re: Year 1 Records of some of the TOP SEC Coaches

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3 10-wins, 3 9-wins, 2 8-wins and 2 sub .500 records.

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1 of those are still in progress, 1 of the 9 win seasons had a rent a win canceled for weather, and there was only 1 sub .500 season.

Now do Arkansas

Only 1 coach on that list was a first year HC…

Don’t worry BK will continue kicking Ole Miss’ arse

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It is a two way street, and he definitely used it to rebuild his team. Good for him, but don't act like his situation was the same as the others on the list.

In years past, some teams were absolutely decimated by players declaring, graduating, transferring out, or just quitting, and coaches had to grab a few players from the portal and put all their eggs in the recruiting basket, knowing they've got a long road ahead for rebuilding. Kelly got the show on the road in one off season using the portal. It's a cheat code for coaches these days.

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Which of these coaches had a "decimated roster?"

The transfer portal definitely helps but you're also forced to build a team out of a bunch of spare parts and pieces, the portal hurts new coaches more than it helps IMO.

The biggest benefit is the ability to grab a difference maker at quarterback like Lincoln Riley did.

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Which of these coaches had a "decimated roster?"

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I don't know, but my point is that a decimated roster used to be a bigger deal because the only real way to address it was through a few years of recruiting. Now you can get a head start through the portal with one offseason. The point is that today is different because of the speed of recovery that the portal allows for.

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The transfer portal definitely helps but you're also forced to build a team out of a bunch of spare parts and pieces, the portal hurts new coaches more than it helps IMO.

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Perhaps, but that's where I give Kelly kudos. He used the portal to get the missing pieces that he needed.

Think about it in years past: if your roster was severely hurting in multiple positions, you had to hit the recruiting trail and hope you picked up a few good players at those positions. It was a huge gamble, obviously, because you didn't know if those kids would pan out in college football, and it was also difficult for a new coach in many instances because he was starting fresh building trust and the recruits needed to put a lot more trust in him.

With the portal, you have your pick of players who are likely ready to hit the field on day 1 and they may have even seen the field in college, so you know what you're getting to a certain degree. It's less risky than recruiting your way out of a hole, and it's certainly a lot faster.

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The biggest benefit is the ability to grab a difference maker at quarterback like Lincoln Riley did.

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Wasn't LSU's starting QB for the season (who helped lead the team to the SECCG) taken from the portal this past offseason?

That sort of proves my point. When you have a lot of holes in your roster, you can now fill them with options from the portal. LSU was able to do that.

I also recognize that they had a few good players come in from the last recruiting class. That was great, and very helpful to the success of the team this year. However, I doubt the team would have been able to win the SECW without the help of the portal.

Three national championships with 3 different coaches. The last two weren’t close to Kelly’s caliber. I like our chances to have several breakout seasons. Yea, I’d be worried to if I were you.

Malzahn was like 18 seconds away from winning a championship. Sometimes lightning strikes and never again lol

Brian Kelly had a very good first year at LSU, people act like there are tons of elite players in the portal just waiting for a call.

Doesn’t guarantee anything moving forward, but to pretend year 1 has been anything but a success is ridiculous.

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Yes, however, he would have been eligible immediately as a grad transfer under the previous rules as well as would have several other transfer players Kelly signed. Joe Foucha was a 4 -year player at Arkansas. Mekhi Garner was a 3 year player at ULL after a year of JUCO. Noah Cain graduated in 3 years at Penn St (was academic all-big 10 every year), Sevyn Banks was a 4 year player at OSU.

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That's a fair point. The only thing I'd add is that with the new portal rules, there are more eyes in there than in years past, which means you'll have guys seeking transfers that may not have been tempted to do so in years past. Even that has changed with the new rules. Since I don't know what those 5 players that you listed would have done in years past, I won't assume anything there. I just wanted to mention that the portal has changed a lot of things in college football, which is why I think the game is different for Kelly than the coaches that joined years ago.

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The only guys who transferred (and actually play) who would have had to sit out under the old rules are Greg Brooks (Arkansas), Mekhi Wingo (Missouri), Kyren Lacey (ULL)

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No others transferred in that would have had to sit under the old rules that either played or were available for depth?

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But we also lost Eli Ricks (starter), Max Johnson (starter), Dwight McGlothern (starter), Trey Palmer, Corey Kiner, Devonta Lee (grades but would have transferred regardless), Koy Moore, and a ton of younger players.

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Yes, and that's the downside of the portal that everyone has to face these days. That wouldn't have been a factor under the old rules, which is why I don't care as much about that. Kelly is operating under the new rules, which is the entire point of me separating him from the other names on that list.