Started By
Message
Who is the most likeable head football coach in the SEC?
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:10 am
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:10 am
It's pretty much the off season. Since everyone loves to hate on everyone else's coach, lets flip the script.
Listed in alphabetical order by school:
Alabama: Kalen DeBoer
Arkansas: Sam Pittman
Auburn: Hugh Freeze
Florida: Billy Napier
Georgia: Kirby Smart
Kentucky: Mark Stoops
LSU: Brian Kelly
Mississippi State: Jeff Lebby
Mizzou: Eli Drinkwitz
Oklahoma: Brent Venables
Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin
South Carolina: Shane Beamer
Tennessee: Josh Heupel
Texas: Steve Sarkisian
Texas A&M: Mike Elko
Vanderbilt: Clark Lea
Here is my shot at it. Hell I don't even know some of these guys. I guess i will just put them in the middle.
1. Sam Pittman
2. Billy Napier
3. Clark Lea
4. Shane Beamer
5. Josh Heupel
6. Kalen DeBoer
7. Jeff Lebby
8. Mike Elko
9. Lane Kiffin
10. Hugh Freeze
11. Brent Venables
12. Steve Sarkisian
13. Kirby Smart
14. Mark Stoops
15. Eli Drinkwiiz
16. Brian Kelly
Sorry LSU fans, he just seems like a prick. I could be wrong. I have a friend from home who is a great high school coach that played for Kelly in college and he loves the guy, and tells me what a great guy he is.
Anyway here is my list, tell me where I am wrong.
P.S. I am sure that there are times when all of these jokers are pricks. You don't get to be the head coach at an SEC school without being a pretty bad arse dude. These are all highly coveted jobs and their is fierce competition for them.
Listed in alphabetical order by school:
Alabama: Kalen DeBoer
Arkansas: Sam Pittman
Auburn: Hugh Freeze
Florida: Billy Napier
Georgia: Kirby Smart
Kentucky: Mark Stoops
LSU: Brian Kelly
Mississippi State: Jeff Lebby
Mizzou: Eli Drinkwitz
Oklahoma: Brent Venables
Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin
South Carolina: Shane Beamer
Tennessee: Josh Heupel
Texas: Steve Sarkisian
Texas A&M: Mike Elko
Vanderbilt: Clark Lea
Here is my shot at it. Hell I don't even know some of these guys. I guess i will just put them in the middle.
1. Sam Pittman
2. Billy Napier
3. Clark Lea
4. Shane Beamer
5. Josh Heupel
6. Kalen DeBoer
7. Jeff Lebby
8. Mike Elko
9. Lane Kiffin
10. Hugh Freeze
11. Brent Venables
12. Steve Sarkisian
13. Kirby Smart
14. Mark Stoops
15. Eli Drinkwiiz
16. Brian Kelly
Sorry LSU fans, he just seems like a prick. I could be wrong. I have a friend from home who is a great high school coach that played for Kelly in college and he loves the guy, and tells me what a great guy he is.
Anyway here is my list, tell me where I am wrong.
P.S. I am sure that there are times when all of these jokers are pricks. You don't get to be the head coach at an SEC school without being a pretty bad arse dude. These are all highly coveted jobs and their is fierce competition for them.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:19 am to bigDgator
Feel like there’s a bit of a gap between the first 2 or 3 and the rest. Could definitely tier this list by coaches I actually like, coaches who might be annoying at times but generally are fine, coaches who I’m kind of indifferent to, and coaches who tend to piss me off
Tier 1 - would gladly have a beer
Pitt and Napier
Tier 2 - Annoying at times but mostly cool/fine
Beamer, Heupel, Kiffin, Sark, Elko, Venables
Tier 3 - Indifferent; don’t love, don’t hate
DeBoer, Lebby, Lea, Stoops
Tier 4 - Assholes
Drink, Kelly, Freeze
Tier 1 - would gladly have a beer
Pitt and Napier
Tier 2 - Annoying at times but mostly cool/fine
Beamer, Heupel, Kiffin, Sark, Elko, Venables
Tier 3 - Indifferent; don’t love, don’t hate
DeBoer, Lebby, Lea, Stoops
Tier 4 - Assholes
Drink, Kelly, Freeze
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:29 am to bigDgator
quote:
Texas A&M: Mike Elko
Who doesn't like a Ralphy from A Christmas Story look a like.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:31 am to bigDgator
Why is Sam so likeable? I’m sure he’s a good guy but I’ve never seen anything that he’s gone above and beyond that makes him likeable and hes not a good head coach.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:34 am to bigDgator
Guess we are all biased and I have issues with him as coach but feel like Sark is a pretty likeable guy. You've got him so far down it sorta stuck out.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:35 am to bigDgator
Pittman and it's not close
he's just a good old fella you want to have a beer with
he's just a good old fella you want to have a beer with
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:36 am to bigDgator
I really like Hugh Freeze and Josh Heupel. They've removed all of the anxiety I used to feel about playing Auburn and Tennessee.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:40 am to Mexican Martini
quote:
Guess we are all biased and I have issues with him as coach but feel like Sark is a pretty likeable guy. You've got him so far down it sorta stuck out.
Sark and Venables would have been a little more towards the middle, but I mistakenly copied and pasted an old list without Oklahoma and Texas, and after I got to 10 I realized I didn't have 16 teams. So I just stuck them there.

Yes I had to amend my top list as well.
This post was edited on 1/9/25 at 9:42 am
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:40 am to bigDgator
Athens bias notwithstanding, Pittman is the hands-down winner, IMO.
I'd love to have him back as OL coach.
I'd love to have him back as OL coach.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:44 am to momentoftruth87
quote:
and hes not a good head coach.
This is not a factor. Good coaches probably have a harder time being liked by the rest of SEC fans solely for the arse whippings they give out.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:45 am to VoxDawg
Would love to have a beer with Sark.
Oh, wait
Oh, wait
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:46 am to bigDgator
quote:
2. Billy Napier
It was only a short time ago that gators hated this man at a high level.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 9:59 am to Saskwatch
quote:
It was only a short time ago that gators hated this man at a high level.
No one hates him as a person, only as a coach. Big difference. I still think he gets fired next season.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 10:07 am to bigDgator
As a UT fan, I like our coach (Heupel)...but given a choice of who I would drink a beer with, Pittman is #1 hands-down. Whoever is 2nd is a very distant 2nd.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 10:15 am to madmaxvol
I don't get why people hate on Harry Potter so much. He's just a nice young man with some football IQ who's not afraid to respond other a-hole coaches.
Heupel way too high, likes to run up the score if he can.
Heupel way too high, likes to run up the score if he can.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 10:27 am to Mexican Martini
quote:
Would love to have a beer with Sark.
I'd love to ask him what they do at halftime in lieu of adjustments since we sleep through every 3rd quarter.
Stats don't lie.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 10:32 am to Saskwatch
Almost every Gator acknowledges that like Mike White when he was here, Napier is a good dude.
Just a mediocre coach. If he can set his ego aside and hire an OC he has an easy path to becoming a much better coach
Just a mediocre coach. If he can set his ego aside and hire an OC he has an easy path to becoming a much better coach
Posted on 1/9/25 at 10:33 am to bigDgator
Mark Stoops seems like an a-hole. He gets my vote.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 10:35 am to bigDgator
My only change would be to move Shane Beamer down between Drinkwitz and Kelly. Otherwise it is ordered pretty well.
Posted on 1/9/25 at 10:40 am to RocketBallz2
quote:
I don't get why people hate on Harry Potter so much. He's just a nice young man with some football IQ who's not afraid to respond other a-hole coaches.
Heupel way too high, likes to run up the score if he can.
Good point. BTW...didn't Missouri beat Murray State by 51 points this season...and UMASS by 42...and Buffalo by 31? Oh...wait...Missouri added a touchdown in the final 3 minutes to beat Buffalo by 38. My bad...anyway...good point about likeable coaches not running up the score.
Popular
Back to top
