2022 SEC head coach rankings: Nick Saban, Kirby Smart and then who?

Last week, I took a stab at ranking the SEC head coaching jobs in the age of NIL, transfer portal and playoff limbo. 

Now let’s talk individuals. 

Florida is a Top 5 gig, but where should first-year head coach Billy Napier be slotted among the SEC’s 14 head coaches? Nick Saban is undisputedly the top dog, even after losing to a Dawg last season, but who should be slotted at No. 3 after Kirby Smart?

Let’s find out.

Here’s my 2022 SEC coaches rankings:

1. Nick Saban, Alabama

It’s been an interesting offseason for the sport’s king, but the GOAT isn’t going to give up his crown for the top spot until the day he retires. Saban is seeking an eighth national title in 2022, and with Billy Napier now at Florida, his coaching tree now includes nine current Power 5 head coaches (Napier + Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher, Miami’s Mario Cristobal, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin, Michigan State’s Mel Tucker, Georgia Tech’s Geoff Collins, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian and Maryland’s Mike Locksley. That’s absurd. 

2. Kirby Smart, Georgia

There will never been another Saban, but Smart is carving out his own impressive legacy within college football. He finally beat his mentor last season, delivering his alma mater its first national championship in more than four decades. Just 46 years old, Smart is 66-15 at Georgia with four 11+ win seasons, and victories in the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Peach Bowl, Orange Bowl and national championship. He can recruit and develop talent as well as anyone in the country, as exemplified by Georgia’s NFL-record 15 draft picks in April.

3. Brian Kelly, LSU

Considering just four active head coaches in all of college football have a national championship on their resume, it may seem blasphemous to slot Kelly ahead of Fisher, but this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately set of rankings. Kelly bolted South Bend for Baton Rouge for a better chance to win his own ring, but he did win at least 10 games the last five years with the Irish — something Fisher hasn’t done once yet with the Aggies. Kelly does enter Year 1 with the Tigers in an interesting spot, though, as the talk of titles (re: the reasoning he left Notre Dame) has overshadowed LSU’s actual expectations in 2022. 

4. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M

Fisher had a helluva offseason landing the greatest recruiting class in the modern era and then releasing a firey #Sabansucks diss track, but thus far, the results on the field haven’t been quite as hot. While Fisher nearly took the Aggies to the College Football Playoff in 2020, he’s also lost four games in three separate seasons with Texas A&M. The Aggies still look a year away from contending for a national title, but with their talent, anything short of a double-digit win season would be disappointing. 

5. Mark Stoops, Kentucky

When Stoops arrived at UK in 2013, he grabbed a hard hat and a shovel and went to work. In the nine years since, he’s taken the Wildcats from the doormat of the conference to one of the more respectable programs in the SEC. He’s won 10 games twice in the last four seasons — something that had been done only two times previously in the entire history of the school’s program. Player development is a marquee staple on Stoops’ resume. He has one of the greatest contracts in the sport, and looks to remain a fixture at Kentucky (unless he has eyes for Iowa whenever Kirk Ferentz retires). 

6. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss

Kiffin may be a polarizing personality, but you can’t argue with the fact he’s become a seasoned and solid head coach. He’s gleaned lessons from mistakes made at USC and elsewhere, and as the sport cycles through its latest set of changes (both schematically and with elements like NIL and the transfer portal), Kiffin has shown a shrewd ability to adapt and change. He delivered Ole Miss its first 10-win regular season in school history in 2021, and with another strong year or two, the Portal King could find his way back to another blue-blood job. 

7. Sam Pittman, Arkansas

Pittman won nine games with the Razorbacks in his second season in Fayetteville and was recently rewarded with a sizable contract extension. He’s only been a FBS head coach for two years, but he’s quickly displayed a strong sense of how to manage a program as a CEO. He delegates and empowers his assistant coaches, and leans on his engaging personality to connect with players. He’s a dogged recruiter, too. The Razorbacks have a brutal schedule in 2022, but Pittman navigated a tough slate a year ago and enters the fall with the best roster he’s had. 

8. Mike Leach, Mississippi State

Leach (as well as one other name later on this list) is particularly difficult to rank. The Pirate is an offensive savant and has shown an ability to win at multiple stops, but he’s also just 17-20 in his last three seasons. It’s Year 3 at Mississippi State, and with a veteran squad, 2022 will go a long way in determining Leach’s longterm future in Starkville — as well as hierarchy among college coaches. 

9. Josh Heupel, Tennessee

You could flip a coin between Heupel and Beamer after both went 7-6 in their first seasons in the SEC, but I gave the slight nod to Heupel since he beat Beamer heads-up in 2021 and also has a pair of double-digit win seasons at UCF. The former Oklahoma quarterback has brought the modern ‘Run ’N Shoot’ back to the SEC, and Tennessee broke all sorts of offensive records in Year 1. If Heupel can continue to flex a recruiting prowess he never demonstrated while in Orlando, then the Vols should be optimistic about their future. 

10. Shane Beamer, South Carolina

One of the most likable coaches in the county, Beamer took over a program expected to win three games in 2021 and delivered a 7-6 season in Year 1 – capped with a mayo bath after beating North Carolina. Beamer is as good recruiter and excellent communicator. He’s raised expectations in Columbia, which is good in the longterm and bad for 2022, and he landed a number of impact players from the transfer portal to breathe life into a wheezing offense, including former 5-star Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler.

11. Billy Napier, Florida

Aside from Leach, Napier was the toughest coach to rank because his overall resume is arguably more impressive than Heupel and Beamer, and perhaps even Pittman. Napier won 40 games and two straight Sun Belt titles at Louisiana-Lafayette. He patiently waited for the perfect opportunity, spurning Mississippi State, Auburn and South Carolina in recent years. So sure, this ranking could look really silly if he has an awesome Year 1 in Gainesville. But we’ll see. The aforementioned coaches all exceeded expectations in their first year in the SEC. Can Napier do that too?

12. Bryan Harsin, Auburn

Harsin is a solid coach in a sour situation. He is not a good fit at Auburn, and despite surviving a coup this offseason, he’s ultimately going to lose that fight — likely sooner than later. The former Boise State head coach doesn’t have the recruiting chops compared to the rest of the coaches on this list, and he’s also churned through assistants with the Tigers — already on his third offensive coordinator before Year 2. 

13. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri 

Just 39, Drinkwitz is the youngest coach in the SEC, set to enter Year 3 with the Tigers. He’s shown offensive wizardry at previous stops (both as an OC and at Appalachian State), but it hasn’t translated at Missouri. He’s still looking for the right quarterback, too. Drinkwitz has impressed on the recruiting trail, though, elevating the Tigers’ talent by landing some of the best prospects in the St. Louis area, including 5-star wideout Luther Burden. 

14. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt  

Unfortunately, someone has to be ranked last. The former Commodores fullback (and Nashville native) returned home with hopes to revitalize his alma mater.  Lea inherited an impossible situation, and despite a challenging Year 1, there’s optimism he has the vision and plan to ultimately change Vanderbilt’s standing in the SEC. Lea was a great defensive mind and recruiter at Notre Dame. Can he do the same at Vandy?