It’s not a coincidence that the SEC, the most dominant football conference, has the best coaches in the country. It’s also not a coincidence that the best coaches reside in the wealthiest conference.
Let’s take a look at the 2022 Ranking of SEC Football Coaches. Also, check out the 2022 SEC Hot Seat Report.
BOTTOM FEEDERS
14. Clark Lea – Vanderbilt
Year 5 of the Scott Frost era appears to be more of the same for Nebraska after a close loss to Northwestern to open the season. It’s hard to see this thing getting turned around.
13. Eli Drinkwitz – Missouri
He’s just overmatched in the SEC. Actually, the entire university is overmatched in the SEC.
AVERAGE JOE
12. Shane Beamer – South Carolina
Beamer is unlikely to find the level of success his father produced, especially battling in the SEC.
11. Bryan Harsin – Auburn
An odd spot for a coach that might not make it through the season. He’s a solid coach in a bad fit.
10. Josh Heupel – Tennessee
Tennessee needs to make the kind of noise during the season that they do in the off-season.
9. Mike Leach – Mississippi State
College football needs Mike Leach. He’ll hang around .500 in the conference with a few overachieving seasons mixed in.
8. Brian Kelly – LSU
His contract tells us he should be ranked higher. We believe we’ll quickly see Kelly is overmatched in the SEC.
7. Sam Pittman – Arkansas
We’ll admit, he’s exceeding our expectations. Pittman specializes in maximizing talent.
6. Lane Kiffin – Ole Miss
Kiffin seems to be getting with age (and maturity). He has Ole Miss competitive yearly.
5. Jimbo Fisher – Texas A&M
A heck of a recruiter, yes. Outside of that? He often gets less out of more.
4. Billy Napier – Florida
He’s a rookie SEC head coach. But, you’ll soon see why he’s near the top of the list as Florida regains it’s position as a SEC power.
3. Mark Stoops – Kentucky
What Stoops has accomplished at Kentucky, a basketball school, is too often overlooked.
TOP TIER
2. Kirby Smart – Georgia
Smart has built a monster at Georgia. He just needs to maintain that success for another 15 years to catch Saban.
1. Nick Saban – Alabama
I don’t know what could move Saban off this position other than retirement. Maybe commit a felony? A lifetime jail sentence?
