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Ranking every SEC football coach ahead of SEC Media Days: Where does Butch Jones stand?

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 15: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide shakes hands with head coach Butch Jones of the Tennessee Volunteers after their 49-10 win at Neyland Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 15: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide shakes hands with head coach Butch Jones of the Tennessee Volunteers after their 49-10 win at Neyland Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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FAYETTEVILLE, AR – NOVEMBER 12: Head Coach Bret Bielema of the Arkansas Razorbacks on the sidelines in the first half of a game against the LSU Tigers at Razorback Stadium on November 12, 2016 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, AR – NOVEMBER 12: Head Coach Bret Bielema of the Arkansas Razorbacks on the sidelines in the first half of a game against the LSU Tigers at Razorback Stadium on November 12, 2016 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

We thought long and hard about putting Butch Jones ahead of Bret Bielema, but there was no way we could do that.

Bielema inherited a bigger mess in the Arkansas Razorbacks than Jones inherited with the Vols when both took over their respective programs in 2013. At the same time, Bielema has gone to three straight bowl games, just like Jones.

Although Jones has taken the Vols to two straight Top 25 finishes while Bielema has just gone 7-6, 8-5 and 7-6, he has coached against stiffer competition.

Spending all four years in the brutal SEC West with a bit lesser of a program gives Bielema two major edges, and going to three straight bowl games against those circumstances is enough for us to put him at No. 6.

However, he’s only hanging in the top half by a thread, and his Razorbacks could very easily fall down the ladder of the conference. It only takes one bad year for that to happen.

So this is certainly not a stable ranking by any stretch of the imagination.

And the inconsistency of Bielema, such as losing to teams like Missouri and getting blown out by Auburn while beating TCU, can also hurt him. It’s a good bet that he should have had at least three more wins over the past two years.

As a result, this is another one of those tentative rankings where anything this year could dramatically change where he ends up. But for now, Bielema is fine at No. 6 among SEC coaches.

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