SEC Football (Rivalry Coaches): Round 2

By John Richardson | Sep 7, 2015

Before the 2015 college football season kicked off, we held a competition of SEC Head Coaches. Fans were given the opportunity to vote for their preferred coach in a heads up battle. While the matchups were not limited to SEC football, they were based on rivalries. All battles have now expired and we need to take a look at the results and create our bracket for round 2. First, the results:

1. Butch Jones (97%) defeated Derek Mason

2. Jimbo Fisher (52%) defeated Jim McElwain

3. Gary Pinkel (93%) defeated David Beaty

4. Kevin Sumlin (76%) defeated Charlie Strong

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5. Dabo Swinney (59%) defeated Steve Spurrier

6. Paul Johnson (94%) defeated Mark Richt

7. Les Miles (61%) defeated Bret Bielema

8. Hugh Freeze (69%) defeated Dan Mullen

9. Nick Saban (65%) defeated Guz Malzahn

10. Mark Stoops (70%) defeated Bobby Petrino

Of course this will leave us with 5 winners. In order to bring us to an even number of coaches for round 3, there will also be a “best of the rest poll.” This poll will give one coach that was unable to beat his competition the chance to rejoin the challenge. Squad up SEC fans, non-conference coaches will be present in this poll. They went 3-3 in round 1, so don’t underestimate the possibilities.

As these matchups were based on rivalries, we will try to get as many rivalries in for round 2 as possible. There were quite a few surprises that will impact how round 2 is seeded. Since ACC Nation put on a clinic in voting, they get a guaranteed finalist in round 3 as two ACC coaches will be matched up in round 2. The BIG XII didn’t take notes from the ACC here and have 0 coaches moving on to round 2. On to the matchups:

Paul Johnson V Jimbo Fisher

An All-ACC matchup that pits divisions in this conference matchup. Paul Johnson is representing Georgia Tech and the Coastal Division. Jimbo Fisher has the responsibility of representing Florida State and the Atlantic Division. Who ya got?

Les Miles V Nick Saban

Ole Miss fans may clamor that LSU and Ole Miss have more of a rivalry than LSU and Alabama. While their is merit to their argument, Les Miles V Nick Saban is one of the most intriguing rivalries in the SEC today. We will do our best each round to create the best matchups. This could easily have been the championship matchup. Who ya got?

Gary Pinkel V Kevin Sumlin

Only one of these coaches knows what it is like to coach in the Big 12 and the SEC. One would think he is happy to be in the SEC these days, as 0 Big 12 coaches that made this tournament advanced to round two. Their schools are still looked at as outsiders by many SEC fans. Who ya got?

Butch Jones V Mark Stoops

Tennessee versus Kentucky is an underrated rivalry that should take off one day. Their basketball games are typically are more interesting, but even that rivalry is lopsided. Tennessee owns the gridiron, Kentucky owns the courts. Can Stoops make this rivalry relevant? Can Jones bury Kentucky? Who ya got?

Hugh Freeze V Dabo Swinney

The two coaches that were left without a true rival to pit them against. Dabo Swinney could have been pitted against Fisher or Johnson, but they made for a more interesting matchup. Freeze could have been opposite Les Miles, but the mad hatter’s matchup with Nick Saban is more intriguing. As a result, they found each other for round 2. Who ya got?

Results will be taken September 14 for round 3 purposes.

Can’t get enough of rivalries? Check out Saturday Down South’s article on SEC rivalries here.

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