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SEC coaches who have won their way off the hot seat in recent years
By Keith Farner
Published:
Before the 2015 season, SI.com listed several tiers of coaches who were on the hot seat. Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason led the third tier, “crackling firepit,” while LSU’s Les Miles was in the group called “humming microwave.”
No matter the level of warmth, there was some justification for where those coaches stood — and the only way to survive was to win. More.
Several recent SEC coaches have won their way off the hot seat — even if only temporarily.
Mason’s first season fell well below expectations after three wins and a 30-point home loss to Temple. The timing was following an era of optimism when his predecessor, James Franklin, had two nine-win seasons.
Mason hasn’t completely worked his way off the hot seat lists, but two SEC wins (Missouri and Kentucky) last season and a 4-8 overall record was an improvement from 2014. And the argument for Mason was that Franklin left the cupboard bare, and his much-hyped recruits have not lived up to expectations. Mason coaching the defense last season also produced a top 20 ranking.
Miles, meanwhile, was 9-7 in the SEC in 2013 and 2014 after winning the SEC and reaching the BCS title game in 2011. Late last season, his future looked bleak after a three-game slide nearly cost Miles his job.
Butch Jones entered 2015 with just a 12-13 record at Tennessee, and after a 2-3 start last season, he increasingly drew comparisons to former coach Derek Dooley. Jones rallied, however, and rattled off six consecutive wins including a bowl win over Northwestern. Jones also appeared to largely sidestep off-the-field issues of his players involved with police.
Gary Pinkel at Missouri in 2013 was coming off a 5-7 campaign in 2012 and it appeared that the move to the SEC was a tall order for the Tigers. There were asterisks that season following injuries to quarterback James Franklin and running back Henry Josey. The theory was compounded by Pinkel’s Big 12 success when he had three 10-win seasons from 2007-10.
All Pinkel did in 2013 was go 12-2, win the SEC East, and in March 2014 received a contract extension and raise from $2.8 million in annual salary to $3.1 million.
If any coach could relate to Pinkel, it was former Georgia coach Mark Richt.
Richt staved off the pink slip for years since pressure built following the SEC title in 2005 until finally parting ways before Georgia’s bowl game last year.
After a losing record in 2010, Richt led the Bulldogs to the SEC title game in 2011 only to lose to LSU. Richt received a contract extension in 2012, then returned to the SEC title game only to lose again, this time to Alabama in heart-breaking fashion. He then received another contract extension before last season.
Ultimately, he wasn’t able to keep winning his way off the hot seat.
Consider it a lesson for every SEC coach not named Nick Saban to learn.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
