Where former Alabama QB Greg McElroy ranks Josh Heupel among SEC head coaches
Former Alabama QB turned ESPN analyst Greg McElroy recently ranked the top five SEC head coaches
Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, who is now an analyst/announcer for ESPN, recently revealed his top five head coaches in the SEC.
Unsurprisingly, he has Alabama's Nick Saban at No. 1 and Georgia's Kirby Smart at No. 2.
I doubt many folks will argue that point. They're the only two coaches in the SEC that have won national championships at an SEC program. And together, they've won the last three national championships.
McElroy then has LSU's Brian Kelly at No. 3. Based on his body of work, I can see the argument. Kelly also quickly got the Tigers on track last season after a shaky start in his first season in Baton Rouge.
After No. 3 is where McElroy's rankings run into some issues.
The former Alabama quarterback has Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin at No. 4.
McElroy then has Tennessee's Josh Heupel at No. 5.
He's not down on Heupel and it's not that he necessarily thinks Kiffin is a significantly better coach. McElroy just thinks Kiffin has done well replenishing his roster at a school where it's been tough to get elite players historically.
"I think I would have him (Kiffin) in there right now at No. 4," said McElroy. "But nipping at his heels, I would have No. 5, Josh Heupel. I think Josh Heupel after last year did a great, great job. But, like Lane Kiffin, it's one thing to break through, it's another thing to sustain. But I am cautiously optimistic that he is going to be able to sustain into the upcoming season."
"You look at what they bring back — yes they have to replace a quarterback, they have to replace a wide receiver, they have to replace some pieces on defense. But if you look at what Tennessee brings back, they should be in the mix. Not saying they'll win the SEC East, but they should be at worst No. 2 in the SEC East. And I can't remember the last time Tennessee had preseason expectations like that."
I'm sure plenty of fans think Heupel should be ranked above Kiffin — I know I would probably rank Heupel over Kiffin — but even with that ranking, it's clear that McElroy has a lot of respect for Tennessee's head coach.
Like most folks outside of Tennessee, he just wants to see Heupel win 10 or 11 games a couple of more times before he goes all in on him.
