THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER RANKS THE SEC COACHES, FULMER AGAIN GETS NO LOVE

I think it’s funny when you guys make fun of Fullmer. I typically don’t go for that sort of jab (typically it’s coming from an ignorant college fan from sone other team, so the whole situation is just awkward for the keen observer). But it’s extra funny when you guys do it.

They won the east last year but UT hasn’t done anything of note of late. Whether its fair to downgrade Fullmer as a result I leave up to the individual (obviously, lots of things factor into dissappoing seasons, like injuries which UT has seen quite a few of in the last couple of years). I think, though, he got “downgraded” for this reason. I think it’s kind of weird to rate a guy like Urban “Irvin” Meyer,who has never coached in the conference, that high. Not that I don’t think he can coach – but he’s never coached in the SEC. He’s got a blank slate here.

I think that Tubberville is somewhat overrated (though kudos for the staff overhaul which lead to the system overhaul wich lead to an undefeated season and a chance to play for the Mythical Na. . .err third place). But that’s not surprising – coming on the heels of that season he was bound to be a significant boost. Richt got a smaller “momentum” boost, but a deserved one.

I am biased, but I do find it hard to believe he is the 5th best coach in the SEC. Yes I agree he is fat, and yes Tennessee has had some off the field problems this season. Is he the best coach in the SEC? I don’t know if he should be # 1. I do know that Tuberville, Rich, and Meyer are not wearing National Championship Rings (yes I know Auburn shoulda..coulda…woulda won one).

Fucking right we have problems with the list.

Meyer should, in a conscientious ranking, get the null set slot—no experience in conference, no record, and nothing we can joke with him about yet. (Though the propensity for pointing has been noted by Westerdawg et al. Could be a promising lead.)

And Tuberville? At one? Anyone who remembers him fake punting from his, like, own 25 would balk at that judgement. He’s a CEO-style coach, and when other teams raid CEOs’ cookie jars in the offseason, as Texas did with his merciless DC, Gene Chizik, the results do not often flatter coaches like Tuberville. He’s always been inconsistent, and this year will bear that out.

The fifth rank to Fulmer, who is very, very fat, is very, very unfair. Yeah, he’s not impressive on gameday. He’s not sophisticated. He’s a snitch, and he may or may not throw sacks of live kittens into the Tennessee River for his own amusement. (He wouldn’t do that, of course—too tasty!)

But as we’ve repeatedly repeated in a repeating fashion, he’s the best coach in the whole conference by record and by program reputation. No one’s been as consistent in the SEC, and no one’s kept the kind of program continuity he’s been able to over the past decade. He turns out pro prospects, manages his people well (if not the discipline of his players,) and doesn’t bat eyelashes at pro teams every offseason like some visored wonders were fond of doing at our alma mater. So there you are: a whole paragraph in praise of Phil Fulmer. Our fingers are burning typing it, but it’s there for all to see.

Richt is second, since no one’s sure which Evil Genius will turn up in the next few years, especially since Spurrier seems to work out three hours a day, minimum, and that’s not counting golf.

“I am biased, but I do find it hard to believe he is the 5th best coach in the SEC.”

It’s not a combination of his achievments while at UT (a very impressive list of achievements). It’s how they did in the last 3 years. Ok, it’s not that officially, and I’m slapping a tag on it for my own amusement – but I really do think the people who do lists like this are often heavily influenced by recent performance.

Before the overhaul pre-2004, Tubberville was seen as a “what the hell is he going to do this time” loose cannon whose teams didn’t do much. And who, according to many grumblings from out on the planes, was wasting a tremendous amount of talent. The coaching staff overhall worked wonders – Borges did a great job with the Offense last year and TT deserves some credit for it.

I’m with Orson – people have completely and totally forgotten all of his failings thanks to last year. Which should make this year a blast.

Nobody seems to be paying attention to the biggest offseason hire in college football last season. Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges. He brought over that old outdated Pac-10 offense and got the most out of a previously mediocre Jason Campbell and also figured out how to fully utilize Ronnie Brown and Jason Campbell. Don’t forget that Auburn was a mediocre team at best in 2003 when teams like USC and Georgia Tech etc. handled them with ease by just stacking 8 men in the box. Tommy Tuberville gets all kinds of acclaim and praise for going 13 – 0 with several cupcake teams on the slate. Gimme a break. Tuberville is worth 2 cents in my book. And if u look at the SEC’s history for the last decade or so, you’ll notice that whenever some coach implements the usage of the forward pass and has decent enough athletes he wrecks shop in the conferece. AL Borges & company did it last year. Spurrier did it for several years. Expect Urban Meyer to totally wreck shop and be acclaimed as one of the greatest coaches in a few years. Also expect Auburn to be pretty good despite personell losses.

With Ed Orgeron eating puppies and beating up cheerleaders on the sidelines at Ole Miss? Oh, it’s going to be lunacy.

If Ed Orgeron doesn’t have a reality show by midseason, I’m going to write someone a letter. Who cares if it becomes a recruiting advantage?

“Nobody seems to be paying attention to the biggest offseason hire in college football last season. Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges.”

Nobody but us Ed “Captain Insano” Orgeron fans, that is.

I can see Fullmer getting downgraded over the past few years, but there is no way he’s a worse coach than Tubby. Tubby at #1 is the biggest joke you could possibly make. The man is nothing without his coordinators. Al Borges comes along and actually utilizes the talent on the team and suddenly they go undefeated. Year before that they managed to finally score on a field goal in their second game against Ga. Tech for a total of 3 points in their first two games after being picked by the sporting news as the #1 team in the country. This isn’t just Bama brand hatred talking, anyone that has paid attention to the AU program under Tubberville knows the guy can’t coach on his own. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear a booster’s private jet warming up again in the next few years. As for the rest of the list, I’d rank them:

1) Spurrier: You have to give the man credit for his tenure at Florida. He’s proven he can handle the SEC plenty of times and even though the Cocks won’t be a 90s Gator team he should be able to build them up pretty quickly.

2) Fatty Fat Fatty: I would almost rather drink Drano than rank him #2.

3) Richt: I think he’s a highly underrated coach. He wins big games, you have to give him that.

4) Tubby: Despite his own lack of coaching ability, he has been able to get good coaches around him and he deserves at least a little credit for that.

5) Nutt: This might be a little high since, as you guys have noted many times, that man is insane. He manages to win big when he isn’t supposed to so there has to be some pretty good coaching ability in there during moments of lucidity.

6) Shula: A little homerism in moving him up, but he came into a program without the benefit of spring training his first season and then lost his entire starting backfield in his second while improving from 4-8 to a somewhat respectable 6-6 (they didn’t win, but they never got their asses kicked either). Most feel like we’ll win 8 games this year, which follows the two win increase trend, but I still have faith he can put a good team on the field and shock a lot of people. The talent is there, it’s just the offensive play calling that he hasn’t proven. He also needs to get credit for keeping Joe Kines after half the state was calling for his head. After the first season’s terrible defensive showing he did manage to improve to the #2 defense in the nation. If Dave Rader can work the same kind of miracle you’ll see a lot of fawning on Shula and his sticktoitivness.

7) Croom: He lost to Maine.

8) Brooks: I don’t think Brooks is a bad coach, but he’s in a terrible situation with a football team at a basketball school. Kentucky is one of those teams that you should beat, but you’ll actually have to play them to do it.

9) Johnson: Again, I don’t think he’s a terrible coach, but he’s in a tough situation talent-wise and the fact that no one really cares about Vandy football doesn’t help him either.

Miles, Meyer, and Orgeron shouldn’t even be considered since they haven’t coached a down yet. I do think Meyer will be near the top after next year, but I don’t really have a lot of faith that Miles can keep LSU at the level of Saban’s tenure. Orgeron, I don’t know. Ole Miss is a weird place to coach. I doubt he’ll work any miracles but he won’t embarass himself either.

Fulmer, all calories aside, is certainly in the top 2. Some of that has to do with tenure – he’s been able to sustain success over a long period of time with only a couple of “down” years, and his recruiting ensures there’s enough talent in Knoxville to overcome some probably coaching weaknesses (see hiring Jimmy Stephens from UF to be our OL coach in 2002 – average lines at best since then).

If visor boy hadn’t jumped to the NFL he certainly would be #1. We’ll see what Ears does at Auburn this year when there’s a “supposed” talent drop off. The new guys – who knows. One’s already been noted as the greatest coach ever (Urban), another seems a little on the crazy side eating things and yelling (doesn’t seem to fit in my image of button-downed Ole Miss) and we’ll find out if Les is more.

Richt I think is under-rated. Somewhat to do with his personality (he was over shadowed these last couple of years by a defensive lineman (Pollack) who’s “motor was always running”). He hasn’t found a way to consistently beat the Gaytors though in spite of the Zook factor.

Only 30 days until the season kicks off – YES YES YES.

Gaytors? Only ten percent of us, by the numbers. And when you have Miami in the state, you should include “impeccably dressed and buff” Gaytors in the description.

Richt IS underrated, Mike-by miles, in most people’s estimation. His offenses do sometimes mysteriously sputter, but his teams carry his composure with them—levelheaded, even if they’re down late in the game, and tenacious in sticking to the basics of the gameplan.