SEC Football: SEC has more than one hot seat this season

The most agreed upon opinion about SEC football in 2022 is that Auburn’s Bryan Harsin’s ‘seat’ is scorching. Harsin does not have a roster for a rapid improvement in Auburn’s fortunes. Making it worse is the so-far dismal success he is having in recruiting.

A roughly $20M buyout saved him last season. An estimated $15M buyout might save him again at the end of the 2022 season, with at least eight wins. Some of us hold the opinion, that the Auburn Tigers will do well to win more than five games. If not for the buyout, I’m not sure Harsin would make it to the next Iron Bowl.

In fairness to Bryan Harsin, he may not be a bad coach, in the right situation. He did well at Boise State, but the ‘blue field environment’ in Idaho is a world away from SEC football. He is, and never will be, a good fit at Auburn.

SEC Football and other Bad Fits

When Dan Mullen’s 2014 Bulldogs team won 10 games, it was the first season for double-digit wins in Starkville since Jackie Sherrill’s 1999 team. Not long after the 1999 season, Sherrill and the Bulldogs collapsed. Mississippi State won just eight games in Sherrill’s last three seasons.

Following Sherrill in Starkville was one of the finest men to ever coach college football. Sylvester Croom had one winning season in five at Mississippi State, going 8-4 in 2007, including a win over Nick Saban’s first Alabama team.

Winning does not come easily for the Bulldogs. Sherrill is the program’s all-time wins leader at 74, against 76 losses. Mullen briefly got the program to a No. 1 ranking. Croom was fired because ‘old-school’ had lost its luster and while he developed young men, he could not land enough top athletes. Mullin was a disappointing recruiter as well.

Joe Moorhead brought in current offensive schemes but was not prepared to succeed in the SEC. He lasted only two seasons.

A similar fate could befall Mike Leach if the Bulldogs don’t improve to eight wins this season. In two seasons, Leach is 11-13 in Starkville. Last season’s 34-7 loss to Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl was an embarrassment.

Some sharp football minds believe State’s problem is Leach. His style did well against teams with less than SEC football athleticism. It does not work as well against SEC defenses. Last season’s Alabama game is an example. State QB, Will Rogers threw 27 more passes than Bryce Young – and produced 48 fewer receiving yards. Under a barrage of pressure, the Bulldogs’ net rushing total was minus-1 yard. The game was not as close as 49-9 indicated.

The circumstances in Columbia. MO are different. Eli Drinkwitz was not an established coach when Missouri hired him. He had one season of head coaching experience. His one season at Appalachian State, in 2019, was outstanding with a 12-1 record. Going back to Springdale High School, Drinkwitz spent seven seasons coaching for Gus Malzahn.

The 12 wins in 2019 were glitzy and Missouri likely thought a boost of Malzahn-style offensive sizzle was what the program needed. The result has been an 11-12 record. There were two promising wins early in the 2020 season. The best win last season was over South Carolina.

The Tigers may accept another mediocre season if Drinkwitz can show progress. Otherwise, his odds for a fourth season in Columbia are not good.

Will more seats get warm during the SEC football season? Maybe not in the SEC, but one could become very hot in Texas.