SEC Football (Rivalry Coaches): Sumlin V Strong

Rivalries are a part of what makes sports great. Palmer-Nicklaus. Kerrigan-Harding. McEnroe-Borg. Gay- Bolt. 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.

Recommended Musial Accompaniment: A$AP Ferg-Work (Remix)

If you have been following along with this series, you can skip to the voting portion. I have continued to include the following for first-time readers of this series. It is especially important to fans of programs that have not yet been mentioned or are being mentioned for the first time.

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.

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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.

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: Nowhere in the near future

Kevin Sumlin:

*cue announcer voice* Fighting out of the Maroon and White corner and being accompanied by ~~male cheerleaders~~ yell leaders…knock them if you want to, but they’ve got the crowd hyped to a fever pitch …he has a 0-0 record against Texas which is a cryyyyyyying shame… he hired some special help to aid his defensive game (Chavis)…He’ll throw haymaker after haymaker and hope for the best…we’ve yet to see if his defensive improvements have truly become a part of his repertoire…he has recruited like crazy…Johnny Manziel and Justin Bieber are in his corner…they better not tweet any secrets (see Sumlin’s former pool boy in Strong’s corner?)…his supporters await his next offensive explosion…his haters are waiting for him to get caught with a counter …KEEEEEEEEVVIINNNNNNNN “THE PASSSSSSS MASTER” SUMMMMMMMLLIIINNNNNN.

Charlie Strong:

*throat clear, cue announcer voice* Fighting out of the Burnt Orange and White corner and escorting Bevo to the ring with a host of Longhorn players…he also has a 0-0 record in this rivalry, the disappointment of which cannot be overstated…his tenure in the big leagues has gotten off to a mediocre start…he’ll look to defend and counter-punch as he gets the opportunity…He’s kicked as many former studs off his team as he has recruited since arriving in Texas…A group of well-dressed, well-behaved Longhorns and Kevin Sumlin’s former pool boy are accompanying him to the ring…His supporters say just give him some more time, his haters cannot understand Texas not winning the Big XII every year…. CHHHHHHARRLIEEEEEEE “BE ON TIME AND ACT RIGHT” STRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNG

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 (8/26/2015). 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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