re: Rank SEC Head Coaching Jobs

frick it, I’ll play. Just based of my opinion that doesn’t mean shite tbh.

1. Bama (a truly elite coach + bama= multiple natties)
2. UGA
3a. LSU
3b. Texas
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida
6. Auburn
7. Tennessee
8. A&M
9. Mizzouri
10. Ole Miss
11. South Carolina
12. Kentucky
13. Arkansas
14. Miss St
15. Vandy

Tried to factor in resources (including local and surrounding competition for said resources) , funding, fertile recruiting ground, brand, and traditional success on the field in the form of national championships, conference championships, and appearances.

Auburn, Tennessee and A&M were hard to separate.

One major indicator of what is a "good" job is how many different men have been able to win big games at that school.

Percentage of Head Coaches who have won at least 30% of their games against ranked opponents since 1960:

.778- Alabama (7/9)
.667- Auburn (6/9)
.571- Georgia (4/7)
.545- LSU (6/11)
.500- Texas (4/8)
.455- Oklahoma (5/11)
.455- Tennessee (5/11)
.364- Arkansas (4/11)
.364- Florida (4/11)
.308- Ole Miss (4/13)
.222- Missouri (2/9)
.083- S Carolina (1/12)
.083- Texas A&M (1/12)
.000- Kentucky (0/11)
.000- Miss State (0/13)
.000- Vanderbilt (0/15)

I can tell you based off this, that it doesn't matter how much money boosters allegedly throw around... if only one of A&M's last twelve coaches can manage a 30% win% against ranked opponents, that's not a very good job. It's insanely difficult to win there.

And no matter what folks want to say about Auburn, until Harsin, nearly every coach had major success:

Shug Jordan won a National title and 36% of his games vs ranked opponents. Pat Dye won 4 SEC titles and 37% of his games vs ranked opponents. Terry Bowden had an undefeated season and won 41% of his games vs ranked opponents. Tuberville won an SEC title and 40% of his games vs ranked opponents. Chizik won a national title and 44% of his games vs ranked opponents. Malzahn won an SEC title and 33% of his games vs ranked opponents.

The only three failures were Barfield, Harson, and Freeze going back to the early 1950s.

Not many schools in America can show that many guys who've been able to win.

quote:

---

Sark is an improvement from the last two by far but he's not someone who can win it all.

---

I honestly think Sark can win a title. He called the plays that brought Alabama its last natty. Sark’s players in general like the guy, and will play hard for him. And compared to the 10 years before Sark, he’s putting lots of our players into the NFL now. And past UT Austin stars, including Bijan, Vince, etc. seem to like Sark too. Sark has graciously brought Mack Brown back into the fold as well.

The combination of Texas’ access to money, a demonstrated pathway for player recruits to the pros, and ex Texas players like Bijan and Vince voluntarily hyping our program and serving as player mentors make me feel like our program is in much better shape than it has been in years.

That said, it’s incredibly hard to win a national championship. IDK what our O line will look like this year. Sure, I would love to win a natty again (I was fortunate enough to attend our 2005 National Championship game vs USC), but I will feel pretty good if we finish the year within the top 5 teams.

quote:

---

What is the best football head coaching gig in the SEC?

---

LSU. Talent rich recruiting area. Facilities are great. And, public officials will go to literally any lengths to help you win.

Old school coaching (winning at 1 school)

#1 Alabama
#2 Everybody else

New Coaching (most money for least work)

#1 Who cares

quote:

---

Probably the one with lowest expectations. Make millions with a mediocre product.

---

I'd like to agree with you, but those schools also pay significantly less. While the expectations are low, it's also just as hard to meet those expectations because it's harder to win at those places, and it's not like those schools don't fire coaches either. At a larger school, yeah you have higher expectations, but when you're getting 9 figure guaranteed contracts or close to it does it really matter? At a smaller program maybe their bar is making a bowl game more times than not, but that's not easy to do at those types of schools, and they're guaranteeing you less than half as much money to meet those expectations.

Sure, if you're good enough of a coach to be Kirk Ferentz, that's a dream, but he also has a really impressive career record of 209-128 to have the job security he does at a school with low expectations.

quote:

---

I like said in a follow up, I think we're a great OC from a real shot. I just think Sark's arrogance blinds him to this fact. in 3 years this guy still hasn't figured out how to fix our goal line offense and he looks completely lost when we play elite teams.

---

I don’t disagree with your Sark critiques. My first concern about our goal line problems relates to our O line being substandard for the SEC. Whether it’s Kyle Flood not delivering, or Sark not focusing on O line recruiting like we focus on flashy players such as receivers, our O line has not been getting it done.

If we had a top 10 or even top 15 O line, I think our ability to score in the red zone would be greatly improved.

Lowest paying P4 salary shows about 2-3 million a year from AI search:

- Brent Brennan (Arizona – Big 12): Starts at $2.2M to $3.4M annually, making him the lowest-paid head coach among public P4 institutions.

- Rhett Lashlee (SMU – ACC): Estimated around $2.36M to $2.47M annually. (Note: As a private university, SMU is not legally required to publish exact contract details, but estimations place him at the bottom tier of P4 head coaches)

In G6 floor is 400-600k:
-Lowest-Paid Coach (FBS Level): Ryan Beard (Missouri State) is reported as the lowest-paid full-time FBS head coach, earning $450,000 annually upon the program's transition into Conference USA.

While significantly less pay, it is also significantly less stress and much higher ability to reach coaching longevity with lower program expectations.

In the SEC:
- Clark Lea (Vanderbilt): ~$3.71 million
Vanderbilt is a private institution, so exact compensation is reported via tax filings rather than public record, but estimates place him at the bottom of the conference.
-Jeff Lebby (Mississippi State): ~$4.35 million - $4.51 million
He holds the lowest salary among public SEC universities.

quote:

---

how is florida who is notorious for being cheap asses ahead of the others?

---

I think Florida is way too high on that list but how are they "notoriously cheap?"

quote:

---

While significantly less pay, it is also significantly less stress and much higher ability to reach coaching longevity with lower program expectations.

---

is it, though?

I'll use Arizona since you mentioned them first

John Mackovic lasted 3 years, fired
Mike Stoops lasted 8 years, fired
Rich Rod lasted 6 years, fired (for off the field conduct)
Kevin Sumlin lasted 2.5 years, fired
Jedd Fisch left for a better job after 3 years

I don't think it's "easy" to reach coaching longevity anywhere. Ability to meet expectations is generally relative to how difficult it is to achieve at whatever school you're coaching. So the question becomes, would you rather be guaranteed more money or less money? Brent Bowman could coach at Arizona for over 25 years and not make what big programs are guaranteeing their coaches in their initial contract. Why work that long with less stress (head coaching jobs are still stressful everywhere) when you can work 5 years, get fired, and frick off forever if you choose with more money in the bank.