re: Who would have thunk it...Saban rated top coach in SEC

1. Nick Saban- 4 national titles at two different schools. Great program builder, relentless recruiter, and a great HC. No controversy here.

2. Steve Spurrer- He only gets the nod at #2 because of his resume' at Florida and what he did at South Carolina. Last year was a big drop back, especially on defense. But winning at South Carolina isn't as easy as say winning at LSU, Auburn, or Alabama, so Spurrier gets #2 on the list despite last year. I don't think though that he will make USC as competitive as they were.

3. Les Miles- This is where the list gets tough. Les has had LSU in the race nearly every single year. Before the Alabama game last year, he had LSU sitting at 7-2 and upset #3 Ole Miss at home. Last year was a big drop off, similar to their year in 2008 with Jarret "pick 6" Lee. Still though, no one marks LSU as a "W" on their schedule. They always have a tough physical defense, relentless pass rushers, and a great running game. Les's biggest con though is having a consistent offense to finish games off games and play calling in late-4th quarter situations. Losing to Auburn 41-7 is inexcusable. Still has a national title though and a national title runner up.

4. Gus Mahzahn- Great 1st year, dismal second. Great offensive minded HC that loves to run the football and throw deep. Gus has one of the most simple, yet difficult, offenses in CFB. Started the year great last year, one of CFB's best teams until they played A&M. Gus is a great recruiter also, good play caller (knows when to attack a defense. When to hurry up, and when to control the clock), and a QB developer. His con though can be looked at his defense. Both years, pretty underwhelming performances

5. Gary Pinkel- Has made Mizzou a surprising contender for the East every year but their first year in the SEC. Crazy, because everyone pointed at A&M and Kevin Sumlim to succeed in the SEC, but Missouri has done it. I think his best coaching job last year was against Tennessee on the road. UT just caught on fire last year, had them on the road, and still beat UT. Arkansas also. You can see some talent disparity though when he does play tougher teams (Ex: Auburn 2013, UGA 2014, Alabama 2014). Losing 34-0 at home last year was bad. Very bad. But getting his team to buy right back in, beat a hot Tennessee and Arkansas team, then win the East was nothing short of impressive. He's had back-to-back SECDPOY. I think Pinkel has been solid, but he'll have to play @UGA this year and @Arkansas to close the season. Tough task.

6. Mark Richt- Good guy, good HC, but always falls short. Has done a great job of keeping Georgia competitive. I love Nick Chubb, and Richt's ability to always have a top RB is amazing. Its like they reload every single year at that position. He falls at #5 though because he's been unable to get over that hump. His defenses also haven't been too stellar in big games. Last year vs South Carolina and vs Florida were very questionable losses. Richt has had great success in the SEC and has been consistent in everything, just can't seem to put it all together and make that magical run at UGA like fans would want.

7. Hugh Freeze- Has made remarkable improvements at Ole Miss and has changed the perception of the program. First year, not that great. 2nd year? Improvement. Beat Texas on the road, LSU at home, and won their bowl game. 3rd year? Peaked too early. Great upset vs Alabama, but imploded against Auburn, LSU, and didn't even show up for Arkansas. The final win vs Miss State was a great way to close out a good season. I'll give Ole Miss a pass against TCU, they were team that looked pissed off for not being in the final four and definitely deserved better than being in Atlanta. TCU will be one of the top teams next year. Anyways, I digress. Hugh has done a good job of putting Ole Miss on the map and getting top recruits. Treadwell is back next year, but questions still remain at QB. His defense was very good last year. I think he's still growing as a HC.

8. Dan Mullen- He's gone a good job at making some buzz a Miss State too. In '12, he had them undefeated until they played Alabama. After that, like Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss last year, they fell apart. Dan Mullen took the country by storm last year after Prescott and Miss State upset LSU on the road at night. Not only upset them, but flat out beat them. The score does not tell the whole story. Then playing at the time, top 10 teams for like 3 weeks in a row and beating them. The most impressive came against Auburn. He had Miss State in the final four discussion and #1 in the country. Then Alabama happened and Ole Miss beat them in the Egg Bowl. Didn't finish the season well, but did do a good job. Mullen has had a good tenure at Miss State, but some fans want him to do more (win the SEC West, make it to the SECCG). He'll have to face a big problem this year with the losses of many seniors. But Prescott being back helps.

9. Kevin Sumlim- good offensive coach, terrible at defense. Sumlim did a great job with A&M in 2012 in the 2nd half of the season. Beat #1 Alabama on the road, destroyed Mississippi State the week prior to that, and destroyed Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl with the whole country watching. He had A&M hyped up as one of the best teams in the country. The Alabama-A&M game in '13 was hyped up to be Game of the Century II. But, again, what held them back in the 2013 campaign was their defense. And in '14, the same problems. He had A&M off to a great start, Kenny Hill was the early Heisman favorite, and they were on fire. What happened? Hardly any team chemistry, Hill lost confidence, and again, no defense. The Miss State game was bad, but losing 59-0 will forever haunt Sumlin and was downright embarrassing for the A&M program. Sumlin did though beat #3 Auburn on the road, which was very impressive, seeing how Auburn had never lost at home under Gus Malzahn. Still lost to LSU at home, which is still hanging over Aggies mind. Sumplin has done a good job of selling the A&M program and stealing recruits from their former rival, Texas. But still has many question marks.

10. Bert- I think has done a great job of building the Arkansas program back. His first year was a disaster, but anyone would have been bad with that roster. 2nd year? Couldn't have gone any better. Started off bad losing 45-21 to Auburn (game was a bit closer in the 1st half), tough OT loss to A&M, and could have and probably should have beat Alabama at home. Bert did a great job of bringing what he did best at Wisconsin: run the football. Arkansas also played very physical football on the defensive side, shutting out LSU, Ole Miss, and holding Texas to under 100 yards. Bert will have to keep the team together this year, live up to the hype, and develop the same chemistry that he had last year.

11. Butch Jones- Literally the same as Bert almost. Started the year off "meh", had a bad loss to Florida at home, but caught on fire late in the season and finished well. I remember the TSIO game last year where I thought it was going to be another route, but Alabama eventually did have to wake up or they were going to be in trouble. Butch has done a good job of getting recruits to buy in, playing with a young roster, and keeping Tennessee on the map. He had a rough first year, but his 2nd year was solid. He faces the same thing as Bert this year, keeping the same chemistry in tack and progressing each week.

12. McElwain

13. Stoops

14. Mason