Ranking the 57 SEC coaching hires since 1992 expansion

#26
#26
Firebirdparts said:
I was just scrolling down to say Coach O is top 10 and also bottom 5.

I guess they were lucky they had Mike Price to put last. Nobody wants to be last. So Chad Morris is really that bad. HE's the one who actually counts.
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Honestly, Price was better than Dooley and Pruitt. He did far less harm than either one of those 2.
 
#27
#27
rdk4121 said:
I am going to question how Joe Moorhead, who got fired after only two seasons, had 7 games vacated, and finished 1 game over .500 was better than Butch. Not sure I get the logic there.
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Moorhead and Croom were both 20 spots too high.
 
#28
#28
The only way to judge a hire is based on the circumstances and the knowledge they had in hand at the time. Tbh I’m not sure we can effectively judge it. I’d think that we would have had more money at our disposal on most of our hires, so why did we go the cheapo route? Fulmer was a C hire. He just happened to be there. Didnt take much insight or imagination to hire him. Kiffin probably a B hire. Given the program stature would have thought we could get a proven college coach but we took a risk. He may have been great here but Hamilton is an idiot. That doesn’t take off from the hire though. Dooley a D. Terrible hire. Not an F only because of the circumstances Kiffin left us in. Butch actually had a track record. That’s probably a C+ hire. Pruitt a C hire. Underwhelming, but has a great track record as DC for big programs. Heupul a C-
 
#29
#29
I don’t remember a Dooley-led team losing to the likes of Georgia State and BYU. Dooley’s teams played in an arguably tougher SEC top-to-bottom and nearly upset LSU at LSU. Our SEC West opponents were also tougher in the Dooley years with LSU x2 ranked #1 & #12, a #8-ranked Arkansas, #19-ranked Miss St, and Ole Miss. Pruitt had a much easier OOC schedule and much worse record OOC. His SEC West opponents were Auburn x2, ranked #21 & # 23, #5 Texas A&M, and Miss St.

Dooley lost to a great Oregon team (who lost to Auburn in the BCS championship that season) in his first year, but destroyed other decent OOC opponents like NC State & Cincinnati. Dooley’s defenses were his achilles heel.

One stat will say it all:

Pruitt: Lost to GEORGIA STATE 30-38.
Dooley: Beat GEORGIA STATE 51-13.

Sadly, the only highlight of the Pruitt era was the bowl win over Indiana. Dooley would have had a bowl win over North Carolina if not for a terrible rule that was changed the following season (after we lost because of it, of course).

Dooley > Pruitt
 
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#30
#30
Beachvol23,it was Dooles who signed zero offensive linemen.It was Dooley who had 13 on the field at the end of the LSU game.It was Dooley whose only contribution was to teach proper hand and foot washing.It was DEREK DOOLEY who then give Georgia a leg up on Tennessee by not even talking to prospects who loved Tennessee,i.ae.Von Bell,a linebackers named Willis who went to Old Miss and then the 49ers,and others.
 
#31
#31
OrangeEtBlanc said:
I don’t remember a Dooley-led team losing to the likes of Georgia State and BYU. Dooley’s teams played in an arguably tougher SEC top-to-bottom and nearly upset LSU at LSU. Our SEC West opponents were also tougher in the Dooley years with LSU x2 ranked #1 & #12, a #8-ranked Arkansas, #19-ranked Miss St, and Ole Miss. Pruitt had a much easier OOC schedule and much worse record OOC. His SEC West opponents were Auburn x2, ranked #21 & # 23, #5 Texas A&M, and Miss St.

Dooley lost to a great Oregon team (who lost to Auburn in the BCS championship that season) in his first year, but destroyed other decent OOC opponents like NC State & Cincinnati. Dooley’s defenses were his achilles heel.

One stat will say it all:

Pruitt: Lost to GEORGIA STATE 30-38.
Dooley: Beat GEORGIA STATE 51-13.

Sadly, the only highlight of the Pruitt era was the bowl win over Indiana. Dooley would have had a bowl win over North Carolina if not for a terrible rule that was changed the following season (after we lost because of it, of course).

Dooley > Pruitt
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Dooley won 4 SEC games in 3 years. Pruitt won 5 in Y2 and 10 total. From an objective football only standpoint, no reasonable argument can be made that Dooley was a better coach. BYU is far better than that UK team we lost to in 2011. Dooley was likely the worst coach in modern SEC history given what he inherited and what he left to Butch.

The GSU game was obviously an atrocity. But if you want to use the same line of thinking, Pruitt beat USC, Mizzou, MSU - all teams that Dooley couldn't beat.

If you want to say Pruitt was a worse hire because of the NCAA stuff, that is a different argument and it has some validity. At some point the severity of the sanctions woutd outweigh the coaching advantage that Pruitt had over Dooley. We don't know that answer until the know the ultimate result of the sanctions.
 
#34
#34
For further analysis from my previous post:
Ranked opponents (at time of game)

Dooley:
2010
Oregon #7
Florida #10
LSU #12
Alabama #8
South Carolina #17

2011
Florida #17
LSU #1
Alabama #2
South Carolina #9
Arkansas #8

2012:
Florida #18
Georgia #5
Miss St #19
Alabama #1
South Carolina #17

Dooley overall record: 0-15.
SEC record: 0-14

Pruitt:
2018
West Virginia #17
Georgia #2
Auburn #21 WIN
Alabama #1
Kentucky #12 WIN

2019:
Florida #9
Georgia #3
Alabama #1

2020:
Georgia #3
Alabama #2
Auburn #21
Florida #6
Texas A&M #5

Pruitt overall: 2-13
Pruitt SEC: 2-12

Now, Pruitt did have the unfortunate luck of having an All-SEC schedule this season, which no doubt made his job much tougher this year. However, he played his weakest schedule in 2019, which was also his most successful year in terms of wins, despite losing to GA State & BYU. 2018, his season with 2 wins over ranked teams still produced no bowl.

Now let’s examine OOC.

Dooley:
2010
Oregon #7, L 49-14
UT-Martin, W 50-0
UAB, W 32-29
Memphis, W 50-14

2011
Montana, W 42-16
Cincinnati, W 45-23
Buffalo, W 41-10
MTSU, W 24-0

2012
NC State, W 35-21
GA State, W 51-13
Akron, W 47-26
Troy, W 55-48

Dooley OOC record: 11-1

Pruitt:
2018
West Virginia #17, L 40-14
ETSU, W 59-3
UTEP, W 24-0
Charlotte, W 14-3

2019
Ga State, L 38-30
BYU, L 29-26
Chattanooga, W 45-0
UAB, W 30-7

2020:
No OOC

Pruitt OOC record: 5-3

Both Dooley had tough OOC games against #7 Oregon & #17 West Virginia, but all the rest are rather comparable. BYU is pretty analogous to either NC State or Cincinnati. Common OOC opponents were UAB & GA State, where Dooley was 2-0 and Pruitt split.

The best distinction I can make between Dooley & Pruitt is that while Pruitt did win 2 games against ranked SEC opponents in his first year, he lost two awful OOC games in his 2nd. While Dooley never won any notable games, he also didn’t lose to weak OOC opponents we have no business losing to.

All-in-all, they were equally bad, but I think the depths of Pruitt were even lower than Dooley’s despite the 2 ranked wins and bowl victory. Include the off-field antics of Pruitt’s staff, and it’s way worse.

Edit: It also REALLY sucked to research all this trash from some crappy seasons.

It’s pretty much a wash between Dooley & Pruitt. Dooley was a little better about not losing to teams he wasn’t supposed to, while Pruitt was better at winning a couple he wasn’t supposed to win.

No matter what, let’s hope for far better days ahead.
 
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#35
#35
I'll bet Heupel and staff are reading some of these analyses and posts about now and wondering 'WTF have I gotten myself into?' I wonder it myself sometimes and I'm a born, bred, and semi-educated Vol.
 
#36
#36
BigOrangeMojo said:
Derek Dooley went 4-19 in the SEC. As bad as Pruitt was, he was nowhere near that incompetent. Pruitt inherited a bigger mess than Dooley. Dooley nuked in-state recruiting bridges. Dooley didn't sign OL in recruiting classes. Given the school and the expectations of the school, Dooley should have been dead last on this list.

I would have no issue saying Pruitt should have been 56 and Dooley should have been 57. They were both that bad.
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Dooley's Sunseri hire hurt his bottom line terribly. It was worse than Fulmer's goof in changing the whole O & hiring the Clawfense. The beginning of the end.
The Cornbread difference is much worse than both. He didn't let anyone do their job on both sides even fired a D coach in midseason. It was a colossal cluster....k.
 
#37
#37
Before Saban Alabama wondered the desert with misery much like us but it was more abbreviated.
Franchione
Shula
Dubose
Price
Younger recruits think Bama was always on Top
 
#38
#38
Pruitt is worse than Dooley because in addition to sucking he left us knocked up with an NCAA sanctions bun in the oven.
 
#39
#39
sechamp2012 said:
Before Saban Alabama wondered the desert with misery much like us but it was more abbreviated.
Franchione
Shula
Dubose
Price
Younger recruits think Bama was always on Top
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All those guys other than Price (who never coached a game) had 10 win seasons. Dubose won the SEC and went to the Orange Bowl.
 
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#40
#40
BigOrangeMojo said:
Derek Dooley on the opposing sideline struck fear in no SEC coach, not even a school playing a WR at QB. Those stacked Dooley offenses never did sh-t against a team with a pulse. Doesnt matter if you score 20 if the other team scores 50.

10-16 SEC record > 4-19 SEC record
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Except for those games where he was perched on that wooden stool like a gargoyle.
 
#42
#42
sechamp2012 said:
Before Saban Alabama wondered the desert with misery much like us but it was more abbreviated.
Franchione
Shula
Dubose
Price
Younger recruits think Bama was always on Top
Click to expand...

Why do people do this?

In my lifetime, the longest period of time Alabama has had between 10 win seasons was 5 years (1981-1985).

Was there a period where they didn’t achieve up to their standards? Yes.

Was there a decade or more where everyone including Vandy took turns beating the snot out of them? No
 
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#43
#43
GroverCleveland said:
Nope, nope, nope. As much as I disliked him, the Ole Ball Coach ranks above Fulmer and I'd rank him above Saban/LSU.

And I'd move Richt above above Franklin, but Richt lost control of this ranking...
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Spurrier at South Carolina was not close to Spurrier at Florida. Saban won a title at LSU, and Spurrier never seriously got that close.
 
#45
#45
Jaws said:
Dooley was better than Pruitt.
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How do you figure that? Dooley won 4 SEC games in 3 years. That is unbelievably bad. Pruitt won 5 SEC games in one year alone. "But Dooley never lost to Georgia St" is a pretty myopic view. It was one game. Pruitt won 38% of his SEC games, which isn't good...Dooley won 17%. Seventeen!

If Pruitt gets us nuked for NCAA violations that negatively impact the program for years, then I suppose you could make an argument Pruitt was worse. But as far as on-the-field performance Dooley was much worse.
 
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#46
#46
In comparing Dooley and Pruitt, let's not forget that in addition to being a habitual loser of football games, Pruitt was also semi-literate, irredeemable ****head who was a horrible ambassador for the university and the football program.
 
#47
#47
OrangeEtBlanc said:
For further analysis from my previous post:
Ranked opponents (at time of game)

Dooley:
2010
Oregon #7
Florida #10
LSU #12
Alabama #8
South Carolina #17

2011
Florida #17
LSU #1
Alabama #2
South Carolina #9
Arkansas #8

2012:
Florida #18
Georgia #5
Miss St #19
Alabama #1
South Carolina #17

Dooley overall record: 0-15.
SEC record: 0-14

Pruitt:
2018
West Virginia #17
Georgia #2
Auburn #21 WIN
Alabama #1
Kentucky #12 WIN

2019:
Florida #9
Georgia #3
Alabama #1

2020:
Georgia #3
Alabama #2
Auburn #21
Florida #6
Texas A&M #5

Pruitt overall: 2-13
Pruitt SEC: 2-12

Now, Pruitt did have the unfortunate luck of having an All-SEC schedule this season, which no doubt made his job much tougher this year. However, he played his weakest schedule in 2019, which was also his most successful year in terms of wins, despite losing to GA State & BYU. 2018, his season with 2 wins over ranked teams still produced no bowl.

Now let’s examine OOC.

Dooley:
2010
Oregon #7, L 49-14
UT-Martin, W 50-0
UAB, W 32-29
Memphis, W 50-14

2011
Montana, W 42-16
Cincinnati, W 45-23
Buffalo, W 41-10
MTSU, W 24-0

2012
NC State, W 35-21
GA State, W 51-13
Akron, W 47-26
Troy, W 55-48

Dooley OOC record: 11-1

Pruitt:
2018
West Virginia #17, L 40-14
ETSU, W 59-3
UTEP, W 24-0
Charlotte, W 14-3

2019
Ga State, L 38-30
BYU, L 29-26
Chattanooga, W 45-0
UAB, W 30-7

2020:
No OOC

Pruitt OOC record: 5-3

Both Dooley had tough OOC games against #7 Oregon & #17 West Virginia, but all the rest are rather comparable. BYU is pretty analogous to either NC State or Cincinnati. Common OOC opponents were UAB & GA State, where Dooley was 2-0 and Pruitt split.

The best distinction I can make between Dooley & Pruitt is that while Pruitt did win 2 games against ranked SEC opponents in his first year, he lost two awful OOC games in his 2nd. While Dooley never won any notable games, he also didn’t lose to weak OOC opponents we have no business losing to.

All-in-all, they were equally bad, but I think the depths of Pruitt were even lower than Dooley’s despite the 2 ranked wins and bowl victory. Include the off-field antics of Pruitt’s staff, and it’s way worse.

Edit: It also REALLY sucked to research all this trash from some crappy seasons.

It’s pretty much a wash between Dooley & Pruitt. Dooley was a little better about not losing to teams he wasn’t supposed to, while Pruitt was better at winning a couple he wasn’t supposed to win.

No matter what, let’s hope for far better days ahead.
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Taking your analysis at face value (I'm sure not gonna go back and verify)

Dooley was 4-5 against unranked SEC teams. Pruitt was 8-4

That is ultimately what drives the on-field difference between the two.
 
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