SEC Coaching Grades

[VolBricks]

It is all subjective but, I will check my chart and get back to you on this.

 

[Iam4utalways]

I agree... that Florida game is why he's still employed at Tennessee. It was an epic comeback and one that he deserves ALL the credit for. Unfortunately, Butch has been kind of, 1 step forward, 2 steps back kind of coach both in his on field results (beat FL and GA, lose to USCe and Candy) and from a PR perspective (too many to pick 1).

Butch just needs a solid AD to help him help himself. If he can get that and a few breaks, he could be special at UT.

120 was inconsistent. They had moments of greatness and them moments of pure chaos.

CBJ has had plenty if breaks. There's a dozen games he could have just as easily have lost had it not been for many breaks.

120 was a crap shoot. The 2nd half team against Fl cool have beaten any team. What does it take to get that team to show up every quarter.

Release the Beast!

 

[MrVolton]

Saban A+
Malzahn B-
McElwain C+ (grade takes a hit because of recruiting)
Mullen C+
Butch C+
Sumlin C+
Stoops C+ (beating Louisville and getting to a bowl was a solid finish)
Mason C
Bielema C
Muschamp D
Smart D
Freeze D-
Orgeron I
Odom F

EDIT: I graded solely on this season's performance.
EDIT: I had to go back and bump Mason from a D to a C because beating UGA, Ole Miss, and UT to get to a bowl is actually pretty good for Vandy.

 

[TMvol10]

B- Ive liked everything he has done so far. This grade is based solely on losing a couple games that we shouldn't have. If we pull out the SCAR and Vandy games its an A. I would have dropped the grade to a C but with the amount of injuries we had to key players, I had to give him a slight break.

 

[08Vol]

4 full recruiting classes, has completely turned the roster over and then some, has had 2 top 10 classes and we still need to wait for him to build depth? Why?

He's done an outstanding job rebuilding the roster and all things off the field (APR, high school coach relationships, PR, selling the brand, getting former players back involved, etc), and he's done a decent job improving the record.....but he's also lost 5-6 games he had no business losing and is clearly a substandard game day coach.

The overall job he's done to date in some phases deserves much praise and in other phases much criticism. He's not yet won so much as a division title in a bad SEC East and, imo, doesn't deserve a B+, especially if he's getting a higher grade than guys like Sumlin, Mullen, Freeze and Malzahn and losing to teams like SCar and Vandy and squeezing by a bad team like App State. I think he deserves a B+ or A- for his off the field work and more like a C or C- for his game day accomplishments. Overall, probably more like a C+ or so.

It takes more than a few classes to build depth because you have to recruit players differently. If you tell a kid "come to UT, you can compete for a starting position in your 1st year" then expect him to leave if he doesn't get that starting spot. Our class is full of 3* players at positions where the guys know they will be backups. We have 3 top 100 players (OT, RB, S) and all are positions where they will compete for game 1 snaps.

 

[BigOrangeMojo]

Just my opinion

Saban A+
Malzahn B
Freeze B (Subject to further reduction for cheating on test)
Mullen B
McElwain B How on earth is he a B guy? He's backed his way into the East twice
Butch C+ Butch should be grouped with Muschamp and Mason he can't beat one and is .500 against the other
Bielema C+ I actually think Bret is better than this a low grade B-
Sumlin C+ To me he's no different than Malzahn he's flashy and can score quickly but if it doesent hit they lose
Stoops D Stoops earned a C
Mason D
Muschamp D
Smart D
Orgeron F Held Bama to 10 points and earned an F? Like him or not he's a damn good coach and motivator
Odom F-


Just my opinion on your opinions...

McElwain - He did win the East twice, which is worth something. He did well at C-State. 29-11 his last 3 years. He was tough to grade but he's the student that somehow backed his way into a B.

Sumlin/Malzahn - Malzahn made it to a national title game. Take that year out and I'd agree with you but that's the "100" that raises his average.

Bielema was a B- before he lost to Missouri.

Orgeron - His 3 years at Ole Miss were Dooley-esque. He choked the game to LSU late this year. While LSU only gave up 10 to Bama, they also scored 0 points against them. By this logic, Butch should get a bump up in grade due to the close Bama loss in 2015.

 

[volboy81]

Sumlin a B the way they failed at the end?
Stoops a F? He took KY to a bowl & beat Louisville
Vandy & SC losses should probably bump Butch to a C

 

[BigOrangeMojo]

I know it's your opinion and I can't argue with most of this anyway, but Freeze did nothing this year to deserve a 'B'. Our fans are so quick to grade Freeze out higher than Jones, and I just can't understand it. What Jones and Freeze have done at their respective stops is very comparable. And in fact, if Jones were to have a year 5 like Freeze just had, there isn't a UT fan out there that wouldn't be calling for his job. Freeze and Sumlin have each gotten a whole lot of mileage out of upsetting Bama and I think it's skewed the perception of their overall accomplishments a bit, in the eyes of UT fans anyway.

FWIW, I would give Jones the exact same grade you did.

Freeze inherited as big of a mess as Butch and has beat Bama twice. Harder to win at Ole Miss in the West than at UT in the East. Team went to the Sugar Bowl. That's why I gave him a B.

Sumlin took a middle of the pack Big 12 team and turned them into a middle of the pack SEC team. Can't give him lower than a C+ for that.

 

[Behr]

Bold 1: I dont doubt it for the world, got a bulldog that does the EXACT same and cant ever seem to figure out how/why one falls out, i could waste hours laughing at and trying to assist the poor guy.

Bold 2: C- is right about where i am too, i think off the field like a High A, but bone head decisions on the field/clock management and with players have left me befuddled to even out an overall C to C-

I understand more than you know. Gotta love'um.

Yea, sparing a bunch of details, I give him an A for effort. Taking over the dumpster fire that was TN football and turning it around. Others could have done the same or better, but he's the one that did. He's done better than I expected, which may reflect my high grade.

I give him an F for SC. I still think there was more to losing that game than just what we saw on the field. But, Whatever it was, It was his responsibility and he failed.

 

[marvin616]

Just like me in high school.

 

[LittleCat]

Super harsh on Stoops. But it makes sense I guess.

 

[johnrlansford]

Saban A+
Malzahn B-
McElwain C+ (grade takes a hit because of recruiting)Mullen C+
Butch C+
Sumlin C+
Stoops C+ (beating Louisville and getting to a bowl was a solid finish)
Bielema C
Mason D
Muschamp D
Smart D
Freeze D-
Orgeron I
Odom F

Who has McElwain beat on the field that he has proven to be a good coach? Winning a down east isn't that great of an accomplishment!!!

 

[MrVolton]

Freeze inherited as big of a mess as Butch and has beat Bama twice. Harder to win at Ole Miss in the West than at UT in the East. Team went to the Sugar Bowl. That's why I gave him a B.

Sumlin took a middle of the pack Big 12 team and turned them into a middle of the pack SEC team. Can't give him lower than a C+ for that.

I thought we were grading based solely this year's performance, and 5-7 in year 5 + a little NCAA stank is an F for sure.

In the long term, I'd give Freeze a slight edge because of the 2 Bama upsets and the head-to-head in Jones's 2nd year and Freeze's 3rd. However...

The idea that Freeze inherited a situation as bad as Jones is debatable. Orgeron may have been bad at Ole Miss from a coaching perspective, but he was an ace recruiter. And Nutt had 2 9-win seasons and once brought in a recruiting class of like 40. Jones followed Fulmer's 35th ranked class, the Kiffin fiasco, and a coach that never had a winning season at UT and failed to sign a single OL in one of his recruiting classes.

The fact that it's so much harder for him to win in the west is a bit debatable as well. UGA and Fla have been comparable to Auburn and LSU over the last 4 years or so and we both have to play Bama every year, so I just don't think it's as big discrepancy as it's made out to be.

We were one crappy pass defensive performance vs Vandy from the Sugar Bowl this year ourselves.

I didn't disagree with your Sumlin grade either, just saying he and Freeze have gotten a lot of mileage out of those Bama upsets.

 

[MrVolton]

Who has McElwain beat on the field that he has proven to be a good coach? Winning a down east isn't that great of an accomplishment!!!

Based solely on this year, he came up huge against a talented LSU team at the end to win the east with probably the least amount of offensive talent Florida has had in 10 years. How you gonna give less than a C for that.

And overall, how can you grade someone that won the east twice in a row less than a C?

 

[BeecherVol]

Other than Saban who would you rather have than Butch from that list? I am not sure there is another one, Maybe Dan Mullen for me but he still has underachieved outside of the Dak Prescott years.

Who has McElwain beat on the field that he has proven to be a good coach? Winning a down east isn't that great of an accomplishment!!!

So McElwain winning a poor division (2 years in a row) is meaningless but Jones jumps him even tho he can't win a poor division.

 

[BeecherVol]

One Word: Attrition

I know I'm off a little, but this should give you an idea of those who didn't pan out nor contribute.


2012: Blanc, Bonner, J. Carter, C. Harris, Howard, J. King, Naz Oliver, Orta, Omari Phillips, Q. Watson,

2013: D. Bowles, Branisel, Carr, J. Johnson, Lemond Johnson, Juin, O'Brien, Pair, Peterman, Quinn, Swafford, Tino Thomas, Wegzyn

2014: Creamer, Ferguson, Henderson, Hendrix, Jenkins, Paulk, Raulerson, Rochell, Sawyers, Wharton,

2015: Lacey, Oliver, Perry, Zach Stewart, PWill

I don't have any stats on general attrition across the country but, is this high?

Also confused on the point you are pushing at with this as well.

 

[BeecherVol]

Who has McElwain beat on the field that he has proven to be a good coach? Winning a down east isn't that great of an accomplishment!!!

It would have been interesting to see how "down the east" would have gone over had Jones figured out how to navigate SC and Vandy and won it.

 

[Behr]

So McElwain winning a poor division (2 years in a row) is meaningless but Jones jumps him even tho he can't win a poor division.

I was thinking along the same lines, and I thought that Mississippi win last year was a pretty good one. But, I find myself paranoid to post anything good or bad about anyone anymore.:unsure:

 

[Catbone]

What do you think of CBJ's B+ rating?

Butch Jones is not the second best coach in the SEC.

 

[Catbone]

I don't have any stats on general attrition across the country but, is this high?

Also confused on the point you are pushing at with this as well.

Considering we seem to take a giant class every year, I bet it is higher than most other schools

 

[chargervol]

It would have been interesting to see how "down the east" would have gone over had Jones figured out how to navigate SC and Vandy and won it.

I believe we already did.
Jones didn't win but it was on UT, UF or GA. As soon as we beat the other 2 head to head, I specifically remember reading posts about how horrible the East was.

 

[BeecherVol]

I was thinking along the same lines, and I thought that Mississippi win last year was a pretty good one. But, I find myself paranoid to post anything good or bad about anyone anymore.:unsure:

I don't think UF fans are ready to "believe" in McElwain either, even with 2 division titles in 2 years. I think he is a good coach but his stick is not Muschamp or Zook, its Meyer and Spurrier. And most UF fans seemed to place him somewhere in between at the moment.

I just have a hard time following the idea that the guy that wins the division twice in 2 years is not as good as the guy he beat out for it. Especially given the fact that the talent is near even or slightly an advantage to UT.

 

[BeecherVol]

I believe we already did.
Jones didn't win but it was on UT, UF or GA. As soon as we beat the other 2 head to head, I specifically remember reading posts about how horrible the East was.

Yes, not everyone saw the east as a good division even after the UF and UGA wins.
"we" doesnt include everyone.


Saying "he didn't win anything" would have not been received very well by some. Mainly from the crowd that says "you wouldn't approve of Jones even if he won the conference or a NC"

 

[chargervol]

Yes, not everyone saw the east as a good division even after the UF and UGA wins.
"we" does include everyone.


Saying "he didn't win anything" would have not been received very well by some. Mainly from the crowd that says "you wouldn't approve of Jones even if he won the conference or a NC"

I know what you really meant.
Politely pointing out it flows both ways.
Every (extreme) point made on this sight is great. ... until the other side benefits. Then, not as much. See it from both sides daily.
Seems exhausting to me.

 

[BeecherVol]

I know what you really meant.
Politely pointing out it flows both ways.
Every (extreme) point made on this sight is great. ... until the other side benefits. Then, not as much. See it from both sides daily.
Seems exhausting to me.

:hi:

In the end, winning or losing it doesn't change the fact it wasn't very good.
For the point that was attempted to be made that I quoted, it wasn't relevant anyway.