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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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NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 02: Head coach Gus Malzahn of the Auburn Tigers reacts during the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 2, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 02: Head coach Gus Malzahn of the Auburn Tigers reacts during the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 2, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

We put Jim McElwain in our top 4 because of the fact that he won the SEC East two years in a row, and he joins only one other coach in the conference right now who’s ever played for the SEC Championship.

That other coach is Gus Malzahn. Malzahn, in fact, is the only coach to ever actually win the conference title outside of Saban currently coaching in the league right now. And he’s the only guy in the league to really knock Alabama out of the title race.

And yet, some Auburn Tigers fans are calling for his head. That makes no sense.

Malzahn has spent the past three years stuck in a division dominated by Alabama with Lane Kiffin adding another element to the Tide as offensive coordinator. Nobody on that side ever had a chance.

Yes, he hasn’t come close to the 12-2 record that he achieved in 2013. But take away one play, and he’s a coach with a national title who’s a genius.

It’s hard to hold going 8-5, 7-6 and 8-5 the next three years against him given how loaded the competition he’s faced is. With those records, Malzahn pretty much matches every decent coach still in the conference.

And he’s accomplished more than all of them. As a result, he gets to be No. 3 in the league among coaches. His offensive genius and solid recruiting have to count for something. Combined, they stand above anybody else below him at this current moment.

But that also makes No. 2 a question mark.

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