It’s the middle of May and the biggest topic in sports right now is a feud between two SEC head coaches.
Alabama’s Nick Saban and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher were already two of the most entertaining coaches in the nation. But they took it up a notch this week with their war of words that escalated on Thursday to the point where Fisher suggested that someone should slap Saban.
Jimbo: someone slap the hell out of Saban Please pic.twitter.com/QcqJiFVLVj
— 110 Days Till NFL Football (@BostonConnr) May 19, 2022
Are you not entertained?!?!
The back and forth between Saban and Fisher got me thinking about which coaches in the SEC are the most entertaining.
So I had no choice but to rank them. Now, fair warning: the names near the bottom of this list could’ve gone in nearly any order.
14. Clark Lea — Vanderbilt
There’s not much to say about Clark Lea — he’s just kind of…there. The former Notre Dame defensive coordinator has only been at Vanderbilt for one season. But that one season was a disaster. And nothing even mildly entertaining happened. I’m guessing that Lea won’t be at Vandy for long and years from now we’ll struggle to remember who coached the Commodores during this time period.
13. Billy Napier — Florida
Billy Napier is new to the SEC (at least as a head coach), so we haven’t really got to see much from him yet. He has a pretty dry, no-nonsense personality based on what we’ve seen so far. He reminds me a bit of former Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt (which probably isn’t a good thing).
Oh Florida, what have you done 😳 pic.twitter.com/83DhKU46UG
— zach ragan (@zachTNT) December 6, 2021
12. Bryan Harsin — Auburn
Harsin has been somewhat entertaining during his time at Auburn, but it’s been for all the wrong reasons. Harsin immediately felt like a bad fit at Auburn and that was seemingly confirmed this offseason when he was almost fired because of some wild internet rumors. Auburn actually investigated Harsin and then let him keep his job. It’s only a matter of time before Harsin and Auburn go their separate ways.
11. Mark Stoops — Kentucky
Mark Stoops is one of the most underrated coaches in all of college football. But he’s at Kentucky, so he doesn’t get a lot of national attention. Stoops, however, usually gives good answers at press conferences and he’s engaging. He’s not going to generate a ton of headlines, but he has a decent entertainment factor — especially when he gets mad.
Mark Stoops was asked about his offense pic.twitter.com/QgOiBhLs3V
— Shawn Smith (@gbbcountry) November 29, 2020
10. Josh Heupel — Tennessee
Josh Heupel is a fairly no-nonsense guy as well. He doesn’t usually get too vocal about issues, but he’ll let his voice be heard when he feels it’s necessary. He’ll also surprise you and drop a fun quote every now and then, like the one recently about drawing all over Florida’s football helmets with a crayon.
“I hope they took a crayon and drew all over it”… Josh Heupel does not care one bit for Florida 😂 pic.twitter.com/JLZgK1KDxG
— zach ragan (@zachTNT) April 26, 2022
9. Brian Kelly — LSU
I struggled with where to put Brian Kelly on this list. He’s an odd guy who reminds me a lot of former Vols head coach Butch Jones (Kelly was Jones’ mentor). But he’s also a pretty good football coach. Kelly seems like he’s usually annoyed about something. His real entertainment value comes from his various missteps, such as his fake southern accent or his attempt at dancing with recruits.
Brian Kelly is showing off his dance moves again…pic.twitter.com/IVU5CoDxWj
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) January 29, 2022
8. Sam Pittman — Arkansas
I’m a big Sam Pittman fan. I think he’s the best offensive line coach in the nation and I think he’s done a great job as the head coach at Arkansas. He’s in the same category as Stoops as one of the most underrated coaches in the nation.
He also has a big personality that’s infectious.
Sam Pittman is known as an elite recruiter for a reason.
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) November 9, 2021
He recalls the story of tearing his bicep during the filming of a “Yes sir!” video.
Despite the injury, he still shot the video:
“I had to get the video out.” pic.twitter.com/kH4F9ADVfC