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There’s a stark fall-off on the current head coaching wins list in the SEC after you get passed the top five coaches.
In the SEC, there’s a clear hierarchy of elite coaches versus upstart new coaches looking to reach the apex of the conference.
Will the likes of Jim McElwain, Derek Mason and Butch Jones transform their teams into annual contenders such as Nick Saban, Les Miles and Steve Spurrier? Only time will tell.
Here’s a list of where the current SEC coaches rank among career SEC wins entering the 2015 season:
1. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
SEC Wins: 131 (87 Florida, 44 South Carolina)
Years: 22 (12 Florida, 10 South Carolina)
Steve Spurrier is 38 overall victories shy of equaling his win total at Florida. Averaging 8.5 wins a season throughout his two-decade long career, the Ol’ Ball Coach could surpass his Florida numbers if he were to coach another 4.5 seasons at that rate.
T2. Nick Saban, Alabama
SEC Wins: 78 (28 LSU, 50 Alabama)
Years: 13 (5 LSU, 8 Alabama)
Nick Saban has one more career loss in eight seasons with Alabama (17 losses, 8 seasons) than he did while coach of LSU (16 losses, five years).
T2. Mark Richt, Georgia
SEC Wins: 78
Years: 14
Mark Richt’s 136 wins in 14 seasons at Georgia are three less than Nick Saban’s total in 13 seasons.
4. Les Miles, LSU
SEC Wins: 56
Years: 10
Les Miles missed out on a bowl game during his first year as a coach in 2001 at Oklahoma State. His squads haven’t missed a bowl game since.
5. Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
SEC Wins: 22
Years: 6
Dan Mullen has quietly turned Mississippi State into a bowl regular, including five straight postseason appearances.
6. Gary Pinkel, Missouri
SEC Wins: 16
Years: 14 (3 in the SEC)
During his 14-year-career between Missouri and Toledo, Gary Pinkel, the winningest coach in Missouri history, has been named the SEC Coach of the Year (2014), as well as the Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year (2008, Missouri) and MAC Coach of the Year (1995).
7. Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
SEC Wins: 13
Years: 3
Texas A&M might not be ranked to start the year, but the good news is that a Kevin Sumlin-coached team has appeared in the polls every year he’s been a coach, save for his first season in 2008 with Houston.
8. Gus Malzahn, Auburn
SEC Wins: 11
Years: 2
Gus Malzahn has never finished a season with less than 8 wins since he started coaching. In fact, he’s never had a winning percentage below .615.
9. Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
SEC Wins: 11
Years: 3
Hugh Freeze is one of two current SEC coaches to have coached at Arkansas State (2011); the other is Auburn’s Gus Malzahn (2012).
10. Butch Jones, Tennessee
SEC Wins: 5
Years: 2
With his second consecutive top-10 recruiting class, Butch Jones can get above .500 for his career at Tennessee potentially by Week 2.
T11. Bret Bielema, Arkansas
SEC Wins: 2
Years: 2
Bret Bielema went 68-24 at Wisconsin from 2006-12, prior to arriving in Fayetteville.
T11. Mark Stoops, Kentucky
SEC Wins: 2
Years: 2
The win totals rose for Stoops in his second season at the helm. He already boasts the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in Wildcats’ history after Kentucky scored 21 points in the final frame against South Carolina to erase a 14-point deficit for a 45-38 win last season.
T13. Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
SEC Wins: 0
Years: 1
The wins aren’t there yet, but Mason already has inked two top 50 recruiting classes, which is strong relative to Vanderbilt history.
T13. Jim McElwain, Florida
SEC Wins: 0
Years: First (22-17 at Colorado State, 3 years)
McElwain might be the newcomer to the SEC head coaching fraternity, but he’s no stranger to the conference. McElwain served as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach on two of Alabama’s national title teams under Nick Saban.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
