DiderotsGhost
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Well, if we're doing coach rankings ...
1. Saban. Can win with average talent. Can win with superior talent. Can get superior talent. Can outsmart most coaches on the field. Really, the only competition this guy has for best coach of the past decade is Pete Carroll.
2. Spurrier. Hard to deny that the ole' ball coach has built a top-notch program at two different schools.
3. Muschamp. I'm impressed by him thus far. Maybe this will turn out to be too high after we see more of him, but for now, I'd put him 3.
4. Les Miles. I'm actually not totally sure what to think of Les Miles. He's a great recruiter. He's had great coordinators throughout most of his career. He doesn't appear to be that great of a game strategist. His first NC was built on Saban's foundation. He deserves credit for nearly winning a second one (if it weren't for Saban). Would I take him here at Tennessee? In a heartbeat! But I'm still ranking him lower than Saban, Spurrier, and Muschamp.
5. Dan Mullen. He's winning at Mississippi State --- the second worst program in the SEC.
6. Mark Richt. Underrated, but still middle of the pack for the SEC. A very good coach, but not a great coach, but he's been the most successful coach at UGa since Dooley. Should have won a national championship in 2002-3 season, if it weren't for the BCS's bias against teams that played strong schedules (e.g. all of the SEC).
7. Sumlin. May deserve to be higher, but need more time to see. Early results look promising. Btw, with the exception of maybe Florida, Texas A&M now has the best recruiting position in the nation. The only thing holding them back before was being unable to differentiate themselves from Texas.
8. Freeze. Really difficult to rank this guy, because there's not much data. He won at Arkansas State, but he was only there for one year. He won at Lambeth, but it's NAIA. From what I can see, he seems to be a good coach, but really difficult to say for sure.
9. Dooley. Jury is still out on Dooley. For now, I'm putting him at #9. He's been great at building the program, but just don't know if he can coach at this level. Even if he fails at UT, I still think he has a bright future at a mid-major program.
10. Pinkle. Good coach or great coach? Difficult to say. Good coaches are "average" in the SEC.
11. Franklin. Will take awhile to assess him, but I still think he looks like a pretty good coach. May be ranked much higher than this when all is said and done, but will take a few more seasons to know.
12. Chizik. Never really thought he was a good coach. Actually, I'd peg him as a Phillip Fulmer type coach, who can recruit, and can win when he has the right staff, but seems to fall on his face without great assistants. He won an NC, but wouldn't have done it without Malzahn at OC or Tubberville's recruits. (There was Cam Newton, as well, but wouldn't ignore some of the guys on that defense.)
13. Phillips. Out of his league. Not actually a bad coach, but not a good administrator, so the program will continue to decline with him.
14. Smith. I know it's not easy, but I almost think some of us could have walked into that situation at Arkansas and done a better job than this guy. I'm exaggerating a bit, but he really does seem like he's in way over his head. He was a below-average Big 10 coach, and an even more bottom-of-the-pack SEC coach. Oh, and he can't manage his financial affairs either. $40 million in debt? Are you kidding me?
1. Saban. Can win with average talent. Can win with superior talent. Can get superior talent. Can outsmart most coaches on the field. Really, the only competition this guy has for best coach of the past decade is Pete Carroll.
2. Spurrier. Hard to deny that the ole' ball coach has built a top-notch program at two different schools.
3. Muschamp. I'm impressed by him thus far. Maybe this will turn out to be too high after we see more of him, but for now, I'd put him 3.
4. Les Miles. I'm actually not totally sure what to think of Les Miles. He's a great recruiter. He's had great coordinators throughout most of his career. He doesn't appear to be that great of a game strategist. His first NC was built on Saban's foundation. He deserves credit for nearly winning a second one (if it weren't for Saban). Would I take him here at Tennessee? In a heartbeat! But I'm still ranking him lower than Saban, Spurrier, and Muschamp.
5. Dan Mullen. He's winning at Mississippi State --- the second worst program in the SEC.
6. Mark Richt. Underrated, but still middle of the pack for the SEC. A very good coach, but not a great coach, but he's been the most successful coach at UGa since Dooley. Should have won a national championship in 2002-3 season, if it weren't for the BCS's bias against teams that played strong schedules (e.g. all of the SEC).
7. Sumlin. May deserve to be higher, but need more time to see. Early results look promising. Btw, with the exception of maybe Florida, Texas A&M now has the best recruiting position in the nation. The only thing holding them back before was being unable to differentiate themselves from Texas.
8. Freeze. Really difficult to rank this guy, because there's not much data. He won at Arkansas State, but he was only there for one year. He won at Lambeth, but it's NAIA. From what I can see, he seems to be a good coach, but really difficult to say for sure.
9. Dooley. Jury is still out on Dooley. For now, I'm putting him at #9. He's been great at building the program, but just don't know if he can coach at this level. Even if he fails at UT, I still think he has a bright future at a mid-major program.
10. Pinkle. Good coach or great coach? Difficult to say. Good coaches are "average" in the SEC.
11. Franklin. Will take awhile to assess him, but I still think he looks like a pretty good coach. May be ranked much higher than this when all is said and done, but will take a few more seasons to know.
12. Chizik. Never really thought he was a good coach. Actually, I'd peg him as a Phillip Fulmer type coach, who can recruit, and can win when he has the right staff, but seems to fall on his face without great assistants. He won an NC, but wouldn't have done it without Malzahn at OC or Tubberville's recruits. (There was Cam Newton, as well, but wouldn't ignore some of the guys on that defense.)
13. Phillips. Out of his league. Not actually a bad coach, but not a good administrator, so the program will continue to decline with him.
14. Smith. I know it's not easy, but I almost think some of us could have walked into that situation at Arkansas and done a better job than this guy. I'm exaggerating a bit, but he really does seem like he's in way over his head. He was a below-average Big 10 coach, and an even more bottom-of-the-pack SEC coach. Oh, and he can't manage his financial affairs either. $40 million in debt? Are you kidding me?
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