By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Will the next Nick Saban please stand up!
Saban has been gone for two seasons now, and it should come as no coincidence that suddenly the Southeastern Conference has fallen from grace.
The Big Ten just means more and has taken over college football with three consecutive national championships by three programs. Meanwhile, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is no longer talking championships as he used to, and is trying to sell overall competitive balance as sexy. You want overall competitive balance, Greg? Check out the American League West in Major League Baseball, aka competitive mediocrity.
While there are no true candidates in any league to become the next Saban, there are a few around who can at least get within a few football fields of him. With that, let us rank the SEC coaches 1 through 16.
1. KIRBY SMART, Georgia – Just four years ago, Smart appeared on his way to becoming the heir apparent to Saban, whom he was defensive coordinator for from 2008-15 and was part of four national titles. Smart won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and ’22 at Georgia before he was even 47. He went 13-1 and 8-0 in 2023, but did not get into the four-team playoff because he lost to Alabama in the SEC title game, which needs to go away as it continues to hurt SEC team’s playoff chances, particularly now with a 12-team playoff. Smart went 11-3 and 6-2 and 12-2 and 7-1 the last two years, but was not able to get over the hump, losing in back-to-back quarterfinals in the Sugar Bowl. Still, Smart, 50, has made Georgia an annual national contender, which last happened from 1980-83 under Vince Dooley, who in 1980 was the last to win a national title for Georgia before Smart. Kirby will get back to a national title game soon. Meanwhile, he leads all SEC coaches in national titles, 2-0.
2. STEVE SARKISIAN, Texas – Another Saban disciple, Sarkisian keeps getting closer. After turning around Texas gradually in 2021 and ’22, he finished 12-2 and 8-1 in 2023 with a semifinal loss to Washington in the last year of the four-team playoff. In ’24, he reached the second round of the 12-team playoff, finishing 13-3 and 7-1 with an SEC title. After a 10-3 and 6-2, non-playoff season last year, this may be Sarkisian’s best chance to take a step up with quarterback Arch Manning as a junior. Still only 52, if Sark continues to keep Texas consistently near the top, his time will come.
3. LANE KIFFIN, LSU – Few thought anyone could do at Ole Miss what Kiffin did from 2020-25. Remember, the Rebels that Kiffin inherited had four asterisks next to their season records from 2010-16 for NCAA violations. Then Matt Luke had three straight losing SEC seasons. After breaking even at 5-5 in 2020, Kiffin took flight, winning double-figure games in four of the next five years. No one won so consistently at Ole Miss since Johnny Vaught in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. Kiffin’s 2025 team went 11-1 and 7-1.
There should be an asterisk next to Ole Miss glorified interim coach Pete Golding’s name for his two playoff wins after Kiffin exited when the regular season ended last year. Because Golding merely sat in the Corvette offensive engine left by Kiffin, who also graciously gave Golding most of his assistant coaches on loan from LSU, including brilliant offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. That kept everything purring on offense. Did Golding, a great defensive coordinator before his surprising promotion, ever say thank you?
Before Kiffin’s four double-digit win seasons in five years, Ole Miss won 10 games exactly one time from 1972 through 2014 and once in 2015 before Kiffin won 10 in 2021. That was also Ole Miss’ first 10-win regular season. That’s called degree of difficulty. Look out, Sarkisian and Smart, another Son of Saban is about to start making a lot of noise with a lot of mileage in his sports car at only 51.
4. KALEN DEBOER, Alabama – DeBoer, 51, was an outstanding coach in two seasons at Washington at 11-2 and 7-2 in 2022 and 14-1 and 9-0 in 2023 with a national championship game loss to Michigan. That after inheriting a 4-8 and 3-6 team. He also quick fixed Fresno State into a 9-3 and 6-2 team in 2021. But this Milbank, South Dakota, native has been a rib out of sauce at Alabama trying to replace Saban, whom even Bear Bryant would have struggled against. While 9-4 and 5-3 in 2024 and 11-4 and 7-1 with a playoff win last season is not bad, it’s not Alabama.
And if Sons of Saban like Smart, Sarkisian and Kiffin win bigger than DeBoer, that will irk the Bama Nation to no end and hasten DeBoer’s exit.
5. CLARK LEA, Vanderbilt – Lea, 44, is an extremely bright coach. After a pair of 2-10 seasons around a 5-7 mark in his first three seasons, he went 7-6 and 3-5 before the 10-3 and 6-2 breakthrough last season. That was Vanderbilt’s first double-digit win season ever. A major program will hire Lea soon.
6. MIKE ELKO, Texas A&M – In just his second year, Elko went 11-2 and 7-1, doing what Jimbo Fisher couldn’t do in six years – win more than nine games and for significantly less money. Elko even won at Duke at 9-4 and 8-5 after inheriting a program coming off three straight losing seasons. Could Elko, 48, become the Aggies’ best coach since R.C. Slocum won between nine and 12 games eight times from 1990-98?
7. JOSH HEUPEL, Tennessee – Heupel had Tennessee on the cusp in 2022 at 11-2 and 6-2 and again in 2024 at 10-3 and 6-2, but he stumbled after each of those seasons to 9-4 and 4-4 and 8-5 and 4-4 last season. If he doesn’t learn how to attract elite quarterbacks, Heupel, 48, will not be long for Knoxville, which was the case with visiting quarterback Sam Leavitt last January before signing with LSU.
8. ELI DRINKWITZ, Missouri – There is a very good chance that this would be LSU’s coach had Kiffin decided to stay at Ole Miss or go elsewhere. To go 11-2 and 6-2 and 10-3 and 5-3 at Missouri in 2023 and ’24, considering its history outside the Journalism School, was remarkable. Drinkwitz, 43, is similar to Lea. He will soon be leaving for a better job.
9. JON SUMRALL, Florida – This is another rising young coach at 44 in his first year at The Swamp. In four seasons at mid-majors Troy and Tulane, he has three seasons of 11 wins or more. This will be Florida’s best hire since Urban Meyer.
10. BRENT VENABLES, Oklahoma – Who would have thought that Venables’ 32-20 record would be just a bit off former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley’s 35-18 mark at USC? And Venables, 55, leads Riley in playoff appearances, 1-0. But he has had two 6-7 seasons in his four years.
11. SHANE BEAMER, South Carolina – A losing season by Beamer, 49, would be his third in four years after going 7-6 and 8-5 in his first two in 2021 and ’22. Best bet for the first SEC coaching search of 2026.
12. RYAN SILVERFIELD, Arkansas – Silverfield, 45 and promising, went 29-9 at Memphis from 2023-25. This is one of the SEC’s toughest jobs. No one has won more than nine games since Bobby Petrino went 11-2 in 2011 after a 10-3 mark the previous season. And there have been eight losing seasons through four coaches since then.
13. ALEX GOLESH, Auburn – It’s hard to believe Auburn hasn’t had a winning season since Gus Malzahn went 6-5 in his last there in 2020. Golesh, 42, went 9-3 and 6-2 last season at South Florida after 7-6 and 4-4 in his first year. Potential? Or is he just yet another average hire? Looking at Auburn’s last three hires, it seems as if it has deemphasized football. The previous two hires – the disastrous Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze – combined for five losing seasons with six and three the most regular season and SEC wins, respectively. Another losing season this year, and Auburn equals another resource-filled SEC program with no business losing six straight years – LSU from 1989-94.
14. JEFF LEBBY, Mississippi State – Kiffin’s first offensive coordinator at Ole Miss in 2020-21, Lebby went 5-8 and 1-7 last season after a 2-10 and 0-8 first year. Baby steps. Wonder if he wishes he was LSU’s offensive coordinator instead.
15. PETE GOLDING, Ole Miss – He never was a head coach before going 2-1 in the playoffs last season, while Kiffin is 0-0 in playoffs. If you think that means something, you live on Fantasy Island – aka Oxford. He won with someone else’s players, coaches, culture and process. Golding, 42, is another Son of Saban, but a bit prodigal as Kiffin once was. Still, Golding has been one of the best defensive coordinators in the game since his days at Alabama, but his new job with his new staff really starts now at 0-0. And he still has many great players and a winning culture left by Kiffin, thank you very much.
16. WILL STEIN, Kentucky – The youngest head coach in the league at 36, Stein had only been an offensive coordinator for three seasons at Oregon. He’s young and inexperienced and another one of the most difficult jobs in the SEC.
“It’s a dream freakin’ come true,” the Louisville native said at his introductory press conference. Ah, youth. But there’s more.
“We work in the best conference in the world,” he said. “There’s no reason why we can’t be successful here. Zero.”
Actually, the most competitive conference in the world, right Mr. Sankey?
At least, you’re close geographically to the Big Ten, Will.
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