The SEC Power Poll Returns

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

One of the more enjoyable things I take part in each season is The SEC Power Poll. It's the brainchild of Brandon Larrabee over at Garnet and Black Attack, the excellent South Carolina blog that's part of SB Nation. Each week, close to 30 bloggers from around the conference rank each school from top to bottom.

There's an equal number of bloggers representing each school. Also voting from the "Auburn block" are the guys at Joe Cribbs Car Wash and The Auburner. The rules are simple: rank each team regardless of division from one to 12. If you rank your school too high or your rivals too low be prepared to catch hell (see yesterday's story).

Unlike those ridiculous preseason polls, we wait until after the season starts before turning in our first ballot.  I'll share my picks with you each week. But to kick things off, we decided to rank the SEC's coaches from best to worst. Is there really a bad coach in the conference?

In the graphic above you'll see how the voting turned out. Tommy Tuberville may not get a lot of headlines compared to his counterparts, but he sure gets respect in this poll. He ranked third overall and placed ahead of four coaches who've won national championships. It's good to see that others give him credit for the 2004 season. And let's not forget that he's the only coach to run the table in the SEC since Fulmer in 1998.

Below is how I ranked them. I placed Tuberville third behind Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer. No coach in the SEC has come close to matching Spurrier's success in the 90's and he's getting close to putting it together in Columbia. It was an easy choice for me.

I ranked Urban Meyer second for several reasons. You have to give him credit for the national title two years ago, even if he did go down at Pat Dye Field. He's also done a masterful job of recruiting. Give Meyer credit for bringing the school back after the Ron Zook debacle. Plus, he's developed Tim Tebow into a monster quarterback.

Let me know what you think. Have a great weekend - the last weekend of no Auburn football. War Eagle!

Ranking the SEC Coaches

1. Steve Spurrier (South Carolina)
2. Urban Meyer (Florida)
3. Tommy Tuberville (Auburn)
4. Mark Richt (Georgia)
5. Phil Fulmer (Tennessee)
6. Les Miles (LSU)
7. Nick Saban (Alabama)
8. Houston Nutt (Ole Miss)
9. Rich Brooks (Kentucky)
10. Bobby Petrino (Arkansas)
11. Sylvester Croom (Miss State)
12. Bobby Johnson (Vanderbilt)