Who are the top SEC head coaches ahead of spring football?

With last month’s news that Alabama head coach Nick Saban will not return to Tuscaloosa after 17 highly successful years at the helm, The SEC will look a lot different in 2024, including several new hires led by Mike Elko (Texas A&M) and Saban’s successor, former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer.

With Texas and Oklahoma entering the SEC this Fall, renewed rivalries are afoot, with the Lone Star Showdown between Texas and Texas A&M returning for the first time in 13 years. Spring football practices on the horizon, including DeBoer and Elko, have led 247Sports’ Brad Crawford to look closer at the head coach rankings, especially in the middle tier.

The SEC’s four-year title reign ended with Michigan winning the National Title in 2023. Still, with the expanded 12-team playoff structure making its debut next season, either Georgia or, yes, the loaded Texas Longhorns will make a run.

Up for clear debate, here are Crawford’s complete SEC head football coach rankings ahead of spring practices.

Clark Lea — Vanderbilt

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Clark Lea is now 9-27 in three years with the program, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier with matchups against Alabama, Missouri, and Texas. However, we’ve seen weirder things regarding surprising turnarounds from middling SEC programs over the last decade.

Jeff Lebby — Mississippi State

Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby is pictured before a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. Oklahoma won 69-45.

Lebby brings a wealth of experience and an offensive mindset to a Bulldogs program that was downright dreadful last season. Still, there are too many new faces, and the usual first-year struggle is likely imminent.

Sam…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/top-sec-head-coaches-ahead-110049366.html

Author : Aggies Wire

Publish date : 2024-02-24 11:00:49

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