(This is the second in a three-part series on what some SEC coaches say about other SEC programs. Part One ran Monday about Tennessee. Part 2 is about the SEC West.)
By Jimmy Hyams
Alabama won its sixth national championship under Nick Saban, thanks to one of the most prolific offenses in college football history.
The Crimson Tide had a Heisman Trophy winner and two others that finished in the top six.
Bama had six players taken among the first 24 picks of the draft. The Tide lost its record-setting quarterback, its top two wideouts and its best running back.
Yet, many predict Alabama will repeat as national champs.
“Alabama did lose a lot,’’ said one SEC coach, “but this is what I see at Alabama: They didn’t lose Nick Saban and that’s the key to the drill. They always lose offensive coordinators but only one didn’t win an SEC Championship or play for a national championship.
“My point is, with Nick Saban back, Alabama is still Alabama. The players change, the offensive coordinators change, the defensive coordinators change, but they still have Nick.’’
True.
Saban has dominated the SEC like never before. Bear Bryant also won six national crowns at Alabama, but over a span of 25 years.
Saban has won six in 12 years. And there seems to be no end in sight.
Saban has retooled himself. From a grind-it-out, pro-style offense with a stout defense to a wide-open attack that exposes his defense, Saban has got it figured out. Each of his offenses the past three seasons have averaged over 45 points.
“Alabama lately has been more about offensive production and less about defense,’’ said one SEC coach. “In the last four years, they’ve had more offensive players drafted than defensive players.
“The offense keeps getting better and better and they play at a high level. And now they have (first-year offensive coordinator) Bill O’Brien, who is a brilliant mind. And (former NFL head coach) Doug Marrone on the offensive line. I bet it’s never happened in college where a school had two offensive coaches who were former NFL head coaches.’’
While Alabama’s offense has been superb in recent years, look for the defense to make a comeback. Talent abounds at each defensive unit.
“Christian Harris is a freak athlete,’’ said one SEC coach. “He’s the best linebacker in the country. And Will Anderson is an unbelievable kid and an unbelievable player (and pass rusher). They could win the Nagurski and Butkus awards.’’
AUBURN
Gus Malzahn won more games against Alabama (three) than any coach in the SEC – or the country — over the past eight years. But that didn’t keep him from getting fired.
Enter Bryan Harsin from Boise State. He’s not new to winning (76-24 in eight years) but he is new to the SEC.
“Bryan Harsin is old school,’’ one SEC coach said. “That will help Auburn.
“And they need somebody to make the quarterback better. The coaching of Bo Nix has been criminal, knowing his talent level. He’s not performed at half the level he’s capable of. Put him in a good system and coach him the right way and he can really be good. He’s got a good running back (Tank Bigsby) but he’s lost two good receivers (Anthony Schwartz and Seth Williams).’’
One SEC coach said Malzahn was too indecisive on play calling: “The problem with Auburn’s offense was Guz Malzahn was like a squirrel in the middle of the road: He could never make up his mind about who should run the offense.
One SEC coach praised the hiring of defensive coordinator Derek Mason, former head coach at Vanderbilt. But he said Mason doesn’t have much material to work with: “I don’t think Auburn has recruited that well the last few years. There’s no (defensive tackle like) Derek Brown, the linebackers are small and undersized, and the secondary is suspect.’’
LSU
After winning the 2019 national championship with one of the greatest offenses ever assembled, LSU stumbled its way to a 5-5 record, in part because of a lousy defense and in part because, coach Ed Orgeron admitted, the Tigers celebrated too much and for too long.
“(Defensive coordinator) Bo Pelini was a horrible hire for lots of reasons on a lot of fronts,’’ one SEC coach said of Pelini, who was fired after one season. “He wasn’t good the first time there and they brought him back anyway.’’
LSU allowed school records for points per game (34.9) and total yards (492). Mississippi State, Missouri and Ole Miss each scored at least 44 points. Auburn got 48. Alabama 55.
Defense wasn’t the only problem. The offense was inconsistent, scoring 7 against Texas A&M, 11 against Auburn, and 17 against Alabama.
“The offense was a disaster,’’ one SEC coach said. “They lost the young guy (Joe Brady to the NFL).’’
And despite losing Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Joe Burrow, LSU still had talent at quarterback, though Myles Brennan suffered a season-ending injury in Game. 3.
“They had three of the best five quarterbacks in the SEC (Brennan, Max Johnson, T.J Finley),’’ one SEC coach said. “Finley (who has transferred to Auburn) reminds me of JaMarcus Russell (former No. 1 overall pick from LSU). And Johnson beat Florida at Florida. And Brennan averaged over 330 yards per game last year before he got hurt.
“All that being said, Ed Orgeron continues to recruit. That is his wheelhouse. When Ed won the national championship, that proves players win over coaches.’’
Another coach was appalled at LSU’s lackadaisical attitude.
“I watched some of their games last year and I was embarrassed by the way they played, with the lack of effort and toughness,’’ one coach said. “And the coaching staff never made any adjustments. You could see the frustration on Ed Orgeron’s face. I’m surprised he didn’t fight some of those guys.
“That’s the worst effort I’ve seen the talent play at LSU since the Gerry DiNardo days (1995-99).’’
One coach doesn’t give LSU any hope of rebounding: “I think LSU is a dumpster fire. (Athletic director) Scott Woodward will get stuff cleaned up. He won’t tolerate what’s been going on. They need to clean house.’’
TEXAS A&M
Texas A&M went 10-1, came close to making the College Football Playoff and had a top five ranking for the first time since 1939.
That seemed reason enough for the Aggies to give Fisher a raise and extension, even though he had a 10-year, $75 million contract.
A&M lost four-year starter Kellon Mond at quarterback and replaces him with talented freshman Haynes King. That shouldn’t be a problem, one SEC coach said.
“Jimbo Fisher is one of the top four or five quarterback developers in the country,’’ one SEC coach said. “Kellen Mond had a ceiling on him talent wise, but Jimbo did a great job with Mond. But Mond is the only quarterback Jimbo has had at A&M so he’s got to find a new one. They’ve got a great running back (Isaiah Spiller) and great receivers.’’
Another coach praised Fisher: “Jimbo’s got a great offensive mind. He could be a coach that beats Nick Saban because Jimbo knows (Saban’s) defense.’’
Offense isn’t A&M’s only strong suit. The defense could be one of the SEC’s best.
“Jimbo’s got the best defensive coordinator (Mike Elko) in the league schematically and adjustment wise,’’ one SEC coach said. “He coaches his front better than anybody in the league and they play the best technically. Elko is to A&M what Dave Aranda was to LSU. A&M always plays good defense; they don’t ever have a bad day.’’
Still, can the Aggies match last season’s success?
“It will be hard for A&M to match last year’s 9-1 (regular-season) record when you lose your quarterback, but with that being said, the West has only one team that is a legit top 10 team: Alabama. That gives him a chance,’’ one SEC coach said.
“This year and next year are big for Jimbo. He will either take it to the next level or get fired before his contract runs out.’’
OLE MISS:
Ole Miss scored its way to a 5-5 record. The Rebels piled up at least 42 points in five games (including 48 against Alabama) but lost two of them.
Put it this way, you know your offense is good when Nick Saban accuses you of stealing defensive signals.
“(Offensive coordinator) Jeff Lebby is the reason they had such a great offense last year,’’ one SEC coach said. “He did a remarkable job with the quarterback (Matt Corral). They lost Elijah Moore and the tight end (Kenny Yeboah). And they fired the offensive line coach after they led the SEC in rushing with average players.’’
The offense should again be explosive. But what about the defense?
“Ole Miss is so bad on defense,’’ one SEC coach said. “I think (defensive coordinator) D.J. Durkin is average. They were awful on defense last year and never adjusted. The good news is, they can’t get any worse. You could put Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs out there and they will be better.’’
One SEC coach said the Rebels have a stud defender.
“Their defensive end Sam Williams, that S.O.B is a legit first-round NFL draft choice,’’ one SEC coach said. “The guy is a freak show. He could be one to watch in the SEC. He is a phenomenal talent. He’s 6-3, 260 and runs a 4.6 straight line. He’s a powerful guy and he knocks people on their ass. But he will take plays off and go to lunch. If he played every down, he could play on Alabama’s defense, and Ole Miss doesn’t have a lot of those.’’
Otherwise, the defense has a personnel issue, one coach said: “Their back end (secondary) is embarrassing. Their front is embarrassing. The linebackers are average.’’
MISS STATE:
The Bulldogs torched LSU’s secondary in scoring a 44-34 victory over the defending champions in last season’s opener. State didn’t score more than 24 points in the next eight games.
The Bulldogs finished the season averaging a paltry 21.4 points per game.
“A lot of people think Mike Leach is great,’’ one SEC coach said, “but in the SEC, teams figured out how to stop the dink and dunk. He’s got to come up with a run game and alternative pass game against eight-man drops. The eight-man drop killed them last year. It messes up all their routes.
“Everything for Leach on offense is spacing. If he (Leach) reads (zone) coverage, he runs space routes; if he reads man, he runs rub routes.
“The SEC plays more man (defense) than the Pac-12 so you’ve got to go to your second and third reads. I think Leach needs a more athletic guy to do that. His system is not very complicated. It’s pitch and catch. That’s his run game. I think Mississippi State needs to run more. Leach needs a more athletic quarterback so the quarterback run game is more of a threat.’’
The quarterback is Will Rogers, who started the last six games last season, passing for 1,976 yards and 11 touchdowns while hitting 69.1 percent.
“Their quarterback, Will Rogers, I think he’s what Leach wants to run the offense,’’ one SEC coach said. “He makes the right decisions. At Washington State, Leach had cerebral guys. And Rogers is a better athlete than some think.’’
Another coach said don’t count Leach out: “Leach is dumb like a fox. He’s brilliant because of his education (law degree). He reads people in situations well.’’
ARKANSAS
Arkansas went two years without winning a conference game, and had won just one in three years.
Coach Sam Pittman inherited a culture of chaos.
But in his debut, the Hogs led No. 4 Georgia at halftime, beat upstart Mississippi State in the second game, got robbed by officials against Auburn in the third game, then beat Ole Miss in Game Four.
Suddenly, Arkansas was a tough out.
While the Hogs won just one more game, they threatened No. 8 Texas A&M, scored 35 on Florida, lost by a field goal to LSU and fell by two to Missouri.
“I think it could be argued Sam Pittman did as good a job coaching a first-year team as anyone in recent SEC history because they were not very good before Sam got there,’’ said one SEC coach. “They hadn’t won an SEC game in two years and won just one in three years.
“Sam is team-builder type guy. He’s a quality human being. Players play hard for him. He can recruit. He’s one of the few authentic, personable and believable head coaches in the SEC. He cares about his players.’’
Pittman cares about his coaches, too. He has assembled a staff that, arguably, has one of the best offensive and defensive coordinator combinations in the SEC.
“(Defensive coordinator) Barry Odom did a really good job with the talent he had,’’ one SEC coach said. “He had only one draftable player. His defense played more physical and with better effort.’’
The offense was a mix.
“Kendal Briles is a fast-pace offensive coordinator who went up tempo at Baylor,’’ said one SEC coach. “Pittman likes to run the ball, play smash-mouth football and beat you up. They did a good job blending those two systems last year.
“If they get the type quarterback Briles wants and incorporate the fast tempo and run game, it will make it hard on defenses.’’
It will also make it hard if quarterback KJ Jefferson comes through.
“They won (three games) with Feleipe Franks, who’s like a schizophrenic quarterback who can play really well, then get you beat,’’ said one SEC coach. “If they get a quarterback, look out.’’
One coach noted it’s hard to win at Arkansas: “Arkansas is a hard state to recruit. You’ve got to get juco guys out of Texas and Louisiana.’’
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