC in terms of comfort, aesthetics, and amenitites. Plus they have one of the largest weight rooms in the nation.

I don't buy the excuse that it's hard to recruit to Fayetteville.
The reason I said its hard to recruit to Ark. is because of the high concentration of top schools in a small area. You've got Bama,Auburn, LSU,and Ole Miss nearby. You also have UT not far away pulling away talent and a lot of other schools like Texas, TT,the ATM's, and the other top schools who can manage to pull talent from anywhere. I dont know much about Fayetteville so I dont know all the things that would attract a recruit to that area, but I know there is a lot of competition for Arkansas to compete against when trying to recruit.

[RW13]

Most overrated: Spurrier & Meyer (they are new, alot of hype, not that they haven't had legit success)
Most underrated: Houston Nutt (does more with nothing than any coach in the SEC and in the top 5 for that type of coach in the nation, didn't he bring Boise St. to prominence?)
Best all around since the SEC went to 12 teams: Fulmer (would have gone to Spurrier but he left)