Ranking the 14 current SEC football head coaches

11. Bryan Harsin — Auburn Tigers

I don’t think Harsin is going to last long at Auburn. I don’t think he’s a good fit. But I don’t think he’s a bad coach, either. I just think he’d do better at a Pac-12 school.

Harsin led Auburn to a 6-7 record in his first season at the helm. He’s above Drinkwitz on this list because he had Alabama on the ropes in November. Auburn lost to the Crimson Tide in overtime. Not many coaches can say they’ve taken Saban and Alabama to overtime.

10. Mike Leach — Mississippi State Bulldogs

Leach is what he is at this point, right?

He’s capable of leading a program to a 10 win season. He’s also capable of leading a program to a 3 win season. I view Leach as the type of coach who is always a threat to pull a big upset — thanks to his high-powered air raid offense — while also being the type of coach who can completely lay an egg in a huge game.

There isn’t much upside with Leach. But he has an established floor at least.

9. Shane Beamer — South Carolina Gamecocks

Beamer’s first season at South Carolina started kind of rough. The Gamecocks lost their first three SEC games, before eventually beating Vanderbilt, Auburn, and Florida. That win over Auburn is one reason why Beamer is above Harsin on this list. I like Beamer’s personality. I think he’s a great fit in the SEC. Plus he’s a good recruiter (South Carolina has done very well in the transfer portal this offseason). And that’s a big key to success in the SEC.

8. Josh Heupel — Tennessee Volunteers

Heupel and Beamer are almost interchangeable on this list. Heupel, however, gets the edge for two reasons.

1. Heupel beat Beamer head to head.
2. Heupel took over a nightmarish situation at Tennessee (previous head coach Jeremy Pruitt was fired because of recruiting violations and a large number of players left the program).

Heupel’s up-tempo offense puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses. We’ll see if that style of offense is sustainable in the SEC.