SEC This Week

Randy Moore of InsideTennessee.com shared his idiotic opinion on the best coaches in America in this column. Moore trashed Les Miles of LSU, Nick Saban of Alabama and Urban Meyer of Florida from the SEC and Pete Carroll of the Pac-10.

I guess when your team has Phillip Fulmer as head buffoon coach, then you have to attack everyone else to cover the disaster looming in Knoxville.

Just for the record, Fulmer still has one of the best records amongst active SEC coaches, but who believes he is one of the best?

Here’s the list of active SEC coaches overall records, and SEC records.

As we posted yesterday, the Georgia Bulldogs have been the most consistent winner in SEC football the last 11 seasons. And they’ve only gotten better over the last six. The winning percentage over the last 11 seasons was .770. The winning percentage over the last six seasons soared to .810, which is tied for the best with the SEC West powerhouse LSU Tigers.

And Georgia is poised for even more success. The future is bright for the Bulldogs because they have found a solution for the Florida Gators, and have dominated their other rival in the Auburn Tigers.

Over the last 11 seasons, the Georgia Bulldogs have been the most consistent winner in the SEC. During the last 11 seasons, the Bulldogs have finished in the AP Top 25 11 times (best in the conference), attended 11 bowl games (tied for best in the conference with Florida), and won two SEC football titles (second only to LSU who had three.)

We’ll have more on Georgia’s dominance tomorrow.

Winning football games on the road in any conference is tough. Winning on the road in the SEC? Forget about it.

Unless you are Tennessee or Florida. The Volunteers have a blazing .750 road winning percentage in SEC football play and the Gators have an equally stunning .746 record on the road in league football play.

It isn’t a short term record either. That SEC football road record is since conference expansion in 1992.

CalltheHogs.com: ArkansasRazorbacks.com launches July 21. This will be the new official university athletic website.

Razorbloggers.net examines the new football rule changes. Two rules of special interest is the facemask change (Razorbloggers.net believes it will spark disputes.) The other rule is the chop block change. Was it sparked by Auburn’s repeat chop block violations? Razorbloggers provides helpful Youtube videos of the Tiger’s chop blocking ways.

Razorback Expats provides a take on the Sacha Baron Cohen’s “staged mayhem” in Texarkana and Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Hawg Blawg reports Arkansas has hired a PR rep for new coach Bobby Petrino.

Roll Bama Roll reports the Tide should be under the scholarship limits with the recent departure of Tarence Farmer.

Tide Druid reports Nick Saban has made public comments about the arrest of one of his star football players.

“The only thing that we can continue to do is to continue to have programs that build character in our program. We have an extension drug testing program right now. We do a lot of character development type stuff. We have a sport psychiatrist, a sports psychologist. We have a learning institute that came in this summer that does a character development and self image class that our entire team is involved in.

There are two things that we can do to improve our program. We have to improve the level of performance in the players that we have, in terms of developing them as people and as football players. The judgement they use off the field is going to carry on off the field. We have to recruit better players, and have a plan to develop them. That is certainly what we are going to continue to try to do.”

The Capstone Report attacks coacheshotseat.com over a report from the website that Nick Saban is on the hot seat in Tuscaloosa. Also from the same Alabama football blog, Tide fans are already looking at possible replacements for Mal Moore.

Third Saturday in Blogtober provides a sketch of what Alabama should expect from incoming freshmen in 2008.

Quarterback play is a big reason a team wins or loses in the SEC. Here’s the breakdown of who has the most experienced quarterbacks. You’ll also note the experience broken down as wins/losses. The best quarterbacks usually win the most. Judging by the numbers entering 2008, Matt Stafford is the best.

The SEC drew 6.6 million fans to its games in 2007, a new NCAA record. The SEC averaged 75,139 fans per game, also an NCAA record.

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee average sellouts or better.

Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, Miss State, South Carolina and Vandy rarely, if ever sold out their games.

What’s being said around the Internet about the SEC’s coaches. Richt seems to be the consensus top guy heading into 2008. Will that last?

LSU’s Miles leads stacked SEC coaching roster

1. Les Miles (LSU): No coach in the country has handled distractions better than Les Miles. Days before his home debut in 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast leaving the region in chaos. The LSU campus was used as a relief center for Katrina victims, and the weight of an entire state was on the shoulders of the LSU football team. All Miles did was lead LSU to a 10-1 regular season record and the Western Division title before being upset by Georgia in the SEC title game. The 2006 season set the table for an LSU championship run, and Miles delivered by bringing the crystal ball back to Baton Rouge as the Tigers finished 11-2 and beat Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. Miles was again able to keep his team focused despite speculation that he was going to take the head coaching job at Michigan. Miles has led LSU to a 34-6 record (19-5 SEC) since his arrival, as well as back-to-back BCS bowl wins. Another key to his success has been his ability to manage and develop the talent his predecessor Nick Saban left in Baton Rouge before bolting for the NFL.
 
2. Urban Meyer (Florida)
3. Tommy Tuberville (Auburn)
4. Nick Saban (Alabama)
5. Mark Richt (Georgia)
6. Steve Spurrier (South Carolina)
7. Bobby Petrino (Arkansas)
8. Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee)
9. Houston Nutt (Ole Miss)
10. Rich Brooks (Kentucky)
11. Sylvester Croom (Mississippi State)
12. Bobby Johnson (Vanderbilt)

Richt leads talent-rich SEC

1. Mark Richt, Georgia. Here is all you need to know: Richt is fourth among active I-A coaches with a .791 winning percentage (72-19). Want more? He’s one of just six coaches to win two SEC crowns in his first five years. On top of all of this, Richt is a terrific human being who knows how to motivate.
2. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina.
3. Urban Meyer, Florida.
4. Nick Saban, Alabama.
5. Les Miles, LSU.
6. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn.
7. Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee.
8. Houston Nutt, Ole Miss.
9. Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt.
10. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas.
11. Rich Brooks, Kentucky.
12. Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State.

Richt tops stellar list of coaches
1. Mark Richt, Georgia: Richt recovered from a down year in 2006 with a stunning 2007 mark of 10-2, a No. 2 final ranking and the preseason pick of many to win it all in 2008. He is consistently one of the best recruiters in the country and, at this moment in history, the best head coach in the SEC. What’s even more impressive about Richt was his ability to make vital changes, which separates him from many of his brethren. He gave up the play-calling duties and became more of a CEO. Still, though, he figured out a way to get more emotion and passion from his players (evidenced by the outburst against Florida), which translated into a wonderful season.
– 2. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
– 3. Urban Meyer, Florida
– 4. Nick Saban, Alabama
– 5. Les Miles, LSU
– 6. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn
– 7. Phil Fulmer, Tennessee
– 8. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas
– 9. Houston Nutt, Ole Miss
– 10. Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State
– 11. Rich Brooks, Kentucky
– 12. Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt

Rivals Top Ten Head Coaches

1. Pete Carroll of USC
2. Jim Tressel of Ohio State
3. Urban Meyer of Florida
4. Les Miles of LSU
5. Bob Stoops of Oklahoma
6. Mark Richt of Georgia
7. Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech
8. Jim Grobe of Wake Forest
9. Tommy Tuberville of Auburn
10. Mack Brown of Texas

Ranking all BCS coaches by the Sporting News SEC Coaches in bold

1. Pete Carroll, USC.
2. Jim Tressel, Ohio State.
3. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan.
4. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma.
5. Jim Grobe, Wake Forest.
6. Mark Richt, Georgia.
7. Mack Brown, Texas.
8. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech.
9. Mark Mangino, Kansas.
10. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State.
11. Mike Leach, Texas Tech.
12. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina.
13. Randy Edsall, UConn.
14. Urban Meyer, Florida.
15. Mike Bellotti, Oregon.
16. Greg Schiano, Rutgers.
17. Nick Saban, Alabama.
18. Joe Tiller, Purdue.
19. Brian Kelly, Cincinnati.
20. Les Miles, LSU.
21. Mike Riley, Oregon State.
22. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn.
23. Jeff Tedford, Cal.
24. Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville.
25. Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee.
26. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa.
27. Jim Leavitt, South Florida.
28. Bobby Bowden, Florida State.
29. Dan Hawkins, Colorado.
30. Houston Nutt, Ole Miss.
31. Tom O’Brien, N.C. State.
32. Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt.
33. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech.
34. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas.
35. Gary Pinkel, Missouri.
36. Rich Brooks, Kentucky.
37. Al Groh, Virginia.
38. Rick Neuheisel, UCLA.
39. Art Briles, Baylor.
40. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin.
41. Tommy Bowden, Clemson.
42. Jim Harbaugh, Stanford.
43. Ron Zook, Illinois.
44. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State.
45. Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State.
46. Mike Sherman, Texas A&M.
47. Tyrone Willingham, Washington.
48. Joe Paterno, Penn State.
49. Butch Davis, North Carolina.
50. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State.
51. David Cutcliffe, Duke.
52. Dave Wannstedt, Pitt.
53. Ralph Friedgen, Maryland.
54. Jeff Jagodzinski, Boston College.
55. Paul Wulff, Washington State.
56. Charlie Weis, Notre Dame.
57. Bo Pelini, Nebraska.
58. Greg Robinson, Syracuse.
59. Gene Chizik, Iowa State.
60. Ron Prince, Kansas State.
61. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern.
62. Tim Brewster, Minnesota.
63. Mike Stoops, Arizona.
64. Bill Stewart, West Virginia.
65. Bill Lynch, Indiana.
66. Randy Shannon, Miami.

SEC: A Coaches Paradise

1. Mark Richt, Georgia. Richt is fourth among active Div. 1 coaches with a winning percentage of .791 (72-19). In five years he has brought two SEC titles to Athens, and the Bulldogs will go into this season as the favorite to be playing in the BCS title game.
2. Urban Meyer, Florida.
3. Les Miles, LSU.
4. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn.
5. Nick Saban, Alabama.
6. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina.
7. Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee.
8. Houston Nutt, Ole Miss.
9. Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State.
10. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas.
11. Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt.
12. Rich Brooks, Kentucky.

With a contract extension, Phil Fulmer is feeling the heat.

With salaries like these, who needs incentives?

The latest coach to find himself in the right league at the right time is Phillip Fulmer. Tennessee just rewarded him for not winning the SEC championship for the ninth straight season.

After running his career record to 0-3 against Urban Meyer and 1-3 against Nick Saban, Fulmer received an immediate $350,000 raise to up his package to $2.4 million a year.

After extending his losing streak in the SEC Championship Game to three, Fulmer got a new seven-year deal that will pay him an average of $2.99 million a year.

UT pays too much for eight wins

But let’s be clear on something else: Nobody in coaching is entitled to a lifetime contract. It’s a current-events business. You have to produce and keep producing.

CoachesHotSeat.com predicts 6-6 record for UT in 2008

We are predicting a 6-6 record for Fulmer and Tennessee in 2008.  Last season Fulmer was one lost fumble against South Carolina to losing his job, and in 2008 we see the pressure building for a change at Tennessee as Fulmer and the Vols struggle to get to even a .500 record.  Can a coach possibly win 76% of the games and lose his job?  Yes he can, and Phil Fulmer knows that can happen, because he has been at Tennessee in some capacity for over 40 years and he knows what the Tennessee fans expect out of their football program.  Fulmer has two big things working against him, with the first being the perception, rather the reality from our view, that his football program is out of control.  Fulmer’s second problem is how long he has been at Tennessee, where he is now heading into his 17th season as a head coach, which is about 7 years past the 10 year limit that the Raiders’ Al Davis said is the amount of time a head football coach should stay at once place.  We get a lot of e-mail from fans here at Coaches Hot Seat, but in the past year only one coach, Houston Nutt at Arkansas, garnered more e-mail to be sent to us about the status of their head coach.  The coach behind Nutt that generated the most e-mail was Phil Fulmer, and 99% of it was against him and calling for a change in the head coach at Tennessee.  From where we sit, if Phil Fulmer does indeed end the 2008 season with a 6-6 record, he will be fired.

Dodd ranks Fulmer as safe
CBS Sportsline columnist Dennis Dodd released his list of coaches on the hotseat. Dodd said ranked Fulmer a 2, which means “Safe — solid position.”

According to Dodd the coaches facing the biggest threat in 2008 are Washington’s Tyrone Willingham who has compiled a11-25 record in three seasons, and Syracuse’s Greg Robinson who has compiled a 7-28 record in three seasons.

What UT fans are saying
From Volnation.com’s message board, an informal poll shows over 70% of Vol fans thought Fulmer’s raise was too much. Here are some comments from the discussion:

TennesseeT: I don’t think it really matters. If the team “struggles to compete” over the next few years as many of you seem to think then PF will retire.

I just hope more of you jump on the Fire Fulmer Wagon and maybe start boycotting games so I can get some decent tickets for less than $100 a pop.

General Jack: Wow, so much for merit based pay. How in the heck can they justify paying Fulmer $3 million when his market value probably isn’t half that? Its not like we are having to beat off would-be suitors for his services.

I would propose keeping his salary the same, offer huge bonuses for winning the SEC, NC and making BCS bowls.

A $5M buyout? That is pretty insulting too, results will not improve with that type of insulation.

I’m not even a Fulmer hater, but this is a very very bad contract. Who would approve this type of deal, it makes absolutely NO business sense at all.

TennFanatic: The only reason Fulmer is still coach at UT is because of the National Title a whopping ten years ago. Its like since he won a national title he can lose as many games as possible and not win the SEC in a decade. Many Tennessee fans and alumnus are satisfied with being very average and want to keep Fulmer the coach at all costs. I just cant see whats so great about the guy, in all honesty he should have been fired a couple of years ago.