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SEC Origins: The hometown and college attended of each SEC head coach
By Kevin Duffey
Published:
Where are the SEC head coaches from? We take a look at the hometowns and colleges attended of the 14 SEC head coaches.
While these coaches are royalty in the southeast today, few of them have origins in this region of the country.
| Team | Head Coach | Place of Birth | College Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Nick Saban | Fairmont, W.Va. | Kent State |
| Arkansas | Bret Bielema | Prophetstown, Ill. | Iowa |
| Auburn | Gus Malzahn | Irving, Texas | Arkansas / Henderson St. |
| Florida | Jim McElwain | Missoula, Mont. | Eastern Washington |
| Georgia | Mark Richt | Omaha, Neb. | Miami (Fla.) |
| Kentucky | Mark Stoops | Youngstown, Ohio | Iowa |
| LSU | Les Miles | Elyria, Ohio | Michigan |
| Mississippi | Hugh Freeze | Oxford, Miss. | Southern Miss |
| Mississippi State | Dan Mullen | Drexel Hill, Penn. | Ursinus |
| Missouri | Gary Pinkel | Akron, Ohio | Kent State |
| South Carolina | Steve Spurrier | Miami Beach, Fla. | Florida |
| Tennesssee | Butch Jones | Saugatuck, Mich. | Ferris State |
| Texas A&M | Kevin Sumlin | Brewton, Ala. | Purdue |
| Vanderbilt | Derek Mason | Phoenix, Ariz. | Northern Arizona |
SEC Hometowns
Have a look at where the SEC head coaches were born. It appears that Jim McElwain indeed has the furthest to travel from his current employer to his hometown.
Colleges Attended
Here are some interesting tidbits regarding the SEC head coaches and the colleges they attended:
- Hugh Freeze is the only current head coach to not play football at the collegiate level.
- Seven SEC head coaches played for colleges that are currently identified as Power 5 schools.
- Both Mark Stoops and Bret Bielema played at Iowa. Their playing careers did not overlap.
- Both Nick Saban and Gary Pinkel played at Kent State during the same time period in the early 1970s. Both Saban and Pinkel went on to become Graduate Assistants at Kent State following the conclusion of their playing careers.
- Steve Spurrier is the only head coach to have won a Heisman Trophy as a player.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
