SEC Football (Rivalry Coaches): Jim McElwain V Jimbo Fisher

Rivalries are a part of what makes sports great. North Carolina-Duke. Hulk Hogan-Sting. Ronda Rousey-No one and everyone. The NFC West. Already I have offended people by not including their favorite rivalry. As posted in the first article in this series, however, each post will contain some new rivalries in the introduction, so feel free to make a suggestion in the comments or tweet @southbounddown or @jcrichardson12 (still not great with “the twitter”) with your suggestions.

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Originally I intended for this to be strictly SEC Football rivalries and coaches. Fortunately I realized my folly. If I were to limit this series to only SEC games, some great rivalries would get left out. Additionally, the SEC East would be done a huge disservice.

Many SEC West teams have the (dis)advantage of having one of their biggest rivals be not only in the same division, but also in-state (Alabama-Auburn, Ole Miss-Mississippi State). Many teams in the SEC East, however, have one of their biggest rivalries with an in-state team that is not a part of the SEC (Georgia-Georgia Tech, Florida-Florida State, South Carolina-Clemson, Kentucky-Louisville…it counts).

I also thought the wording of the questions was key. “Who would you rather have take over your program right now” eliminates coaches who may not be in the game very much longer. “Who would you rather have for one season” negates recruiting expertise to an extent. So it was settled that the question would be “Who would you rather have for the next 4 years?” That encompasses coaching and recruiting. It implies that the coach cannot retire after one season.

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If you have a preference, you already know which way you are going to vote. The introductions and overview here will be kept at a minimum.

So without further ado, let us introduce our fourth contestants for our ‘Rivalry Coaches’ series . . .

The Venue: Florida-Florida State

Jimbo Fisher:

*cue announcer voice* Fighting out of the Garnet and Gold corner wearing Jameis Winston special Hesiman edition trunks with “humble pie” trim ignoring whatever is going on behind him…he has a 4-1 record against Florida and ran Will Muschamp out of town… he has won a National Championship and has made the ACC his personal play toy…he’s one of the few prodigies that has successfully replaced a legend…he’ll take a few hits to give a few hits and bounce right back…his haters say he ignores what his student athletes are doing, his supporters say his student athletes just win…JJJIMMMMBOOOOOOOOOO “THAT’S A NO-NOOOOOOOO ” FIIIIIIIIIIISHHHEERRRRRRRRRRR.

Jim McElwain:

*throat clear, cue announcer voice* Fighting out of the Orange and Blue corner wearing a gator tail and coming up with excuses in case things don’t go as planned…he has never coached in this game before…this rivalry without a true name can now be called the Battle of Saban’s Protégés …he is an offensive guru whose predecessor left him tons of defense to work with…he’s known for a steady and varied attack…though no one really knows what to expect…his haters say he isn’t ready, his supporters are still bad mouthing Muschamp … JJJJJJJJJIIIIMMMMMMMMM “THE NEW SHERRRRRIIIIIIFFFF” MCELLLLLLWAAAAAAAAAAAIINNNNNN

Take your pick. Share with friends. Make sure your coach comes out on top. Results for round 2 purposes will be taken a week after the publish date (8/24/2015). The poll will remain open and like LL Cool J said, “Don’t Call it a Comeback”

For more on SEC Rivalries, check out Barrett Sallee’s article: ‘SEC Football: Ranking the Conference’s Best Rivalries’

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