SEC Coach Of The Year

Houston Nutt, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Other than being head coaches in the South Eastern Conference, What do these three men have in common? Well I don’t know about the rest of the nation, but I would have to believe that these three men are the front runners for the SEC Coach of the Year award. What is the defining characteristic that makes up this distinguished honor? To me it is the coach that accomplished the most with what he had. The coach that got his team to gain every yard they could and score every point that was available to them. Today I will look at each of these great coaches and tell you what I see, to make me believe the honor will go to one of them.

Houston Nutt: After 10 very successful years at Arkansas, Houston Nutt decides to move a little to the east and start over at a school hungry to return to their glory days. Almost everyone in college football knew that Ed Orgeron was recruiting well at Ole Miss, but why weren’t the Rebels winning ballgames? Ole Miss never was out of any ball game they played, but they just couldn’t get that signature win, that is until Houston Nutt took over the program. Nutt knew there was talent at Ole Miss, but that talent was raw, virtually un-coached, and none of them knew how to win. It took 5 games for the Ole Miss Rebels to get that signature win, a win that came on the road in Gainesville Florida over the then № 4 team in the nation, the Florida Gators. Now I am not saying that Ole Miss was the better team than Florida, but the Rebels took advantage of costly Gator miscues and turned them into scores, something that an Ed Orgeron coached Rebel squad never did. These Rebels believe that they can win on any given Saturday and that is a direct result of strong coaching. The Rebels have had their share of miscues and mistakes this year that can very well be the cause of their 4 losses, but due to Houston Nutt, Ole Miss has not been outclassed on the football field this year by anyone; not even the nation’s №1. If you don’t believe this man is a motivator and an inspiration, just visit some of the Ole Miss Message boards. Nutt has brought fire and intensity back to one of the SEC’s proudest of institutions.

Urban Meyer: Coaching a team in a National Championship game, winning that game, and coaching a Heisman Trophy winner are things a Division 1-A coach dreams about. Urban Meyer was able to do this in just 3 years as the University of Florida’s head coach. Now in his 4th year he has the Gators back on track for another National Title. In 2006 Coach Meyer was ridiculed all over the country for going out and “Politicking” to get his team into the BCS National Championship game. I never ridiculed him because I think that this is exactly the kind of thing a head coach is supposed to do for his school. There is no doubt in my mind that the 2006 Florida Gators could’ve beaten anyone that wanted to strap up against them in that game, I also believe that it was 100% due to the diligent coaching of Meyer. Urban Meyer has proven his ability to motivate, and to coach winners. Of course it doesn’t hurt to have one of the nation’s best quarterbacks on your team, but that quarterback is just one man. To win a National Championship a team must be just that, a TEAM. Good players can get you only so much, they have to be coached. Urban Meyer is definitely the man to coach them. Meyer has their ear, and their trust. Meyer and his Gators have set the stage for a great SEC Championship game with the Alabama Crimson Tide in Atlanta on December 6th, win that one and look out BCS. Looks like Coach of the Year credentials to me.

Nick Saban: I may have saved the best for last. In just 2 short years Nick Saban has brought the Alabama Crimson Tide back into the national spotlight. Ranked №1 in the nation and undefeated at 10 - 0, Alabama is the other player on that stage in Atlanta on December 6th. Coach Saban may not be the second coming of Bear Bryant, but for the first time in a long time, I don’t think the Bama faithful are hunting for him. Coach Saban is a recruiting machine, and it hasn’t taken long to show up in the win column. Any college football fan will tell you that recruiting isn’t everything, you still have to coach them and boy howdee can this man coach? He teaches fundamentals better than anyone I’ve seen. He has turned the Crimson Tide back into the Rock-Em Sock-Em team that we can remember. Run the ball; chew up the clock, ball control and dominating defense. These are the things that the Tide has been missing since the days of Bryant, and Stallings. Coach Saban has brought them back and the entire SEC knew it was just a matter of time. Alabama holds the keys to their own destiny and in my opinion; Nick Saban will have them prepared for that destiny. What else can you ask for when giving the Coach of the Year award?

In closing, any of these great coaches are good choices for this year's SEC Coach of the Year honor. I really don’t see how the conference can go wrong in its choice. If I had a vote, and I could discount the rest of the season, I would have to give the award to Nick Saban at the moment. But alas, there is still a lot of football left to be played, and even more for Saban and Meyer with the SEC Championship Game, a lot can happen so let me hear your opinions on this subject. Come back on Friday as I will run down the weekends match ups and give you my picks. Until then….Hotty Toddy

Darryle “Speedy” Clark