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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 Ed Orgeron of the LSU Tigers on the sidelines in the first half of a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium on November 12, 2016 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, AR – NOVEMBER 12: Head Coach Ed Orgeron of the LSU Tigers on the sidelines in the first half of a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium on November 12, 2016 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

If a coach hasn’t had a full season with a school yet, we use their lack of experience against them. Also, at that point, we have to go to their track record at other places.

The combination of those two things put Ed Orgeron at the bottom of this list…for now.

Yes, he took the LSU Tigers to a 6-2 record last year as interim head coach, just as he did with the USC Trojans in 2013.

However, none of his wins were impressive, and a home loss to the Florida Gators was a bad loss.

Also, interim coaches over-achieve all the time because they breathe new energy into the program for a brief period of time. That doesn’t mean the energy lasts.

Meanwhile, Orgeron’s previous SEC stint with the Ole Miss Rebels has to be a factor since he hasn’t had a full season with LSU yet. And that three-year stint was absolutely horrendous.

Now, Orgeron does get credit for the fact that he knows how to put a program on solid ground because he’s such a great recruiter. He’s doing the same thing now with LSU in that regard that he did with Ole Miss and USC.

But he hasn’t proven that the program can succeed with those players when he’s at the helm. That puts everything on this year.

Right now, Orgeron has won just enough to avoid being last since Barry Odom has not accomplished anything yet. But outside of Odom, Orgeron has proved nothing more than any other coach in the SEC.

So for now, he’s at No. 13. But in this year alone, he could shoot up the list.

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