Rating the SEC coach staffs

[orange_swarm]

Agree, disagree?

First Tier

Alabama

-Nick Saban - Head Coach (*****)

Defensive - The losses of Kevin Steele and Lance Thompson are big hits. I expect Saban to reload with similar talent. (***)
-Kirby Smart - Defensive Coordinator (***)
-Bo Davis - Defensive Line Coach (**)

Offensive - A proven, veteran group, who have been more loyal than the defensive staff so far. (****)
-Jim McElwain - Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks (***)
-Joe Pendry - Assistant Offensive Head Coach, Offensive Line (***)
-Burton Burns - Associate Head Coach, Running Backs (***)
-Curt Cignetti - Recruiting Coordinator, Receivers (****)
-Bobby Williams - Tight Ends, Special Teams (****)

Recruiting - Losing Thompson hurts here too, but with the offensive staff in tact and Nick Saban apparently not heading back to the NFL for at least one more year, no one is sweating bullets in Tuscaloosa about recruiting. Just wait until CLK’s staff has a year of recruiting under their belt though. (****)

Florida

-Urban Meyer - Head Coach (*****)

Defensive - A solid veteran unit that puts fast, cohesive defenses on the field consistently. (****)
-Charlie Strong - Associate Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers (*****)
-Dan McCarney - Assistant Defensive Head Coach, Defensive Line Coach (***)
-Chuck Heater - Safeties (***)
-Vance Bedford - Cornerbacks (**)

Offensive – Losing Dan Mullen hurts a little, but there’s enough experience to make the transition nearly seamless. (****)
-Steve Addazio - Offensive Coordinator (****)
-Billy Gonzales - Recruiting Coordinator, Wide Receivers (****)
-John Hevesy - Tight Ends, Assistant Offensive Line (****)
-Scot Loeffler - Quarterbacks (**)
-Kenny Carter - Running Backs (**)

Recruiting - Florida recruits speed, they do it well, and it works. Will FU recruiting continue to thrive with CLK and Gran yanking elite prospects out of FLA behind their back? (*****)

Georgia

-Mark Richt - Head Coach (****)

Defensive – Seems like the defense can be anywhere from dominant to porous. Hard to figure. (***)
-Willie Martinez - Defensive Coordinator, Secondary Coach (***)
-Rodney Gardner - Assistant Head Coach, Recruiting Coordinator, Defensive Line Coach (*****)
-John Jancek - Linebackers (***)
-Jon Fabris - Defensive Ends (**)

Offensive - Good experience on the staff. Consistently good offensive units, but never as great as the offensive recruiting classes might suggest. (***)
-Mike Bobo - Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks (****)
-Stacy Searels - Offensive Line (****)
-John Eason - Assistant Head Coach, Wide Receivers (**)
-Tony Ball - Running Backs (**)
-John Lilly - Tight Ends (**)

Recruiting - Richt and Gardner have a good thing going here. Have been steadily pulling in elite classes the past few years. (****)

LSU

-Les Miles - Head Coach (*****)

Defensive - Can’t wait to play AGAINST the Mustang 2! (***)
-John Chavis - Defensive Coordinator (***)
-Ron Cooper - Defensive Backs (***)
-Brick Haley - Defensive Line (**)
-Joe Robinson - Defensive Tackles, Special Teams (**)

Offensive - Veteran unit has been making good use of top recruiting classes, until the idiots get kicked off for breaking team rules! They clearly aren’t that intelligent anyway, having committed to LSU. (****)
-Gary Crowton - Offensive Coordinator (***)
-John Henson - Recruiting Coordinator, Tight Ends (***)
-Larry Porter - Running Backs (****)
-D.J. McCarty - Wide Receivers (****)
-Greg Sturdrawa - Offensive Line (***)

Recruiting - The major recruiters are still in place. (*****)

Tennessee

-Lane Kiffin - Head Coach (***)

Defensive - Monte, O, AND Thompson: the only question is will the staff gel? (****)
-Monte Kiffin - Defensive Coordinator (*****)
-Ed Orgeron - Assistant Head Coach, Recruiting Coordinator, Defensive Line (****)
-Lance Thompson - Linebackers (****)
-Willie Mack Garza - Defensive Backs (**)

Offensive – A mix of young talent and veterans, with a strong NFL flavor. A lot of potential, in my opinion. I think it will work best with CLK doing the playcalling. (***)
-Jim Chaney - Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Line (***)
-Eddie Gran - Running Backs, Special Teams (****)
-Frank Wilson - Wide Receivers (***)
-David Reaves - Quarterbacks (**)
-James Cregg - Tights Ends, Tackles (**)

Recruiting - With proven SEC recruiters, NFL experience abound, and roots in practically every important recruiting hotbed, things look good for a program that already pulled top 10 classes consistently with CPF at the helm. (*****)

Second Tier

Arkansas

-Bobby Petrino - Head Coach (***)

Defensive - Defense had struggles this season. Maybe new recruits can help build a more consistent unit. (**)
-Willy Robinson - Defensive Coordinator, Safeties (***)
-Kirk Botkin - Defensive Ends, Special Teams (****)
-Reggie Jackson - Linebackers (**)
-Bobby Allen - Defensive Tackles (**)

Offensive - Similar to UT’s offensive staff in terms of potential and family ties. (***)
-Paul Petrino - Offensive Coordinator (**)
-Tim Horton - Recruiting Coordinator, Running Backs, Tight Ends (****)
-Mike Summers - Offensive Line (***)
-Garrick McGee - Quarterbacks (**)

Recruiting - Able consistently load up on mid-level talent, with the occasional elite prospect. (***)

Ole Miss

Houston Nutt - Head Coach (***)

Defensive – Need to add a defensive line coach. Ole Miss defense was impressive this season. (***)
-Tyrone Nix - Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers (***)
-Chris Vaughn - Recruiting Coordinator, Safeties (***)
-Kim Dameron - Defensive Backs (***)

Offensive - Seemingly better than the sum of its parts. Possibly just thriving off of Orgeron’s recruits…only time will tell. (****)
-Kent Austin - Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks (***)
-Mike Markuson – Running Game Coordinator, Offensive Line (***)
-Derrick Nix - Running Backs (***)
-James Shibest - Tights Ends, Special Teams (***)
-Ron Dickerson - Wide Receivers (**)

Recruiting - Recruit the mid-level players well, but the classes can’t stack up athletically to other SEC teams. (***)

South Carolina

-Steve Spurrier - Head Coach (****)

Defensive - Defense never really seems to be the problem for USCe. (***)
-Ellis Johnson - Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers (***)
-Shane Beamer - Cornerbacks (***)
-Brad Lawing - Defensive Line (**)
-Lorenzo Ward - Defensive Backs (**)

Offensive - Offense has never gelled since Spurrier arrived. Lost a couple staff members to other SEC schools. (**)
-Eric Wolford - Running Game Coordinator, Offensive Line (**)
-G.A. Mangus - Quarterbacks (**)
-Robert Gillespie - Running Backs (**)
-Steve Spurrier Jr. - Wide Receivers (**)
-Ray Rychleski - Tight Ends, Special Teams (**)

Recruiting - Loss of recruiting coordinator David Reaves might hurt a little but Spurrier is the draw for USCe. Seems to have lost his magic on the field but not recruiting. (***)

Third Tier

Auburn *Probably moves to second tier after final two hires.

-Gene Chizik - Head Coach (**)

Defensive - Should be good, especially with defensive guru Chizik helping out. (***)
-Ted Roof - Defensive Coordinator (****)
-James Willis – Linebackers (****)
-Tracy Rocker - Defensive Line (**)

Offensive - Still waiting on a quarterbacks coach, but so far Chizik has done a good job assembling a competitive offensive staff. (**)
-Gus Malzahn - Offensive Coordinator (***)
-Trooper Taylor - Assistant Head Coach, Wide Receivers (***)
-Jay Boulware – Tight Ends, Special Teams (***)
-Curtis Luper - Running Backs (**)

Recruiting - The addition of Trooper will help, but still cannot compare to other elite SEC recruiting staffs. Chizik needs to go after some recruiting talent for his last two hires. Still Auburn seems to recruit itself decently so things might not be so bad. (**)

Kentucky

-Rich Brooks - Head Coach (***)

Defensive - A bland assistant defensive staff, but Brown and Brooks are SEC-worthy defensive minds. (**)
-Steve Brown - Defensive Coordinator (***)
-Chuck Smith - Linebackers (**)
-Chris Thurmond - Defensive Backs (**)
-Rick Petri - Defensive Line (*)

Offensive - Can often make things work with lesser talent. (***)
-Joker Phillips - Offensive Coordinator (***)
-Steve Ortmayer - Assistant Head Coach, Tight Ends, Special Teams (***)
-Randy Sanders - Recruiting Coordinator, Quarterbacks (***)
-Larry Brinson - Running Backs (**)
-Jimmy Heggins - Offensive Line (**)

Recruiting – Randy Sanders as recruiting coordinator? Yikes. UK recruits low to mid level talent fairly well, but never really pulls first tier recruits. (**)

Mississippi State

-Dan Mullen - Head Coach (**)

Defensive - Obviously way too early to pass too much judgment.
-David Turner - Defensive Line (**)
-Melvin Smith - Cornerbacks (**)

Offensive - See above.
-Reed Stringer - Tight Ends (***)
-Rockey Felker - Assistant Coach (**)

Recruiting - See above.

Vanderbilt Tier

Vanderbilt

-Bobby Johnson - Head Coach (***)

Defensive - It's Vanderbilt, c’mon. (**)
-Bruce Fowler - Defensive Coordinator, Co-Linebackers (**)
-Warren Belin - Recruiting Coordinator, Co-Linebackers (**)
-Jamie Bryant - Defensive Backs, Special Teams (**)
-Ricky Logo - Defensive Line (*)

Offensive - Still Vandy… (**)
-Ted Cain - Offensive Coordinator, Tight Ends (**)
-Robbie Caldwell - Assistant Head Coach, Offensive Line (**)
-Charlie Fisher - Wide Receivers (**)
-Jimmy Kiser - Passing Game Coordinator (**)
-Des Kitchings - Running Backs (*)

Recruiting - Look at the class rankings. Not pretty. (*)

 

[Volfan8282]

Les Miles is a 5*? Haha

 

[ptclaus98]

So Bobby Johnson takes VANDERBILT to a bowl win, and he's the same level as CLK? Come on, this list can't be serious.

 

[whall12]

I like it but I would put Tennessee ahead of LSU even thought we have yet to play a game with this coaching staff. I just think Les Miles is extremely overrated.

 

[chavisut]

Les Miles is nowhere close to Saban and Meyer's level

 

[kennyb010]

i would put les miles on the same level as fulmer

 

[sickemsmokey10]

Les Miles is nowhere near a 5 star coach

 

[Athlete269]

Houston Nutt would be a ****

Gene Chizik would be a *

Bobby Johnson would be a **

Oh, and the Tennessee Defensive staff would be *****.

Thats better

 

[GoVols10]

Vanderbilt tierost-4-1090547912:

 

[VOLnMiami]

So Bobby Johnson takes VANDERBILT to a bowl win, and he's the same level as CLK? Come on, this list can't be serious.

Johnson has proved MORE than Kiffin at this stage...Nothing has been seen by this Tennessee staff as of yet.

 

[TennesseeJohn]

There is no reason to give Lane Kiffin three stars. He barely rates two stars as of today. That could change after his first season, but his body of work is pretty thin.

And there's a case to be made for Bobby Johnson to get a fourth star.

 

[Abeachvol]

Les Miles is a 5*? Haha

 

[NYYVol]

Les Miles is a 5*? Haha

Maybe he is counting 2009 and is giving him a star for each year?

 

[Clambake24]

Recruiting - Florida recruits speed, they do it well, and it works. Will FU recruiting continue to thrive with CLK and Gran yanking elite prospects out of FLA behind their back? (*****)

I think you are not giving Vance Bedford proper respect. He has turned our biggest weaknesses of 07 into on of our strengths in 08. Our corners played very well this season and a lot of credit goes to Bedford for that. He also did very well with the secondary when he was at Michigan his first time in the 90's.

Also I have a lot of respect for the awesome staff CLK but if you think they are going to yank so many elite players out of Florida it will hurt UF's recruiting your crazy! Florida is the most talent rich state in America arguably and we will still land enough to have top class year after year. Also note only about half of this years class will come from the state of Florida. The Gators are cherry picking from other states as well on the way to another top 5 class.

 

[vols461]

who the heck put Miles a 5*? haha

 

[orangeblooded2]

Given the choices.



DISAGREE!

 

[vols461]

Given the choices.



DISAGREE!

i agree with the disagree

 

[ptclaus98]

Johnson has proved MORE than Kiffin at this stage...Nothing has been seen by this Tennessee staff as of yet.

I know, that was the point I was trying to make.

 

[All Vol 14]

who the heck put Miles a 5*? haha

 

[kiddiedoc]

I'm going to have to call a timeout on the Les Miles rating. Oh, wait. . . .I'm out.

 

[TheVol]

Bobo is a joke at 4 star right? Gonzales, Addazio, 4 stars? This rating is like Scouts, all hype and name, no substance. Chaney is way more respected among coaches than these guys.

 

[TNHopeful505]

Okay, don't fry me for saying this.....but Chavis should at least be a 4 star. I'm sorry, but our defense was good behind him statisticallly. Our defense was not the problem. Of course now....it's going to be even more amazing, but I think Chavis is a little underrated there.

I think 3 star is about right for Kiffin right now. Hasn't proved anything yet....actually 3 stars is right for a 0-0 coach.

This is good for seeing who is on the staffs now....but the ratings are definitely off.

 

[Blood Runs Orange]

Wow, we've got more 4 & 5 star coaches than Alabama and Florida!!! Not a bit of home team bias in this thread!!

Seriously, maybe we should win a few games before we start tooting our horns too loudly....k:

 

[BrierVol61]

I think you post is well thought out. Putting Mile ahead of Saban and Meyers is also a gimmie considering this years recruiting class. But NRXT years class with UT's staff, I am wanting to see....

 

[bleedorange0037]

You gotta give Johnson a little bit more credit at Vandy. He did take them to a bowl win this past year, and it's not like getting good players at Vandy is the same as getting good players at UT or any of the other SEC school for that matter. The academic standards are not something that they take lightly.