There are five new SEC Football head coaches in 2024: two leading the newcomer programs in the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners, two replacing fired head coaches and one replacing the sport’s greatest legend who just retired. Even with the loss of Nick Saban, though, this is a deep list of elite leaders. Here is a ranking of all 16 head coaches. They are NOT solely based on accomplishments.
16. Shane Beamer, South Carolina
If not for two fluke wins by the Gamescocks at the end of the 2022 regular season over the Tennessee Vols and Clemson Tigers, Shane Beamer’s best year as head coach would be his first, when he went 7-6. That Connor Stalions scandal may have helped that one month too. As a result, there is nothing on Beamer’s resume to keep him out of the bottom of SEC Football right now. He’s 20-18 overall.
15. Billy Napier, Florida
In terms of coaching an SEC Football program itself, Billy Napier is the worst in the league. He has back to back losing records and is 11-14 overall with the Gators. However, his resume with the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, where he went 40-12 and won the Sun Belt twice, suggests he knows something about running a solid program. Still, there are too many hilarious errors on gameday to have him any higher than here.
14. Sam Pittman, Arkansas
Early on, the future seemed bright for Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks, but they have taken a dramatic turn for the worst the past two years. Now, he’s 23-25 entering his fifth year with the Hogs, and it’s hard to see anything getting better. There’s a reason they brought back Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator. Pittman looks like a career line coach who stumbled into this role, and it’s not pretty.
13. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
Okay. I get it. The Commodores have gone 9-27 in three years under Clark Lea. What do you expect him to do? He’s at Vandy. Remember, he inherited a team that went 0-10 in 2020, and the SEC East got stronger right when he got there with the re-emergence of the Vols. Going 5-7 with this team in 2022 is more impressive than anything the other coaches did.
12. Brent Venables, Oklahoma
I still don’t believe in the Sooners head coach. He seems like a pure defensive coordinator. However, he did go 10-3 last year with OU after a 6-7 inaugural record. That was in the Big 12, though. Now, he’s in the SEC, and Greg Sankey gave his team one of the most difficult schedules, so my bet is that he gets exposed this season.
11. Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State
He hasn’t ever coached a game in his career, and I’m sitting here asking myself why Jeff Lebby isn’t ranked higher. Lebby combines elements from the most brilliant offensive minds in SEC Football right now and has made two of the coaches higher up on this list. His offensive scheme will immediately make the Bulldogs successful.
10. Hugh Freeze, Auburn
It’s hard for me to admit the Tigers coach is a great offensive mind given how awful of a person he is. However, I was able to drop Hugh Freeze down because of the worst defensive call in history in last year’s Iron Bowl. He’s only 80-54 for his career, which was also with the Ole Miss Rebels, Liberty Flames, Arkansas State Red Wolves and at the NAIA level since he forfeited so many games from cheating.
9. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Sure, he just got the Longhorns to the College Football Playoff, but Steve Sarkisian is hanging his hat over beating the Alabama Crimson Tide in a fluke September game and not going winless with the Washington Huskies. Big 12 play helped him last year, and he’ll get exposed in the SEC. His 71-49 record with UW, the USC Trojans and now leaves a lot to be desired.
8. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
Perhaps Eliah Drinkwitz should have moved up this list after leading the Tigers to a New Years Six bowl last year and going 11-2, but that was still his first winning season in four years there, and he’s only 40-22 as a career head coach, skewed by his 12-1 season with the Appalachian State Mountaineers. Drinkwitz also had an easy SEC Football slate last year, so he has to show more.
7. Brian Kelly, LSU
Last year, I would have had Brian Kelly top three on my list, but his inability to coach the defense with the Tigers, which should be his speciality, is proving costly. I don’t care anymore about his 283-103-2 record that also includes the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Cincinnati Bearcats, Central Michigan Chippewas and FCS level. Personnel missteps wasted a Heisman season. That’s a bad look.
6. Josh Heupel, Tennessee
Similar to Brian Kelly, Josh Heupel had to drop down my coach rankings for two clear reasons. His talent evaluation is a major question given how much he leveraged on Joe Milton III, and he also has been horrible on the road. Lack of in-game adjustments vs. Mizzou and short-yardage fails also hurt. His 55-20 record in six years with the UCF Knights and then UT is still impressive, though.
5. Mark Stoops, Kentucky
You can say whatever you want about him, but Mark Stoops does more with the Wildcats than should be possible at that program. He just had to forfeit every win from his best season there, 2021, which pushed his career record to 63-65, but he’s reached a bowl every year since 2016. It’s stale, consistent and boring, but what he is doing is working.
4. Mike Elko, Texas A&M
An Ivy League graduate who knows ball is rare, but Mike Elko is exactly that, which is why he went 16-9 in two years there. A Dave Clawson protege, Elko’s smarts advantage combined with the talent he has taking over the Aggies should quickly propel him into one of the best SEC Football head coaches. Yes, I’m that high on him.
3. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
There are questions about Jalen Milroe’s fit for his offense, but Kalen DeBoer was as good as Bama could do following a legend like Nick Saban. DeBoer did take Washington to the CFP, as he went 25-3 there in two years and has an insane 104-12 record that includes time with the Fresno State Bulldogs and at the NAIA level, where he won three national championships in four years. This guy wins.
2. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
Is this crazy? Maybe. But the coach who was fired by USC is maximizing what’s possible in Mississippi, going to two New Years Six bowl games in three years. Lane Kiffin is still a brilliant offensive mind and knows how to run a program. There’s a reason he has a 95-49 career record in rough places like there, with the Florida Atlantic Owls, USC on probation and the Tennessee Vols in disarray.
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
While I may question what Kirby Smart would do if he couldn’t recruit the talent he can get with the Bulldogs, it’s impossible to ignore his success. Smart restored SEC Football to ground and pound and won a national title the Saban way from the early 2010s. Nobody saw that coming, and he’s the king of the league now, so he’s easily No. 1 with a 94-16 career record and two national titles.
