Jeremy Pruitt, Will Muschamp: Former Nick Saban coordinators have their day

The Tennessee Vols and South Carolina Gamecocks head coaches have had a rough year. But Nick Saban’s former defensive coordinators had their day Saturday.

We know that the SEC is loaded with former Nick Saban assistants leading programs. But for the most part, the consensus was that Jimbo Fisher, his offensive coordinator with the LSU Tigers, and Kirby Smart, his longtime defensive coordinator with the Alabama Crimson Tide, were the best of the bunch. Tennessee football made its last coaching hire based on Smart’s success.

Hey, evidence showed that it was true as well. Fisher, now leading the Texas A&M Aggies, won a national championship with the Florida State Seminoles. Smart won an SEC title his second year with the Georgia Bulldogs was back to back close losses to Alabama away from two straight SEC titles and a national title.

The maligned assistants, though, were his other two former defensive coordinators who are now head coaches, Jeremy Pruitt and Will Muschamp. After failing in four years withe the Florida Gators, Muschamp is a symbol of mediocrity in his fourth year with the South Carolina Gamecocks. Pruitt, meanwhile, in his second year, looks in over his head as a head coach.

Both teams entered Saturday with a losing record. But both teams then decided to come through in a big way for noon kickoffs. And in the process, they rejuvenated the hype behind their coaches, at least for a week.

Entering the game 2-3 with a loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels and at the Missouri Tigers, Muschamp was a heavy underdog at Georgia and his former UGA teammate, Smart himself. But he pulled off the shocker of shockers by upsetting maybe the most talented team in the nation in double-overtime.

Meanwhile, the Vols were 1-4, suffered back to back losses to Group of Five programs, and had not yet beaten an FBS team. But they managed to upset the Mississippi State Bulldogs in a 20-10 home win to breath life into Pruitt’s second season.

On the other hand, Smart lost, and Fisher, the other genius Saban assistant, lost to Nick Saban himself to fall to 3-3 on the year. So on Saturday, for one day, it was the maligned Nick Saban coordinators who had their moment in the sun with upset wins. For context, it’s the first time in history Pruitt and Muschamp won on the same day Smart and Fisher lost.

Oh, and if you want to add other maligned former Saban coordinators to the equation, Lane Kiffin moved the Florida Atlantic Owls to 4-2 with a win over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Saturday. He’s more polarizing than maligned, but he does have his critics.

Also, Jim McElwain, who also failed at Florida, beat the New Mexico State Aggies Saturday to move the Central Michigan Chippewas to 4-3. No other four former Nick Saban coordinators have faced more scrutiny as a head coach. It’s beyond remarkable for all of them to win the same day Fisher and Smart lose.

Pruitt and Muschamp, though, raised the most eyebrows. And both are in the SEC East. Them doing what they did Saturday was worthy of bringing up given all the heat they faced. Praise for them may not last, but you have to give them their day.