Ranking ACC and SEC football coaches from No. 1 Dabo Swinney to No. 28 Willie Taggart

#52
#52
3. If Barry Odom can somehow keep steadily improving this year with Kelly, Missouri may actually be on the verge of building a sustainable/respectable program (even if they do not fit in the SEC whatsoever, imo). They get Ole Miss and Arkansas so that'll help.

Mizzou has been very good at player development. That's been their strength. But they've also thrived in an era where Florida, Tennessee, and even Georgia (to some extent) have been very bad at player development.

With Kirby Smart and Dan Mullen improving the situations at Georgia and Florida, Mizzou is going to have a more difficult time. If Pruitt truly can bring Tennessee back, then I think life is going to get tougher for Mizzou in the future. Of course, there are a lot of ifs and you're right ... getting Ole Miss and Arky definitely helps them (particularly as Ole Miss is likely to be down for at least a few more years).
 
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#53
#53
Complete crap rankings. All they are doing is taking last year's records and assuming that's where a coach should be ranked. I don't know where Pruitt should be but it's not #24.

Fwiw, I'd take Pruitt without hesitation over Dave Doeren, Pat Narduzzi, Mark Stoops, Barry Odom, Ed Orgeron, Steve Addazio, and Derek Mason.

I'd probably rank Pruitt somewhere in the #8 - #12 range right now between the ACC / SEC. Until he proves otherwise, he's behind Dabo, Saban, Mullen, Kirby, Jimbo, Cutcliffe, and Dave Clawson. He in the same range as Moorhead, Malzahn, Dino, Bronco, Muschamp, and Fuente for now.

You rank Pruitt in the same range as a guy who took his team to the national title game??? Wow
 
#54
#54
Saban has six rings and has lost 14 games at Bama since 2008. While playing a much tougher schedule than Dabo.

Dabo has lost to 4-8 Syracuse and 8-5 Pittsburgh since building up a Bama-like roster. Can you imagine Saban losing to teams like that?
Aware of all those stats and already said I’d have put Saban #1....his success at Alabama is otherworldly and I think he’s the greatest collegiate football head coach in history.

Just saying that if one is so inclined to make a case for Dabo, after he’s beaten Saban in 2 of the last 3 national title games, including a thorough and complete beatdown ass-whipping last year after going 15-0, that there is some ammunition there to build the case.
 
#55
#55
You rank Pruitt in the same range as a guy who took his team to the national title game??? Wow

Was Larry Coker a better coach than Urban Meyer in 2005?

Malzahn went to 1 NCG in his 1st year and hasn't come close to repeating it. He's a good coach, but he's not a great coach. I have Mullen way over him, as well, and Mullen hasn't gone to an NCG as a Head Coach.

If Pruitt's career ends up like the last 5 years of Malzahn's, he'll probably get fired. Not saying he's better or worse than Malzahn; I don't know, but I wouldn't hold Malzahn up as an elite coach. He's middle of the pack in the SEC, with occasional flashes of brilliance.
 
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#56
#56
Was Larry Coker a better coach than Urban Meyer in 2005?

Malzahn went to 1 NCG in his 1st year and hasn't come close to repeating it. He's a good coach, but he's not a great coach. I have Mullen way over him, as well, and Mullen hasn't gone to an NCG as a Head Coach.

If Pruitt's career ends up like the last 5 years of Malzahn's, he'll probably get fired. Not saying he's better or worse than Malzahn; I don't know, but I wouldn't hold Malzahn up as an elite coach. He's middle of the pack in the SEC, with occasional flashes of brilliance.

He owes a large portion of his career to the fact a laptop got stolen.
 
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#57
#57
Was Larry Coker a better coach than Urban Meyer in 2005?

Malzahn went to 1 NCG in his 1st year and hasn't come close to repeating it. He's a good coach, but he's not a great coach. I have Mullen way over him, as well, and Mullen hasn't gone to an NCG as a Head Coach.

If Pruitt's career ends up like the last 5 years of Malzahn's, he'll probably get fired. Not saying he's better or worse than Malzahn; I don't know, but I wouldn't hold Malzahn up as an elite coach. He's middle of the pack in the SEC, with occasional flashes of brilliance.

Coker to Mullen example is a bad one. We’re comparing Malzahn to Pruitt, and to say they’re equal at this point is nonsense. Malzahn has accomplishments that Pruitt won’t sniff for a few years at minimum
 
#58
#58
Coker to Mullen example is a bad one. We’re comparing Malzahn to Pruitt, and to say they’re equal at this point is nonsense. Malzahn has accomplishments that Pruitt won’t sniff for a few years at minimum

Malzahn's "accomplishments" are 1 great season out of 6, and being a very good OC prior to being a Head Coach.

I realize on VN, we can only choose whether Pruitt is "the greatest coach of all-time" or "the unproven bastard child of Derek Dooley", but his resume does not look that materially different from Malzahn's, outside of 1 special season for Malzahn (which also happened to be his 1st season; and hence the least meaningful). Indeed, Pruitt's resume as a coordinator is better than Malzahn's.

If you forced me to rank them, I probably put Malzahn ahead of Pruitt right now, but just barely.
 
#61
#61
Seems I remember hearing the same about Butch... And, Dooley before him.

Butch did improve after inheriting a terrible roster. Nothing wrong about that. He just couldn’t take them to an elite level after recruiting elite players.
 
#62
#62
Malzahn's "accomplishments" are 1 great season out of 6, and being a very good OC prior to being a Head Coach.

I realize on VN, we can only choose whether Pruitt is "the greatest coach of all-time" or "the unproven bastard child of Derek Dooley", but his resume does not look that materially different from Malzahn's, outside of 1 special season for Malzahn (which also happened to be his 1st season; and hence the least meaningful). Indeed, Pruitt's resume as a coordinator is better than Malzahn's.

If you forced me to rank them, I probably put Malzahn ahead of Pruitt right now, but just barely.

I just don’t think you can compare Pruitt to anybody really. He’s had 1 year
 
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#63
#63
Complete crap rankings. All they are doing is taking last year's records and assuming that's where a coach should be ranked. I don't know where Pruitt should be but it's not #24.

Fwiw, I'd take Pruitt without hesitation over Dave Doeren, Pat Narduzzi, Mark Stoops, Barry Odom, Ed Orgeron, Steve Addazio, and Derek Mason.

I'd probably rank Pruitt somewhere in the #8 - #12 range right now between the ACC / SEC. Until he proves otherwise, he's behind Dabo, Saban, Mullen, Kirby, Jimbo, Cutcliffe, and Dave Clawson. He in the same range as Moorhead, Malzahn, Dino, Bronco, Muschamp, and Fuente for now.

LoL. #8 to #12.
 
#64
#64
I just don’t think you can compare Pruitt to anybody really. He’s had 1 year

I don't necessarily disagree. That's the problem with ranking coaches. You're left to "guess" or "estimate" the quality of about 70% of the coaches.

Which is why I tend to divide them between the "proven coaches", the "unproven coaches with potential", and "the mediocre coaches." I'd take Pruitt over any of the coaches that have already shown themselves to be mediocre such as Doeren or Addazio.

Malzahn is the weird special case of a coach who has had great high moments, but mostly a bunch of mediocrity. Of the coaches that have been at the P5 level for more than 5 years, I find him the most difficult to evaluate. He's clearly better than the "mediocre coaches" but it's tough to say a guy who's moslty had 7 and 8 win seasons at Auburn is "proven" either. I feel like this is a common theme with the "offensive innovator" type coaches, however; they are capable of briliantliy outscheming their opponents, but it can be difficult to do that over the long-term.

And I can't see any great way to realistically compare someone like Jeremy Pruitt with Joe Moorhead. Both were excellent coordinators. Both could potentially be great coaches but we only have 1 season worth of data to go on; a season where Moorhead inherited one of the best Miss State teams of the past 20 years and Pruitt inherited one of the worst UT teams of the past 20 years.

Of the "unproven coaches", I feel like there's a good case for Pruitt on the higher end based on his work as DC and what he's done so far as HC. But it's just speculation at this point.
 
#65
#65
Pruitt is a very good football coach. He has not proven he's a good head football coach. I can't get too excited over rankings like this since there's really very little objective evidence for a guy like Pruitt. He took over a program from Butch Jones who recruited too many wrong guys then failed to develop any of his players effectively.

Pruitt may be a great coach. He may stink worse than Jones and Dooley combined. Last year doesn't lead me to believe either.

I will repeat what I said with Jones. If he doesn't make a serious move within the first 3 years... cut him loose. He likely never will. You can find a few exceptions particularly at schools without high expectations but generally if a coach fails to produce within 3 years they lose credibility with recruits and boosters. There begins to be talk about "how long" that ultimately becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The only question is how low you let the program sink before giving someone else a new start.
 
#66
#66
Interesting where some landed yet he used some stats to back it up and totally ignored stats for others. For instance, Dan Mullen at 3 over Jimbo? Jimbo has won a NC, Mullen? NOTHING,

Well, I take that back, Mullen holds the record, the record for the WORST record against top 25 competition. Guy had One good season at MSU, still didn’t even make the SECCG in that year, and has only finished Once above 4thin the league in that span, Once. 3 top 25 in 10 years. MSU has won the league and made it to the SECCG, so “its MSU” doesn’t hold weight bc Mullen didn’t do either. I’m not saying he is a bad coach, he’s respectable, but he’s not #3, not even in the SEC.

Dave Clawson will continue to rise. Think he just signed a 8 yr contract, WF know what they have.

NC State coach is highly ranked, might have been a better hire than some want to admit? His DL has been great and his DL recruiting, the same.
 
#67
#67
I don't necessarily disagree. That's the problem with ranking coaches. You're left to "guess" or "estimate" the quality of about 70% of the coaches.

Which is why I tend to divide them between the "proven coaches", the "unproven coaches with potential", and "the mediocre coaches." I'd take Pruitt over any of the coaches that have already shown themselves to be mediocre such as Doeren or Addazio.

Malzahn is the weird special case of a coach who has had great high moments, but mostly a bunch of mediocrity. Of the coaches that have been at the P5 level for more than 5 years, I find him the most difficult to evaluate. He's clearly better than the "mediocre coaches" but it's tough to say a guy who's moslty had 7 and 8 win seasons at Auburn is "proven" either. I feel like this is a common theme with the "offensive innovator" type coaches, however; they are capable of briliantliy outscheming their opponents, but it can be difficult to do that over the long-term.

And I can't see any great way to realistically compare someone like Jeremy Pruitt with Joe Moorhead. Both were excellent coordinators. Both could potentially be great coaches but we only have 1 season worth of data to go on; a season where Moorhead inherited one of the best Miss State teams of the past 20 years and Pruitt inherited one of the worst UT teams of the past 20 years.

Of the "unproven coaches", I feel like there's a good case for Pruitt on the higher end based on his work as DC and what he's done so far as HC. But it's just speculation at this point.

I think we agree more than not
 
#68
#68
Interesting where some landed yet he used some stats to back it up and totally ignored stats for others. For instance, Dan Mullen at 3 over Jimbo? Jimbo has won a NC, Mullen? NOTHING,

Well, I take that back, Mullen holds the record, the record for the WORST record against top 25 competition. Guy had One good season at MSU, still didn’t even make the SECCG in that year, and has only finished Once above 4thin the league in that span, Once. 3 top 25 in 10 years. MSU has won the league and made it to the SECCG, so “its MSU” doesn’t hold weight bc Mullen didn’t do either. I’m not saying he is a bad coach, he’s respectable, but he’s not #3, not even in the SEC.

Dave Clawson will continue to rise. Think he just signed a 8 yr contract, WF know what they have.

NC State coach is highly ranked, might have been a better hire than some want to admit? His DL has been great and his DL recruiting, the same.


The people like yourself who think Mullen is average or at best “respectable” truly don’t understand the football culture and obstacles to consistent winning in Starkville. It’s the hardest recruiting job in the league, resources are among the worst in the league, they play in the toughest division in all of college football, and had a long and storied history of being terrible before Mullen got there. What he did there will most likely never be surpassed at that program and was really remarkable.

And if you still don’t think Mullen is a top tier coach, consider most on here thought UFs talent level this year was comparable to ours. So what did amullen do with his versus the job Pruitt did?
 
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#69
#69
The people like yourself who think Mullen is average or at best “respectable” truly don’t understand the football culture and obstacles to consistent winning in Starkville. It’s the hardest recruiting job in the league, resources are among the worst in the league, they play in the toughest division in all of college football, and had a long and storied history of being terrible before Mullen got there. What he did there will most likely never be surpassed at that program and was really remarkable.

And if you still don’t think Mullen is a top tier coach, consider most on here thought UFs talent level this year was comparable to ours. So what did amullen do with his versus the job Pruitt did?
“Toughest division”, nope, it’s not. It was 10 years ago, the East ate their lunch this year and has been trending for those who pay attention.

Let’s compare (MSU) 2 different coaches that was there thru 10 yrs

Coach A 67-48 Top 3 in division 6x SECCG (WON the West)
Coach B 69-44 Top 3 in division 1x (with added cupcake in schedule)

Which is better?

Coach A was Jackie Sherrill, B was Mullen. So apparently, MSU wasn’t ‘terrible’ before Mullen got there. Give me Sherrill everyday of the week.
 
#70
#70
“Toughest division”, nope, it’s not. It was 10 years ago, the East ate their lunch this year and has been trending for those who pay attention.

Let’s compare (MSU) 2 different coaches that was there thru 10 yrs

Coach A 67-48 Top 3 in division 6x SECCG (WON the West)
Coach B 69-44 Top 3 in division 1x (with added cupcake in schedule)

Which is better?

Coach A was Jackie Sherrill, B was Mullen. So apparently, MSU wasn’t ‘terrible’ before Mullen got there. Give me Sherrill everyday of the week.

The West was garbage when Sherrill coached, and the best in college football when Mullen coached. Try again

Not to mention Sherrill loaded his roster with jucos to achieve what he could, while Mullen recruited and developed players like Dak, Fitzgerald, etc. Sherrill didn’t and couldn’t.

And I’ll throw one more at you - where are you getting your stats?? Sherrill won 10 games at MSU once, 9 games never, and 8 games twice. Mullen won 10 games twice, 9 twice, and 8 twice......when the league was tougher for Mullen than it was for Sherrill
 
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#72
#72
10 games once at MSU for Mullen, I was counting his second 10 win season as his FIRST at UF
The West was garbage when Sherrill coached, and the best in college football when Mullen coached. Try again

Not to mention Sherrill loaded his roster with jucos to achieve what he could, while Mullen recruited and developed players like Dak, Fitzgerald, etc. Sherrill didn’t and couldn’t.

And I’ll throw one more at you - where are you getting your stats?? Sherrill won 10 games at MSU once, 9 games never, and 8 games twice. Mullen won 10 games twice, 9 twice, and 8 twice......when the league was tougher for Mullen than it was for Sherrill
Keep moving the goalposts? You said MSU was always terrible, I proved that Mullen’s record could be matched, and already had, with better results in the league. If counting Fla, then I guess it’s ok to say Sherrill won 10 games 6x. Still waiting for Mullen to win, anything.
 
#73
#73
Who has more rings? Wins? Which coach is the unquestioned GOAT? Sabans record, especially against the top competition speaks for itself. Dabo plays in a conference that all but guarantees double digit wins. What Saban has done is unreal. GTFO indeed. Dabo is in second place and will be for quite sometime.
Switch the 2 and see. Sabansucked at Michigan st. He’s at a freaking shingle schoo!!

Dabo 1st Head coaching job and look what he has accomplished in 10 yrs.
 
#74
#74
Switch the 2 and see. Sabansucked at Michigan st. He’s at a freaking shingle schoo!!

Dabo 1st Head coaching job and look what he has accomplished in 10 yrs.

Saban built LSU. Won a NC. Then rebuilt Alabama into the greatest modern day dynasty the college football world has ever seen.

There really is no argument to be made. Saban is the king until further notice.
 
#75
#75
Complete crap rankings. All they are doing is taking last year's records and assuming that's where a coach should be ranked. I don't know where Pruitt should be but it's not #24.

Fwiw, I'd take Pruitt without hesitation over Dave Doeren, Pat Narduzzi, Mark Stoops, Barry Odom, Ed Orgeron, Steve Addazio, and Derek Mason.

I'd probably rank Pruitt somewhere in the #8 - #12 range right now between the ACC / SEC. Until he proves otherwise, he's behind Dabo, Saban, Mullen, Kirby, Jimbo, Cutcliffe, and Dave Clawson. He in the same range as Moorhead, Malzahn, Dino, Bronco, Muschamp, and Fuente for now.
I'd probably give the higher ranking to Orgeron at this point, but Pruitt has more potential to become "elite" in my opinion
 

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