Last but certainly lost least is the SEC. It was a banner year for the league, which once again pushed two teams into the National Championship Game. The Southeast Conference not only has the best players but the best coaches as well. Time to see how they stack up against each other.
The SEC lost a national championship coach after Ed Orgeron’s ouster at LSU, but they gained another in Kirby Smart. Go figure.
Click here to see last year’s rankings.
-
14. Clark Lea
Record at Vanderbilt: 2-10
Movement: Same
Clark Lea is attempting to rebuild Vanderbilt from the foundation on up. It’s gonna take a while.
-
13. Shane Beamer
Record at South Carolina: 7-6
Movement: Same
A 7-6 first season is considered a good thing by all but a few programs. Beamer has revitalized a flagging South Carolina squad. While the East remains the less competitive of the two divisions, the Gamecocks can certainly angle themselves to catch Georgia one of these years with the right coach in charge. So far so good.
-
12. Eliah Drinkwitz
Record at Missouri: 11-12
Overall Record: 23-13
Movement: Down 1 spot
Well these are technically two bowl seasons, but so far Eliah Drinkwitz hasn’t managed much more than a near .500 record. If the Tigers fail to bowl next year I have to imagine he gets the axe because things aren’t trending anywhere positive yet.
-
11. Sam Pittman
Overall Record: 12-11
Movement: Up 1 spot
Sam Pittman is turning things around in Fayetteville really quickly. The Hogs went a surprisingly competitive 9-4 in the SEC West and finished the year ranked for the first time since 2010.
-
10. Josh Heupel
Record at Tennessee: 7-6
Overall Record: 35-14
Movement: Same
It was a pretty solid first year for Josh Heupel. Tennessee was really starting to play well towards the end of the season. We’ve seen signs of life like this before from coaches who ultimately couldn’t handle the heat in Knoxville, so I’ll reserve judgement until we see a bit more from Heupel.
-
9. Mike Leach
Record at Misssissippi State: 11-13
Overall Record: 150-103
Movement: Same
Mississippi State put together a winning season in year 2 of the Mike Leach experiment. The Bulldogs upset several ranked opponents, displaying a promise that MSU can climb even higher if they can develop a more consistent knockout punch.
-
8. Mark Stoops
Record at Kentucky: 59-53
Movement: Same
Mark Stoops has once again taken Kentucky to a top 20 finish and a 10-3 record. Build the statue. I only feel sad that I can’t raise him higher because the competition is so fierce.
-
7. Lane Kiffin
Record at Ole Miss: 15-8
Overall Record: 76-41
Movement: Same
Lane Kiffin is doing just fine in Oxford. Ole Miss strode out to a 10-3 record and top 15 finish, their best since the Hugh Freeze era. Kiffin continues to excel as one of the top young coaches in the game. We’ll see if he can start challenging Alabama for the West crown, that’s the next step, but it remains a tall task.
-
6. Billy Napier
Overall Record: 40-12
Movement: N/A
Billy Napier leaps into the thick of the SEC coaching hierarchy following his incredible building effort at Louisiana. Napier inherited the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns, a program that never amounted to much in the grand scheme of things. In just four years he turned them into Louisiana, the Sun Belt’s preeminent power and a regular top 20 force. If he’s as good as they say, Florida is going to get a lot better in the coming years.
-
5. Bryan Harsin
Record at Auburn: 6-7
Overall Record: 98-55
Movement: Up 1 spot
Bryan Harsin moves up 1 spot thanks to Dan Mullen getting fired from Florida. Harsin had a tumultuous first year at Auburn, the Tigers started out 6-2 with things looking up, but that all led to a 5-loss collapse to end the year. If Harsin can’t turn things around he’s going to slide down the list.
-
4. Jimbo Fisher
Record at Texas A&M: 34-14
Overall Record: 117-37
National Championships: 1 (2013)*
*with Florida State
Movement: Down 1 spot
I think we were all expecting big things from Texas A&M last year. The Aggies came in with a lot of promise and finished 8-4 and unranked in the AP poll. It was a disappointing finish for a team with national title aspirations. After 4 years, A&M has certainly raised the floor and ceiling from the end of the Sumlin era, but it remains to be seen if Fisher can keep the Aggies competing for the West Division on a regular basis.
-
3. Brian Kelly
Overall Record: 284-97-2
Movement: N/A
LSU brings in Brian Kelly to get the program on more solid footing after the collapse following the 2019 championship. Kelly is one of the best coaches in the game and by record the best one who hasn’t yet won a national championship. Unlike Notre Dame, we know the Tigers’ ceiling is a national championship, and if the right head coach can lock down recruiting he can win big. Let’s see if Kelly has the chops to win down South on the biggest stage.
-
2. Kirby Smart
Record at Georgia: 66-15
Division Titles: 4 (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
Conference Titles: 1 (2017)
National Titles: 1 (2021)
Movement: Up 2 spots
Now this is how you do it. Kirby Smart took a Georgia program that was always coming up just a bit short, and built them in to a war machine that can thrash around any team in the nation. For the first time in over 40 years the Bulldogs are national champions. This doesn’t look like a fluke either. Smart looks like he’s in the dynasty building business. As of right now only a few programs have what it takes to compete on UGA’s level. If they weren’t before, we can safely describe Georgia as a real blue blood and one of the top football teams in the nation.
