Randy Smith
There is always plenty of debate on sports talk shows, in bars, and even at home about the best coaches in college football. To maybe stir a little interest, (and maybe some controversy) I decided to list the three best coaching jobs in the SEC so far in 2014. And when I say "best coaching jobs" I mean the best performance turned in by a head coach; not the most coveted coaching position in the league.
With apologies to Les Miles at LSU, Hugh Freeze at Ole Miss, Mark Stoops at Kentucky and yes, Butch Jones at Tennessee, I'll start with number three: Gus Malzahn, Auburn.
The Tigers have just one loss, and are still very much alive to make it into the college football playoffs. They survived a big challenge from Ole Miss on the road in Oxford on Saturday night and if taking things, "one game at a time" really means anything, you may want to put your money on the Tigers. Auburn is currently in the top four playoff rankings and will likely stay there until they lose another game. Malzahn has done things the right way at Auburn. He took the decent amount of talent left to him by previous coach Gene Chizik, added to it and took the Tigers to the National Championship Game in his first season on the plains. He has picked up right where he left off in year number two and if he can survive Texas A&M, Georgia, and Alabama down the stretch, his team should be a lock for the final four.
Number Two: Nick Saban, Alabama: Saban has been at Alabama for eight years and has already won three national titles, and had a statue erected in his honor in Tuscaloosa. While most coaches would have grown "fat and happy" at all this success, Saban continues to work like a mad man and has his team in position for a fourth national championship in 2014. In fact as of today, I think the Crimson Tide is the favorite to win it all in January. The Tide is currently rated number three of the top four teams listed by the College Football Playoff Committee, and with their two toughest SEC games remaining at home, they may have a serious edge. They have one road game left and that's this week's game at LSU. Year in and year out, Saban is as good as anybody has been in the last forty years or so in college football, and as of the first week of November has turned in the second best coaching job in the league so far.
Number One: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State: I have been a real fan of Dan Mullen since he took over in Starkville six years ago. He deals with the smallest budget of all the SEC West schools; in fact only Vanderbilt spends less money in the SEC than the Bulldogs. Yet, here they are ranked number one in the country and ranked at the top of the College Football Playoff Committee poll. His tenure at MSU has been a winning one; 43-28 including an unbeaten start to this season. There is no question that he is a great offensive mind, having been Tim Tebow's quarterback coach and Urban Meyer's offensive coordinator at Florida. I have to feel a bit sorry for Coach Mullen, as his name is spreading like wildfire toward Florida, where Will Muschamp's seat remains white hot. Mullen can't comment with his Bulldog squad in the middle of a national championship hunt, but you know he has at least thought about it. The culture in Starkville, Mississippi has changed drastically in the six seasons Mullen has coached there. MSU is getting a lot of national television exposure, thanks to a great football team, and no matter what lies ahead for the Bulldogs, Dan Mullen has made a big mark. He gets my SEC Coach of the Year vote right now.
There are a lot of good coaches in the SEC; perhaps more now than at any time; but through ten weeks of the season, these three coaches have done an outstanding job.
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.
His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.
He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.
In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.
To contact Randy: rsmithsports@epbfi.com