With Mark Stoops the elder statesman, a breakdown of SEC football coaches for 2024
Last week, with Kentucky’s Mark Pope the new kid on the block, we broke down the SEC men’s basketball coaches for the 2024-25 season.
This week, with Kentucky’s Mark Stoops the old guy on the block, let’s break down the SEC football coaches for the upcoming season.
Kalen Deboer: Alabama’s new coach fills monster shoes. Who wants to follow Nick Saban? The 49-year-old DeBoer has credentials. Washington was 25-3 his two seasons, including a trip to the College Football Playoff championship game last season.
Sam Pittman: Arkansas’ coach is feeling the heat. The Razorbacks were 4-8 during Pittman’s fourth season in Fayetteville. So the 62-year-old hired ex-Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator. It’s a match crazy enough to work.
Hugh Freeze: Auburn was 6-7 in Freeze’s SEC return last season. The 54-year-old proved he could win at Ole Miss before resigning during a 2016 cheating scandal. Much of what the Rebels were accused of then is no longer against the rules.
Billy Napier: The 44-year old with the flattop is 11-14 overall and 6-10 in the SEC at Florida. That won’t do. Not at the school that employed Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer. The Gators’ recruiting has yet to reap positive results.
Kirby Smart: Georgia’s 48-year-old is the current king of the hill. The Bulldogs won the national title in 2022. They finished 12-1 in 2023. Smart is 42-2 his last three seasons. With Saban gone, he’s the clear leader.
Mark Stoops: This is season No. 12 at Kentucky for the 56-year-old. Stoops is fresh off back-to-back 7-6 seasons. There was that dalliance with Texas A&M at the end of 2023. Stoops has a talented 2024 roster. He also has a killer 2024 schedule.
Brian Kelly: The 62-year-old is 20-7 in his two LSU seasons. He produced 2023 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels. His defense was dreadful, causing ex-UK defensive coordinator Matt House to become ex-LSU defensive coordinator Matt House.
Lane Kiffin: Give the 49-year-old credit. Kiffin has built Ole Miss into a top-10 team favored to make the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff this season. The Rebels are 34-15 overall and 20-13 in the SEC in his four Oxford seasons.
Jeff Lebby: Mississippi State’s 40-year-old Lebby makes his head coaching debut. He’s served as an offensive coordinator at UCF under Josh Heupel, at Ole Miss under Kiffin and at Oklahoma under Brent Venables. State went 5-7 in Zach Arnett’s one-and-done campaign.
Eliah Drinkwitz: The 41-year-old doesn’t just do jokes. Missouri was 11-2 and finished eighth in the AP Top 25 last season, Drinkwitz’s fourth. A favorable 2024 schedule puts Mizzou into good CFP position.
Brent Venables: After a 6-7 debut at Oklahoma, Venables improved to 10-3 last season. Now the 53-year-old leads the Sooners into the SEC. He does so without quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who transferred to Oregon.
Shane Beamer: After a step forward in 2022 at 8-5, South Carolina stumbled two steps back last season, finishing 5-7 under the 47-year-old Beamer. He’s 20-18 overall and 10-14 in three seasons. The pressure is on for season No. 4.
Josh Heupel: After going 28-8 in three seasons at UCF, the 46-year-old is 27-12 in three Tennessee seasons. The Volunteers slipped from 11-2 in 2022 to 9-4 in 2023. Highly touted sophomore Nico Iamaleava takes over at quarterback in 2024.
Steve Sarkisian: Texas took off for the 50-year-old Sarkisian last season, finishing 12-2 with a trip to the CFP. The former Washington and USC head coach is 25-14 in Austin. And the Longhorns should be a top-five preseason pick for 2024.
Mike Elko: When the College Station dust cleared, the 46-year-old Elko was Texas A&M’s new head coach. Jimbo Fisher’s defensive coordinator from 2018-21, Elko knows the tricky territory. He was 16-9 in two seasons at Duke, not the easiest place to win football games.
Clark Lea: Vanderbilt’s 42-year-old head coach has returned for his fourth season leading the Commodores. After going 5-7 in 2022, the Commodores slipped to 2-10 in 2023. Lea is 9-27 overall and 2-22 in the SEC in his three Nashville seasons. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.
This story was originally published July 6, 2024 at 12:25 PM.
