SEC Best Football Coaching Hires Since 1992

[LSUDad]

 

The Athletic ranks SEC football's best coaching hires since 1992

ByBRAD CRAWFORD 3 hours ago 

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When you're asked about legacy and being one of the greatest coaches of all-time as often as Nick Saban, your answers become less formulaic with every response. Saban knows humility, even after his record-setting seventh national championship, even with a spot cemented on college football's Mt. Rushmore.

“I always think it’s what the players who played for them said about them,” Saban said in January. “The ultimate legacy that any coach could have is how he impacted the players that he coached. I think that’s proof in the pudding.”

What Saban had one at the University of Alabama is nothing short of spectacular and he's not the only SEC coaching great whose had a lasting impact on a program within the nation's most competitive league. Circling back to the SEC's expansion in the early 1990s, many current — and future — College Football Hall of Famers have come through the SEC and made a name for themselves on the sidelines.

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The Athletic's Josh Kendall recently ranked the SEC's best coaching hires over the last 30 years and shared his list on The Paul Finebaum Show. Here's a look at who he picked and our thoughts on each:

10. ED ORGERON, LSU

 

(Photo: Jamie Schwaberow, Getty)

Some questioned LSU's hire of Ed Orgeron in 2016 after the university's administration decided to remove the interim tag and give him the job following the exit of Les Miles. Orgeron, who had previous experience in the SEC and was on staff one season prior to coach the defensive line, was a Louisiana native and said becoming the head coach of the Tigers was his dream job. Since taking over, Orgeron has been an ideal fit at LSU and led the program to an unbeaten season culminating with a national championship during the 2019 campaign. That's been the height of a tenure that has featured four Top 20 finishes in five years.

9. DAN MULLEN, FLORIDA

 

(Photo: Tim Casey/ UAA Communications)

Wrestling Dan Mullen away from Mississippi State was something the Gators had to do according to Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin, who made the quarterback whisperer his top priority following Jim McElwain's controversial exit. Mullen is 29-9 at Florida over three seasons, winning the SEC East last fall during a memorable campaign. He has brought the program back to the national title picture with an exciting offense and was one of college football's hottest commodities on the market when it became clear he would leave Starkville for the right opportunity after the 2017 season. The Gators had their pick that cycle of Mullen, Scott Frost and others and it has had worked out well.

 

8. MARK RICHT, GEORGIA

 

(Photo: Dale Zanine, USA TODAY Sports)

Underappreciated a bit considering his success between the hedges, Richt won two SEC championships from 2001-15 as the program in the Eastern Division alongside Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer's Florida Gators. That elusive national title never came however, leading to exit after an impressive tenure. Richt replaced Jim Donnan and provided the much-needed spark at a program that's always had the players and resources for continued success. Richt went 145-51 over his tenure, made a bowl game every season and led one of the nation's most consistent programs as a perennial Top 15 team. A nice guy in coaching, Richt went on to spend three seasons at alma-mater Miami before retiring.

7. LES MILES, LSU

 

(Photo: Benny Sieu, USA TODAY Sports)

Before he was entangled in an investigation centered around harassment claims, Les Miles won a national championship in 2007 and two SEC titles during his stint in Baton Rouge. The Mad Hatter became known for his riverboat gambler's mentality and was one of college football's top recruiters, annually producing elite classes that led to wins on the field. Miles went 114-34 with the Tigers, including seven seasons of 10 or more wins before his exit in 2016. The Tigers were a Top 10 mainstay during his time and he left the program in good shape (at the time) for new coach Ed Orgeron.

6. STEVE SPURRIER, SOUTH CAROLINA

 

(Photo: Ryan Bethea, 247Sports)

Should the Head Ball Coach be higher on the list? What he did for the University of South Carolina is worth its weight in gold, managing three consecutive 11-win finishes and Top 10s to go along with the program's first-ever SEC East crown. Spurrier helped the Gamecocks transition from borderline Top 25 under Lou Holtz to an annual threat over his stretch in Columbia and put the national spotlight on Columbia. He led South Carolina to five straight wins over Clemson and knocked off top-ranked and unbeaten Alabama in 2010 during one of the most memorable afternoons in program history at Williams-Brice Stadium.

5. JAMES FRANKLIN, VANDERBILT

 

(Photo: Getty)

James Franklin parlayed two nine-win seasons with the Commodores into a top job at Penn State, but nearly a decade later, those in Nashville still talk about how he was able to catch lightning in a bottle with a pair of Top 25 finishes at a program that had never accomplished that feat in history. The fact that Franklin finished with a near .500-record in SEC play over three years was nothing short of spectacular given the roster he had to work with at Vanderbilt. The program hasn't seen that level of success since and hopes first-year coach Clark Lea can summon some of that magic.

4. PHILLIP FULMER, TENNESSEE

 

(Photo: Getty)

Responsible for the glory years in Knoxville, Fulmer took the Vols to never-before-reached heights and from 1992 to 2008, compiled a 152–52 record. Fulmer finished 21 wins shy of Robert Neyland's all-time record and like many on this list, is a College Football Hall of Famer. Fulmer won 10 or more games nine times during his tenure with the Vols and took home a national title in 1998. Tennessee football hasn't been the same since he left Knoxville as a living legend.

3. NICK SABAN, LSU

 

(Photo: Getty)

With 48 victories in five seasons, Nick Saban quickly emerged as a respected SEC threat in the coaching ranks in the early 2000s with the Tigers, capping his time at LSU with a national championship in 2003 — the first of many as a head coach. Many of college football's best current head coaches got their start under Saban in Baton Rouge, but to this day, no former assistant has ever taken down the man who showed them the ropes. Saban helped LSU hit a different stratosphere in recruiting and left the program in great shape when he decided to try his hand in the NFL after the 2004 campaign.

2. URBAN MEYER, FLORIDA

 

(Photo: Getty)

Florida fans hated to see Urban Meyer leave after the 2010 season, citing health reasons before re-appearing at Ohio State two years later. During his illustrious six-year stretch in Gainesville, Meyer led one of the nation's most dominant programs, winning 65 games including two national championships. Florida would've likely been in line for a third in 2010 had Nick Saban's Crimson Tide not snapped the nation's longest winning streak in the SEC Championship Game, keeping the Gators out of the BCS title mix. Countless All-Americans, NFL Draft picks and all-time great Tim Tebow were the "jimmy's and joe's" for Meyer, who always seemed to get the most out of his players.

1. NICK SABAN, ALABAMA

 

(Photo: Courtesy of Alabama Athletics) 5COMMENTS

What else is there to say about college football's greatest coach of the modern era? The all-time leader in national championships, Nick Saban has won all but one of his seven titles since taking over the Crimson Tide ahead of the 2007 season after a brief Miami Dolphins coaching stint in the NFL didn't work out. Saban has signed nearly a dozen top-ranked recruiting hauls per the 247Sports Composite and has essentially been invincible against teams not ranked inside the Top 25. Saban is 165-23 at Alabama and has only lost six games since the start of the 2015 season. Last season's uneaten run to a title marked his second perfect season as a head coach.

[Nutriaitch]

i’d rank Mullen at Mississippi State waaaaay higher than Mullen at FU. 

every Florida coach in this time frame not named Zook has accomplished at least what he has at Florida. 

nobody in the history of Starkville did what he did at State though. 

[houtiger]

3 hours ago, Nutriaitch said:

i’d rank Mullen at Mississippi State waaaaay higher than Mullen at FU. 

every Florida coach in this time frame not named Zook has accomplished at least what he has at Florida. 

nobody in the history of Starkville did what he did at State though. 

That's actually true bro!  Good comment.