9. Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee
If you had told me on October 6 of 2019 that Pruitt would keep his job and be ranked inside my top-10 SEC coaches of 2020, I’d call you crazy.
Following Tennessee’s loss to Georgia last year, Tennessee’s fourth loss in its first five games, the Vols decided to start playing football.
They won their final six games and seven of their last eight to finish with an 8-5 record.
But he still lost to Georgia State and BYU, something Vols fans will never forget.
8. Mark Stoops, Kentucky
How can you not love the job Mark Stoops has done in Lexington?
Similar to Mason at Vandy, I tend to find myself cheering for Stoops and Kentucky.
It took a while, but the Wildcats are no longer a cupcake game on superior teams’ schedules. His first season in Lexington (2013) saw Kentucky go 2-10, and just two years ago he had the Wildcats finish 10-3 and had hopes of representing the SEC East in the conference championship.
7. Gus Malzahn, Auburn
This one’s always tough. The Tigers usually start the season in the top-15 but tend to drop off by the end of the season.
Malzahn’s only had one season with more than 10 wins, and that was in 2013 when Auburn lost to Jimbo Fisher and FSU in the BCS National Championship.
What he did do though was guide Cam Newton to the greatest individual season I’ve ever seen by a college football quarterback in 2010, when he was Auburn’s offensive coordinator.
Auburn always recruits hard and plays hard. Tough schedules don’t help, but if he wants to crack the top-five, he’ll need to start beating some of the better SEC teams on the schedule. Teams like LSU, Alabama, Georgia and occasionally Florida are tough, but those are games that Auburn fans should expect to win.
6. Mike Leach, Mississippi State
A lot of people get sidetracked by his unique personality and forget just how good of coach Mike Leach really is.
He’s entering his first season as head coach at Mississippi State, following an eight year run at Washington State. Before that he spent 10 seasons at Texas Tech. In total, he boasts a 139-90 overall head coaching record and has had 12 seasons of 8-plus wins since the turn of the century.
I for one cannot wait to see his offensive style in the SEC this year.