League Coach Predictions for 2020?

[NaturalStateReb]

The Contenders

Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Ed Orgeron, Dan Mullen:  Neutral.  Saban and Smart are still on top and favorites in their respective divisions.  Bama doesn't have fruitbasket turnover in assistants this year.  Bo Pellini will probably fit with Coach O better than Dave Aranda did, and LSU could still be the #1 team in the West.  Florida's still a step below Georgia, but improving; Mullen eventually needs a breakout win.

The Middle Men
Jeremy Pruitt, Mark Stoops:  Stock Going Up.   Tennessee looked light years better at the end of last season than the beginning; it was a solid coaching job from Pruitt, who has the program going the right direction.  There's no clear 3rd place team in the East, which means Stoops could yet again find a path for Kentucky; he's the most underrated coach in the SEC, IMO.  Going to have to get it done without Bowden, though.

Jimbo Fisher, Gus Malzahn, Will Muschamp:  Stock Going Down.  Expectations are high in College Station; this year isn't make or break, but it might set the tone for Fisher at Texas A&M, and that tone feels like a 3rd place finish, at best.  Defense is always good at Auburn, but offense better show some life quick for Auburn to contend; Chad Morris doesn't fill us with confidence--if offense is a flop, the Gus Malzahn Farewell Tour might be underway.  Muschamp's Achilles heel is offense--both at Florida and South Carolina; MarShawn Lloyd's torn ACL doesn't help.  This season feels like make or break for Muschamp.

The New Guys, Plus Vandy

Sam Pittman, Lane Kiffin, Eli Drinkwitz:  Neutral.  Pittman's embarking on a multistage rebuild; talent is low, but expectations are as well--fans just want improvement.  Kiffin has talent to work with at Ole Miss, especially on offense; .500 might be a stretch with a conference-only schedule, but could surprise someone.  Missouri will stay in games using defense and a ground game--Drinkwitz is more flexible on offense than some might think.

Mike Leach, Derek Mason:  Stock Going Down.  Mississippi State doesn't have the players to run the Air Raid yet, and the defense is going to take another step back; State could get in trouble fast in games if the offense starts posting quick, fruitless possessions.  Vandy is just bad; Mason's defense isn't going to be as good this season and the offenses have always looked pretty bad.

Fired after this season:  Will Muschamp, Derek Mason.
One foot in the grave, the other on a banana peel:  Gus Malzahn.  Coaches at Auburn are like replicants in Blade Runner--not meant to last.
Maybe hired away:  Mark Stoops.  If he pulls a rabbit out of his hat again, who knows?  But he can make that $4.75 million at Kentucky for a long, long time.

[nwahogfan1]

He says our talent is low.  I could stand corrected but I think we have pretty good talent.  Not Bama, FL, Ga, AUB or LSU talent but MS, MS ST, MO, VANDY, TN and USC talent.   We play 4 of these teams so if Pittman is the right guy then we should be able to win a couple.

[ChicoHog]

Pretty good breakdown by the OP.  I agree with most of your assessments.  I still think UGA is the class of the East and Tenn will give UF a run for second.  I also think A&M will finish second in the West, maybe tied with LSU.  Auburn is likely a 3 or 4 loss team and MSU,  Mississippi and us fight for bottom 3 spots with a slight edge to the Rebels.  I think we are just as good as Leach St.

Talent wise I would bet a dollar to a dime that Tenn has more NFL players than we do.  I can see us competing with the Mississippi schools, Mizzou and even SCarolina and possibly UK.  Stoops has done a great job there. 

[nwahogfan1]

Ed Orgeron had a great year and got a NCAAC but the jury is still out on him this year. He lost both coordinators, his Heisman QB and a ton of talent.  Should be a little bit of a rebuilding year.  We will see how all the new pieces fit I guess.   
Auburn does a very good job of recruiting every year and so I will pick them 2nd in the West even though I am not real big on Chad at OC but he did wonders at Clemson when he had a good QB and he has a good one now.  So I think its Bama, Aub, then a toss up between LSU and A&M for 3rd and 4th.  OM, MSU and Ark should be a toss up on who gets 5th.

[Hogwild]

I read SEC Coaches Talk Anonymously over the weekend, and was struck with how similar a lot of your takes where. Seems your looking/thinking the same way as some of the conference coaches. +1 impressive take

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/sec-coaches-talk-anonymously-about-conference-foes-2020#:~:text=Most%20coaches%20don't%20want,talk%20anonymously%20about%20their%20opponents.

The Contenders

Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Ed Orgeron, Dan Mullen:  Neutral.  Saban and Smart are still on top and favorites in their respective divisions.  Bama doesn't have fruitbasket turnover in assistants this year.  Bo Pellini will probably fit with Coach O better than Dave Aranda did, and LSU could still be the #1 team in the West.  Florida's still a step below Georgia, but improving; Mullen eventually needs a breakout win.

"Aside from losing Tua to the NFL, the biggest story for them is the coaching staff. They're not replacing coordinators for the first time in years. That's massive, especially for the next quarterback in. The lack of system consistency and leadership on the staff really hurt their culture."

"Dave Aranda is gone, but that's probably the best for both parties."
"I think you saw a few times where Dave's scheme was so intricate it was overwhelming the players, especially if they had some depth issues or were banged up. Bo Pelini is going to live nicely with Ed."

"You feel really good about what they've done in comparison to the rest of the East, but they're still behind one school."
"There's still a question of Dan as a big-game coach. He's a great play-caller, he's a great scheme guy, he's a great developer. But where is the signature win?

The Middle Men
Jeremy Pruitt, Mark Stoops:  Stock Going Up.   Tennessee looked light years better at the end of last season than the beginning; it was a solid coaching job from Pruitt, who has the program going the right direction.  There's no clear 3rd place team in the East, which means Stoops could yet again find a path for Kentucky; he's the most underrated coach in the SEC, IMO.  Going to have to get it done without Bowden, though.

Jimbo Fisher, Gus Malzahn, Will Muschamp:  Stock Going Down.  Expectations are high in College Station; this year isn't make or break, but it might set the tone for Fisher at Texas A&M, and that tone feels like a 3rd place finish, at best.  Defense is always good at Auburn, but offense better show some life quick for Auburn to contend; Chad Morris doesn't fill us with confidence--if offense is a flop, the Gus Malzahn Farewell Tour might be underway.  Muschamp's Achilles heel is offense--both at Florida and South Carolina; MarShawn Lloyd's torn ACL doesn't help.  This season feels like make or break for Muschamp.

"The good news is that they look more like the old Tennessee. They're bigger and faster, they're developing guys they recruit and those two things haven't worked together for their defense in a long time."

"The best thing going for them is that they're so many years into this system that this isn't a new situation. They've lost quarterbacks in season, they've had to get creative, and they've known this was coming. This is where having a veteran staff and a consistent development pipeline saves you, which is exactly why Kentucky hung with Mark when he was building it up.

"This is the season that's going to make or break Jimbo Fisher. It's not that he's on the hot seat at all with that contract, but this is the year he has to show them he can make A&M a national title contender.""There's a lot of pressure on Jimbo, but he's used to it. This is the kind of year where he'll get out in front of it and put a lot of the attention on himself instead of the kids."

"We think Will Muschamp would really have to blow it to get fired this year. But yeah, there's some pressure here to get it going.
"This is the job everyone's talking about opening before the year starts, but you don't know (athletic director) Ray Tanner."

"Chad Morris was a disaster at Arkansas, but he's one of the architects of that Clemson offense. He's a great play-caller with his own style. So is this a total program commitment, or will Gus Malzahn yank it back the first time they run into trouble?""The first question everyone has is who is going to run that offense?"
"It feels like every single year talk radio and the media and fans want to fire Gus, and every year they find ways to reinvent and improve.

The New Guys, Plus Vandy

Sam Pittman, Lane Kiffin, Eli Drinkwitz:  Neutral.  Pittman's embarking on a multistage rebuild; talent is low, but expectations are as well--fans just want improvement.  Kiffin has talent to work with at Ole Miss, especially on offense; .500 might be a stretch with a conference-only schedule, but could surprise someone.  Missouri will stay in games using defense and a ground game--Drinkwitz is more flexible on offense than some might think.

Mike Leach, Derek Mason:  Stock Going Down.  Mississippi State doesn't have the players to run the Air Raid yet, and the defense is going to take another step back; State could get in trouble fast in games if the offense starts posting quick, fruitless possessions.  Vandy is just bad; Mason's defense isn't going to be as good this season and the offenses have always looked pretty bad.

Fired after this season:  Will Muschamp, Derek Mason.
One foot in the grave, the other on a banana peel:  Gus Malzahn.  Coaches at Auburn are like replicants in Blade Runner--not meant to last.
Maybe hired away:  Mark Stoops.  If he pulls a rabbit out of his hat again, who knows?  But he can make that $4.75 million at Kentucky for a long, long time.

"That they landed on Sam (Pittman) is really telling. He's a well-respected career assistant who is great at his job, but it's hard to find what he can say or do with that program that could suddenly turn things around. They've got no personnel. The roster right now looks like NCAA sanctions hit them." "It's a total mess from top to bottom." "Defensively they're terrible, but Barry Odom is one of the best coordinators in the country. He can't work miracles, but they'll blend schemes and figure out what fits who they have. They should go out and work the portal."

"The cupboard is not bare at all on offense. (Jerrion) Ealy and (John Rhys) Plumlee form a really solid base for (offensive coordinator Jeff) Lebby, and almost all of their receivers are back.""They're going to struggle, but they're in a better place than the other first-year staffed teams in the league. The running back position, the quarterback position, you see talent in the right spots."

"Eli's system uses more run that you might think. They're not trying to Big 12 you with 50 passes; they're going to run out of no-huddle and spread, and if they can come out in a bunch of different looks, maybe they can sneak up on some defenses this year.""No one's really sure what to make of what's going on here.""The best thing they've got going for them on offense is also the worst — no one really knows what they're going to be."

"It's really hard to predict how this first year will go with Mike Leach. You think they'll follow his pattern and beat one or two teams they shouldn't but lack overall consistency."
"Defensively they're on the decline. They're losing size and speed year after year. I'd expect the same this season."

"Everything is pointing back to the bad old days of Vandy football.""The problem is they're busted at every position.""If they win two or three games again this year and he isn't gone, it sends a signal to recruits in that Stanford or Northwestern category that Vandy isn't serious about football."