ShotgunDawg
07-20-2015, 11:18 AM
Coming off SEC media days, seeing SEC coaches go through the ESPN car wash, & seeing the SEC coach's BINGO created Texas Ags, got me thinking about what my gut feeling is about the SEC coaches. Many times, we just look at their resume, wins and losses, and decide if they are good or not, but, in this post, I'd like actually examine my "gut feel" & intuition about each coach, and give you my thoughts on predicting how things will go for them in the future, based on their personality. Look at this as if I were interviewing them for a job, but didn't read their resume beforehand.
This is not a ranking, so I'll go in Alphabetical order:
Bret Bielema - I really like Bret & look at him as an ultra consistent coach that understands his weaknesses & his identity. He looks to be the type that would be a blast to play for. He seems to be a good guy & the type that will stay at Arkansas for a long time. I see him having success on the Houston Nutt level there, but I'm not sure if he'll ever have the quality of players on defense to have an elite defense or the dynamic, play making ability on offense to ever be a high scoring team. That leaves Arkansas with an extremely small margin error in most games, meaning that they will win & lose a ton of close games over the next 5 years, which will likely make them a perennial 8-9 win program. Good but not great
Hugh Freeze - I think Hugh comes off great in front of the camera & can sell, sell, sell, & motivate but I'm not sure I see a ton of substance in his coaching or Xs and Os ability. There also always seems to be something going on in the shadows that makes you wonder if Hugh truly is the person that he seems to be on camera. There is also a general uneasiness about Hugh & desire to be liked that causes him to handle controversy like an amateur. Personally, sometimes I wonder if Hugh is a good guy that is simply being told what to do by boosters. Not sure he completely runs that program.
Butch Jones - This one is one of the most perplexing to me. Personally, I'm not a fan. I think he has door nail personality, very little charisma, & comes across as a robot. My guess is that he'll lack the ability to make adjustments to win big games, as I see him as an extremely limited intellectual, that works hard, has mental toughness, but lacks the personality or versatility to reach the top. Seems like a typical high school meat head coach to me. Tennessee's network will give him Top 10 recruiting classes, but I don't see Tennessee becoming anymore than an 8-9 win program under him.
Derrick Mason - Sucks & has no business being an SEC football coach. Terrible hire that comes across as being completely in over his head.
Gus Malzahn - Outstanding.... is smart, can motivate, & can make in-game & program adjustments on a dime. He'll have Auburn competing for a long time. He just has to make sure he hires good assistants on the defensive side of the ball, because I'm not sure he knows the difference between a 3/4 & a 4/3.
Jim McElwain - The coach next door. This is the weekend golfer that thought he could be an SEC football coach & someone actually gave him that chance. He's laid back & smart, but I'm not sure he a great motivator. McElwain is the complete opposite of Butch Jones, but I'd rather have McElwain over Jones because I'd rather have smart than motivator. That being said, I see McElwain making Florida better & having the potential to win big games, but I also see them losing games to lesser opponents & not recruiting at a high enough level to consistently be better than Georgia. McElwain will turn Florida into an 9 win program with a few 10 win years mixed in.
Les Miles - Unbelievable personality & charisma that seems to be in denial about the current status of things in his conference & his own program. I think Les is an excellent coach, but lacks the versatility & in-game instincts to take LSU to the next level. The problem LSU has is that he recruits at a great level, & very few coaches have the full package that LSU needs. Who do you replace him with?
Dan Mullen - Socially awkward, energetic guy that sees the big picture &, along with Malzahn, is probably the smartest coach in the SEC. Mullen is a good motivator & excellent talent evaluator, who seems to enjoy proving people wrong & has different motivations that most other coaches. Mullen's biggest weakness is in-game adjustments. Mullen & Malzahn are very similar, but Mullen has a greater feel for the defensive side of the ball & Malzahn can make in-game adjustments slightly better. Mullen evaluates talent better than Malzahn, but Malzahn has the privilege of recruiting to a school that has traditionally attracted better plays.
Gary Pinkel - Clone of Nick Saban that coaches at a school that simply can't recruit like Bama. Full package
Mark Richt - What you see is what you get. Straight line, good man that for whatever reason can't quite get his team to play winning football for 11 out of the 12 weeks.
Nick Saban - The full package that has the privilege of recruiting at the best school to recruit to in the country. Saban has winning down to a formula in which there is room for error. He could put the game on simulation mode & win 95% of the time. Saban's biggest problem is that he has reached the level of diminishing returns. Simply, Bama can't get any better, while the other teams around him are getting better. So long as Saban is at Bama, their program will play at the level they currently do, but the question is how much better everyone else will be. In past years, Bama had 2 or 3 games on their schedule that they could conceivably lose, but over the past few years, that list has grown to 4 or 5 games that Bama can lose, due to the quality of the competition.
Steve Spurrier - Charisma & intelligence to spare, but doesn't appear to have the motivation that makes the adjustments needed to compete at the highest level. His teams will always compete though beacause he is probably the most instinctual, offensive play caller I've seen in my lifetime.
Mark Stoops - Just not enough. He's in a tough place to recruit to & win. I see him as a good motivator with solid football acumen & some charisma, but just doesn't have enough of any one component to turn Kentucky into a winner. Jack of all trades, master of none
Kevin Sumlin - Looks fun to play for & is creative, but I'm not sure he's players respect him enough to play with the discipline necessary to win a the highest level. Not sure he has the style of play to consistently in this conference, &, much like Georgia, not sure he has the fan base that will demand the mental toughness to win at the highest level. 8-9 win program that will consistently get bullied by more mentally tough, intense teams. Problem is, who do you replace him with?
This is not a ranking, so I'll go in Alphabetical order:
Bret Bielema - I really like Bret & look at him as an ultra consistent coach that understands his weaknesses & his identity. He looks to be the type that would be a blast to play for. He seems to be a good guy & the type that will stay at Arkansas for a long time. I see him having success on the Houston Nutt level there, but I'm not sure if he'll ever have the quality of players on defense to have an elite defense or the dynamic, play making ability on offense to ever be a high scoring team. That leaves Arkansas with an extremely small margin error in most games, meaning that they will win & lose a ton of close games over the next 5 years, which will likely make them a perennial 8-9 win program. Good but not great
Hugh Freeze - I think Hugh comes off great in front of the camera & can sell, sell, sell, & motivate but I'm not sure I see a ton of substance in his coaching or Xs and Os ability. There also always seems to be something going on in the shadows that makes you wonder if Hugh truly is the person that he seems to be on camera. There is also a general uneasiness about Hugh & desire to be liked that causes him to handle controversy like an amateur. Personally, sometimes I wonder if Hugh is a good guy that is simply being told what to do by boosters. Not sure he completely runs that program.
Butch Jones - This one is one of the most perplexing to me. Personally, I'm not a fan. I think he has door nail personality, very little charisma, & comes across as a robot. My guess is that he'll lack the ability to make adjustments to win big games, as I see him as an extremely limited intellectual, that works hard, has mental toughness, but lacks the personality or versatility to reach the top. Seems like a typical high school meat head coach to me. Tennessee's network will give him Top 10 recruiting classes, but I don't see Tennessee becoming anymore than an 8-9 win program under him.
Derrick Mason - Sucks & has no business being an SEC football coach. Terrible hire that comes across as being completely in over his head.
Gus Malzahn - Outstanding.... is smart, can motivate, & can make in-game & program adjustments on a dime. He'll have Auburn competing for a long time. He just has to make sure he hires good assistants on the defensive side of the ball, because I'm not sure he knows the difference between a 3/4 & a 4/3.
Jim McElwain - The coach next door. This is the weekend golfer that thought he could be an SEC football coach & someone actually gave him that chance. He's laid back & smart, but I'm not sure he a great motivator. McElwain is the complete opposite of Butch Jones, but I'd rather have McElwain over Jones because I'd rather have smart than motivator. That being said, I see McElwain making Florida better & having the potential to win big games, but I also see them losing games to lesser opponents & not recruiting at a high enough level to consistently be better than Georgia. McElwain will turn Florida into an 9 win program with a few 10 win years mixed in.
Les Miles - Unbelievable personality & charisma that seems to be in denial about the current status of things in his conference & his own program. I think Les is an excellent coach, but lacks the versatility & in-game instincts to take LSU to the next level. The problem LSU has is that he recruits at a great level, & very few coaches have the full package that LSU needs. Who do you replace him with?
Dan Mullen - Socially awkward, energetic guy that sees the big picture &, along with Malzahn, is probably the smartest coach in the SEC. Mullen is a good motivator & excellent talent evaluator, who seems to enjoy proving people wrong & has different motivations that most other coaches. Mullen's biggest weakness is in-game adjustments. Mullen & Malzahn are very similar, but Mullen has a greater feel for the defensive side of the ball & Malzahn can make in-game adjustments slightly better. Mullen evaluates talent better than Malzahn, but Malzahn has the privilege of recruiting to a school that has traditionally attracted better plays.
Gary Pinkel - Clone of Nick Saban that coaches at a school that simply can't recruit like Bama. Full package
Mark Richt - What you see is what you get. Straight line, good man that for whatever reason can't quite get his team to play winning football for 11 out of the 12 weeks.
Nick Saban - The full package that has the privilege of recruiting at the best school to recruit to in the country. Saban has winning down to a formula in which there is room for error. He could put the game on simulation mode & win 95% of the time. Saban's biggest problem is that he has reached the level of diminishing returns. Simply, Bama can't get any better, while the other teams around him are getting better. So long as Saban is at Bama, their program will play at the level they currently do, but the question is how much better everyone else will be. In past years, Bama had 2 or 3 games on their schedule that they could conceivably lose, but over the past few years, that list has grown to 4 or 5 games that Bama can lose, due to the quality of the competition.
Steve Spurrier - Charisma & intelligence to spare, but doesn't appear to have the motivation that makes the adjustments needed to compete at the highest level. His teams will always compete though beacause he is probably the most instinctual, offensive play caller I've seen in my lifetime.
Mark Stoops - Just not enough. He's in a tough place to recruit to & win. I see him as a good motivator with solid football acumen & some charisma, but just doesn't have enough of any one component to turn Kentucky into a winner. Jack of all trades, master of none
Kevin Sumlin - Looks fun to play for & is creative, but I'm not sure he's players respect him enough to play with the discipline necessary to win a the highest level. Not sure he has the style of play to consistently in this conference, &, much like Georgia, not sure he has the fan base that will demand the mental toughness to win at the highest level. 8-9 win program that will consistently get bullied by more mentally tough, intense teams. Problem is, who do you replace him with?