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2018 will be a transition year for SEC football, mostly due to Nick Saban

By Ronald Evans

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts to a play during the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP National Championship presented by AT
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts to a play during the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP National Championship presented by AT /
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For SEC football, 2018 will a season of transition for many teams and the person most responsible for this state of flux is Nick Saban.

Not since Paul Bryant has a single coach wielded such influence over SEC football as does Nick Saban. Across the league landscape, careers are diminished and derailed by being in competition with Nick Saban. Careers are also built and enhanced as former Saban assistants continue or begin head coaching careers.

Coming into the 2018 season, SEC football is defined by recent disparity. In 2017, two SEC teams played for the national championship, but eight of the 14 schools won seven or fewer games. In 2017 competition against other Power Five conference teams, SEC football was 10-12. Seven SEC football teams did not win an out-of-conference game against a Power Five team.

Five Teams with New Head Coaches

Five SEC football teams will have new head coaches in 2018. Two of the five have no head coaching experience at the FBS level. Including the two new head coaches, nine SEC football coaches, do not have winning records in their head coaching careers.

Note: Joe Moorhead, new Mississippi State head coach, does have a winning record at the FCS level. He has never been a head coach at the FBS level.

That is a lot of mediocrity and failure for a league that prides itself on being the strongest in college football. Nick Saban cannot be fairly blamed for the struggles of other coaches and other SEC football teams. Still, Saban has made the SEC a very tough place for Alabama opponents.

It is reasonable to state LSU, Florida, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Arkansas are programs undergoing transitions, due at least in part to an inability to beat Nick Saban. The positive side of Saban’s influence is that Tennessee, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Georgia are trying to fashion Saban-style success with former Saban assistants. So, plus and minus, at least half the league is seeking change influenced by Nick Saban.

High Reward and High Risk

Being a head coach in the SEC is both high reward and high risk. It did not work out well for Les Miles, Mark Richt, Jim McElwain, Gene Chizik, Bret Bielema, Kevin Sumlin or Butch Jones. It is not looking good for Ed Orgeron. It drove Urban Meyer to health concerns and out of the league.

Dan Mullen is the only SEC head coach to repeatedly fail against Nick Saban and not suffer. Mullen was 0-9 at Mississippi State against Alabama football and Nick Saban. Mullen somehow parlayed that performance into a new, better-paying gig at Florida.

Next: 25 Greatest Games in Saban Era

As the 2018 season of SEC football unfolds, Nick Saban should not be blamed for every team’s or every coach’s troubles. He probably will be though – he gets blamed for everything else.

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