Jimbo, LOL! On Friday, July 15, 2022 at 6:22:27 PM UTC-5 Jerry Belloit wrote:
> Again, I think it is a fair assessment if not a little high. After a > season, we will see. > > Sent from my iPad > > On Jul 15, 2022, at 8:19 AM, Shane Ford <[email protected]> wrote: > > > [image: image0.jpeg] > > When SEC spring meetings convened in May, it marked the conference's > first in-person gathering for the annual summit since 2019. Of the 14 > coaches assembled for the meetings, only four had been in that room three > years previously. It served as a visual reminder of the rough-and-tumble > nature of the nation's most rugged conference. > > And it doesn't take long to go from the penthouse to the outhouse, either. > Just ask Ed Orgeron. > > Two new coaches, LSU's Brian Kelly and Florida's Billy Napier, joined the > conference ahead of this season. They'll enter a league that is stouter > than ever, and top-end coaches Nick Saban and Kirby Smart show no signs > of relenting. > > Meanwhile, coaches like Lane Kiffin, Sam Pittman, Josh Heupel and Shane > Beamer are an upgrade over their predecessors. > > This looks to be the SEC's best assemblage of coaching talent since the > conference expanded to 14 teams before the 2012 season. > > Here’s my ranking of SEC coaches. > 1. Nick Saban > > *Alabama* > > The greatest coach of all time endured a rough stretch these past several > months. He lost to a former understudy, Jimbo Fisher, last October, then > fell to another, Smart, in the national championship. And Texas A&M bested > Alabama for the No. 1-ranked recruiting class. Saban's frustration > bubbled over at a speaking engagement this spring. Some saw it as a sign > that Alabama's dynasty is teetering. That's absurd. Saban continues to > recruit well. Now, he's adding top-shelf transfers to fill holes, and he's > developing quarterbacks at a Heisman Trophy level. Alabama was reloading > last season after a swath of departures followed the 2020 team's national > championship. This year's team is loaded. > > *Nick Saban, Ken Griffey Jr.:*Nick Saban played golf with Ken Griffey Jr. > at Augusta National. How was your Tuesday? > 2. Kirby Smart > > *Georgia* > > Smart knows recruiting. Smart knows defense. And he proved last season > that still can be a winning combination, even in this quarterback-driven > era. Despite Stetson Bennett IV's improvement, Smart has not delivered an > elite quarterback. And he still must prove he can avoid any major program > drop-off after the loss of 15 players to the NFL Draft. Saban has > separated himself from others by the way he keeps the machine rolling with > no significant backsliding. The way Smart recruits, he's positioned his > program to do the same. > 3. Jimbo Fisher > > *Texas A&M* > > Fisher has shown in the past year he can beat Saban on the field and on > the recruiting trail. That's a start. The Aggies keep butting against a > ceiling, though. Fisher won his lone national championship at Florida State > behind quarterback Jameis Winston and a robust defense. The Aggies have the > defense part down. Their challenge is developing that elite quarterback – > and playing with more consistency. The Fisher era has the feel of one that > hasn't reached its peak. > 4. Lane Kiffin > > *Ole Miss* > > Ole Miss winning 10 games and reaching the Sugar Bowl in Kiffin's second > season proved there's more to this coach than a witty Twitter account. > Kiffin inherited some useful offensive pieces from his predecessor, but he > deserves the credit for installing an aggressive, hard-to-defend system and > developing the talent. Matt Corral's ascent reiterated Kiffin's touch with > quarterbacks. Kiffin's "Portal King" strategy is a wise move for a program > not accustomed to being atop the recruiting rankings. Sustaining success is > the one thing Kiffin has yet to achieve. He's never stayed anywhere long > enough. Here's his chance. > > *Lane Kiffin:*Hear Lane Kiffin narrate last out of Dylan DeLucia's CWS > masterpiece for Ole Miss baseball > 5. Brian Kelly > > *LSU* > > The Tigers succeeded in landing a big-name coach. But what about a > big-game coach? Kelly has won at a high rate everywhere he's been, but he's > lost most of the biggest games in his career. However, Les Miles and > Orgeron each won a national title at LSU, and Kelly is a better coach than > either. He's been effective at using the transfer portal. He may be an odd > cultural fit, but that won't matter if he wins. LSU ranks among the best > jobs in college football, and it now has its best coach since Saban. > > *[ OPINION:To understand LSU football hiring Brian Kelly, start with Scott > Woodward's dad | Toppmeyer ]* > 6. Mark Stoops > > *Kentucky* > > Kentucky won 10 games last season for the second time in a four-year span, > the first time that has been done in the program's history. Stoops is > Kentucky's best coach since Bear Bryant. He benefits from the Wildcats > annually playing one of the softest schedules in the league, but that > doesn't diminish that he's a shrewd defensive coach who pairs that with > quality offensive lines. He's also elevated UK's recruiting. The missing > piece has been securing an elite quarterback. Perhaps Will Levis can be > that guy. > 7. Sam Pittman > > *Arkansas* > > Predecessor Chad Morris made this look like the SEC's toughest job. > Pittman is proving otherwise. Players seem to love competing for Pittman, > and he deserves credit for hiring and maintaining one of the SEC's top > coordinator combinations in Kendal Briles and Barry Odom. The Razorbacks' > offense rivals that of Ole Miss and Tennessee for its difficulty to defend. > If Arkansas continues to ascend after last season's nine-win season, > Pittman will climb further on this list. > > *Sam Pittman:*What coach Sam Pittman contract's non-compete agreement > means for Arkansas football > 8. Mike Leach > > *Mississippi State* > > Leach's Mississippi State teams have shown a Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of > beating a Top 25 team one week and falling flat the next. That > inconsistency is a trademark of Leach's career. However, he's also posted > impressive seasons while working tough jobs – first at Texas Tech, then at > Washington State. The Bulldogs boast an impressive bounty of returning > starters, so this should be a good test of whether Leach's Air Raid > system – the Bulldogs led the conference in passing offense last season > while ranking last in rushing – can be a formula for SEC success on > a higher level. > > *Mike Leach:*Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach's personality > takes over Road Dawgs tour > 9. Josh Heupel > > *Tennessee * > > A Vols offense that had stalled throughout the Jeremy Pruitt tenure kicked > into gear in Year One under Heupel. Heupel's warp-speed system positioned > UT to feast on the weaker teams on its schedule. Quarterback Hendon Hooker > and wide receiver Cedric Tillman went from average players to SEC stars > under Heupel's tutelage. The lingering question is whether he'll develop a > defense that's good enough to allow for success against the better teams in > the conference. > > *Josh Heupel:*Six Tennessee football games that could make or break Vols > fans' trust in Josh Heupel in 2022 > 10. Billy Napier > > *Florida* > > Louisiana never had much success until Napier elevated the Ragin' Cajuns > into one of the nation's best Group of Five programs. That four-year > stretch culminated with a 13-win season last year, and Napier finally > jumped for an SEC job after eschewing such opportunities in previous > coaching carousels. Napier tutored under Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney, and > he has an eye for detail. Too soon to know whether Napier's impressive > track record at UL will translate into SEC success. Recruiting is off to a > slow start. > 11. Shane Beamer > > *South Carolina* > > Beamer supplied the energy and charisma the Gamecocks needed in making a > pivot from Will Muschamp. Impressively, South Carolina's seven-win season > in Beamer's debut came while the Gamecocks cycled through four starting > quarterbacks. Beamer made his biggest splash in December with the addition > of transfer quarterback Spencer Rattler. We still don't know whether Beamer > is a high-ceiling coach, but the bowl victory over North Carolina is reason > to be encouraged. > > *[ OPINION:Inside South Carolina football's ascent and 'great vibes' under > Shane Beamer | Toppmeyer ]* > 12. Bryan Harsin > > *Auburn* > > Harsin proved a fine coach for Boise State, his alma mater, but he's a > poor fit at one of the SEC's most pressure-cooker jobs. Auburn's lackluster > six-win season in Harsin's debut preceded an equally concerning aftermath: > a lackluster signing class and an exodus of players and coaches. Harsin > survived an offseason probe from Auburn's kangaroo court, but it seemed > more like a delay of the inevitable. AU faces a typically tough schedule > and no recruiting momentum. > > *Bryan Harsin:*ESPN's Booger McFarland directs Auburn football coach > Bryan Harsin to 'swallow your pride' > 13. Eliah Drinkwitz > > *Missouri* > > The Tigers failed to live up to expectations in Drinkwitz's encore after a > respectable debut in 2020, and the Missouri coach hasn't shown his touch > with offense and quarterbacks, in particular, that he had as an offensive > coordinator and Appalachian State's coach. If there's reason to be > encouraged, it's rooted in Missouri's recruiting uptick that includes > the signing of five-star wide receiver Luther Burden and top-150 > quarterback Sam Horn. The jury remains out on Drinkwitz. > 14. Clark Lea > > *Vanderbilt* > > Lea did not step into an enviable situation, but that doesn't excuse a > 20-point loss to East Tennessee State in his debut. The Commodores flirted > with finding a pulse late last season, but Year Two under Lea offers little > hope of significant improvement over last year's 2-10 record. > > *Blake Toppmeyer > <https://www.knoxnews.com/staff/2648210001/blake-toppmeyer/> is an SEC > Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and > follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer <https://twitter.com/btoppmeyer>.* *If > you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription > <https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwiW5oiDnojwAhVbbW8EHRmqD6sYABAAGgJqZg&sig=AOD64_15XqBPcAonxNAU9QAyCJvAYZjryA&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwjT34GDnojwAhXQHM0KHcG7AtUQ0Qx6BAgEEAE> > that > will allow you access to all of it.* > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Sent from Shane’s iPhone > Go Gators! > > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 > National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 > National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel > (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorNews" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gatornews/F36CEF14-BCBD-46D0-95EF-61046F0F4A83%40gmail.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gatornews/F36CEF14-BCBD-46D0-95EF-61046F0F4A83%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. 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