SEC coach rankings: Where the conference stands heading into Media Days

Despite being bested in the National Championship game by Kirby Smart, until Smart establishes a streak (1-4 vs Saban all-time) against the king, the king will continue to reign.

Saban continues to guide the Crimson Tide along as college football rapidly changes and evolves. As long as he’s there, Alabama will adapt, reload, and win.

It only took six years as a head coach for Kirby Smart to earn a national title. He’s somewhat leveled the playing field between the Bulldogs and the Tide.

As previously mentioned, Georgia is clearly in prime position to compete with Alabama under Smart’s watch. The question is now whether or not Georgia can win consistently against the Tide. Until that day comes (which could be in the very near future), Smart stays at No. 2.

Stoops has consistently overachieved at UK, and coming off of his second 10-win season with the program it feels like the Wildcats have their best shot at an SEC East title in a while. 

It’s getting to the point where Kentucky is no longer overachieving, but rather elevating their play to a new level.

Fisher has done what needs to be done off the field to win. A&M has the recruits, the resources, and the fan support.

It’s now time for the Aggies to produce results. Finding consistency at quarterback will be step No. 1.

Kiffin worked magic through the transfer portal this offseason after losing the majority of the 2021 squad. That squad, which had the best season in Rebel history, took a huge step in the right direction on both sides of the ball.

Kiffin’s coaching ability is going to be tested this season. Not only do new faces litter the starting 22, but offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby is gone. Lebby’s talents weren’t talked about enough. 

Can there be stability in Oxford after such a big year?

Pittman might be the most likable coach in the league. He’s made Arkansas a place that fans want to go to and kids want to play at. 9-4 was a shock last year, and now there’s a surprising amount of pressure for the Hogs to maintain what they’ve got going.

Because of the extremely difficult schedule, Arkansas may struggle to get to seven wins but still have one of the better coaches in the conference. Pittman’s long-term success is not defined by the 2022 season.

The only reason Kelly is placed here is because he’s yet to prove himself in the SEC. 

Of course, his Notre Dame resume indicates that he’ll revive the Tigers, but because LSU has yet to play a game under Kelly it’s fair to place him in the middle of the conference until we see results.

Heupel and Tennessee were really solid when they were on script last season. When they got off script, things started to get wonky.

My concern revolves around Tennessee’s ability to finish games. If they can do that better this year, they could be a problem under Heupel.

The Air Raid offense was not expected to have longterm success in the SEC. Quite honestly, Leach’s SEC sample-size isn’t big enough to truly determine whether or not that’s true.

What we do know is that Leach & Co. have the tools and experience to build upon a 7-6 campaign that showed the Air Raid can work well… sometimes.

A difficult schedule may hold MSU back and cloud the national perspective on the coaching job going on in Starkville.

After the Tigers started 6-2 in 2021, it looked like Auburn had made the right call on Harsin. Then after an 0-5 end to the season, the verdict on the coaching staff was at best murky and at worst very negative… to the tune of several attacks on Harsin from within and outside the program.

Now that he’s survived the spring debacle, Harsin has questions to answer across the roster and difficult schedule to navigate.

With everything going against him, if Harsin makes it out of 2022 with eight wins or more it will be one of the better coaching performances we’ve seen in quite some time.

Make no mistake, Beamer performed will in year one with the Gamecocks. This ranking is not a reflection on Beamer’s potential nor his coaching ability.

Someone has to be ranked low, and Carolina’s outlook seems to be on pace with 2021’s results. There’s enough talent for Shane Beamer and USC to rise above this ranking.

Much like Brian Kelly, Napier ranks lower because he hasn’t coached a game in the SEC.

40-12 was impressive at Louisiana Lafayette, but the jump between the Sun Belt and the SEC is significant. Will he do enough to merit a higher ranking? The answer is currently unknown.

Drinkwitz has proven himself to be an impressive recruiter, but Mizzou is probably a year or two away from rising past their current status in the bottom-half of the SEC East.

It’s hard to rank Drinkwitz so low, but it feels like almost every SEC team is trending in a positive direction, and after sorting them out, Missouri falls.

It’s a difficult situation Lea has been put into. It’s going to be tough for Vanderbilt to overcome their offensive woes under him.