Typically, expectations need to be tempered for first-time SEC coaches. It’s the most competitive league in college football, and the constant challenge week-in and week-out can provide quite the learning curve.
But Brian Kelly is not your typical first-time SEC coach. He arrives with more than three decades of head coaching experience, and he spent the last 12 at one of the premier jobs in college football in Notre Dame.
As the third-winningest active coach in the FBS ranks, he’s more accomplished than arguably any coach in the league, save for the three who have won national titles. But where exactly does he stand entering his first year in Baton Rouge?
USA TODAY Sports SEC columnist Blake Toppmeyer tried to provide the answer in his recent rankings of the conference’s head ball coaches. Here’s how his list shakes out, including his reasoning for each selection.
Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
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Lea did not step into an enviable situation, but that doesn’t excuse a 20-point loss to East Tennessee State in his debut. The Commodores flirted with finding a pulse late last season, but Year Two under Lea offers little hope of significant improvement over last year’s 2-10 record.
Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
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The Tigers failed to live up to expectations in Drinkwitz’s encore after a respectable debut in 2020, and the Missouri coach hasn’t shown his touch with offense and quarterbacks, in particular, that he had as an offensive coordinator and Appalachian State’s coach. If there’s reason to be encouraged, it’s rooted in Missouri’s recruiting uptick that includes the signing of five-star wide receiver Luther Burden and top-150 quarterback Sam Horn. The jury remains out on Drinkwitz.
Bryan Harsin, Auburn
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Harsin proved a fine coach for Boise State, his alma mater, but he’s a poor fit at one of the SEC’s most pressure-cooker jobs. Auburn’s lackluster six-win season in Harsin’s debut preceded an equally concerning aftermath: a lackluster signing class and an exodus of players and coaches. Harsin survived an offseason probe from Auburn’s kangaroo court, but it seemed more like a delay of the inevitable. AU faces a typically tough schedule and no recruiting momentum.
Shane Beamer, South Carolina
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Beamer supplied the energy and charisma the Gamecocks needed in making a pivot from Will Muschamp. Impressively, South Carolina’s…