SEC football coach rankings: Kirby Smart passes Nick Saban; where's Josh Heupel?

When you win back-to-back national championships, you earn the top spot in the Southeastern Conference college football coach rankings.

Welcome, Georgia coach Kirby Smart, to the No. 1 spot in my annual SEC coach pecking order.

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel and South Carolina coach Shane Beamer made the biggest year-over-year jump, while Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher is in a spiral.

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Here’s how I rank the SEC's football coaches entering the 2023 season.

1. Kirby Smart (Georgia)

Last year: No. 2

Nobody is recruiting, retaining and developing talent better than Smart. No team is playing defense better than Georgia. Smart has implemented the Alabama blueprint to perfection. And if Smart, 47, leads Georgia to the NCAA’s first three-peat since the 1930s, he’ll have achieved something his old boss never did.

2. Nick Saban (Alabama)

Last year: No. 1

That Saban never won a national championship with Bryce Young as his quarterback is the most shocking disappointment of Saban’s unparalleled career. Even in a down season for Alabama, though, it lost just two games on the final play of the game. Saban is recruiting as well as ever, but his program has lost its hallmark discipline and impenetrable defense, and transfers have eroded Alabama's previously unmatchable depth.

3. Brian Kelly (LSU)

Last year: No. 5

A career winner, Kelly showed in his first LSU season that he’s suited for the SEC, and he proved he can win a big game. He’s also attracting transfer talent as well as any SEC coach. His challenge is building depth that will unlock more consistency.  LSU hired Kelly to win national championships. Winning the SEC West in Year 1 was an appropriate start.

4. Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss)

Last year: No. 4

An offensive expert and the Portal King, Kiffin reinvented Ole Miss to the tune of a 23-13 record the past three seasons. Impressive. Now, he’s a $9 million coach. That calls for more success against the SEC’s better opponents. Kiffin’s top win at Ole Miss remains the Rebels’ Outback Bowl victory over Indiana. That was 2½ years ago. Ole Miss floundered late last season while Kiffin flirted with Auburn. Ole Miss has given Kiffin support. It deserves his focus.

5. Josh Heupel (Tennessee)

Last year: No. 9

Heupel is the SEC’s best offensive mind, and he’s an effective in-game tactician. In one magical season, Heupel earned wins against Saban, Kelly and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney. And he did it while working under the cloud of an NCAA probe into misdeeds by the previous coaching staff. Heupel’s task now is proving the success is sustainable after quarterback Hendon Hooker’s exit – and continuing to reduce defensive liabilities.

6. Hugh Freeze (Auburn)

Last year: NA

Freeze took the long road to falling forward. Six years ago, Freeze resigned from Ole Miss while juggling a scandal involving calls to escorts in one hand and NCAA malfeasance in the other. He used Liberty to scrub his image and prove he’s still got it on the sideline. Saban has long respected Freeze’s offensive acumen – for good reason. At Ole Miss, Freeze beat Alabama twice. He must show, though, that the SEC didn’t pass him by while he was away.

7. Shane Beamer (South Carolina)

Last year: No. 11

Beamer motivates his guys up for big games. To wit, South Carolina flourished in wins against Tennessee and Clemson last November. The flipside: Beamer’s Gamecocks are inconsistent. Losses to Missouri and Florida marred what otherwise could have been a special 2022 season. Still, Beamer’s 15 victories match Steve Spurrier’s total through two seasons at South Carolina, and he’s recruiting well, too.

8. Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M)

Last year: No. 3

The shine is off Fisher. His national championship at Florida State is starting to seem more like a testament to Jameis Winston’s college career than to Fisher’s brilliance. If Fisher checks his ego and allows the Aggies’ offense to recalibrate behind coordinator Bobby Petrino, the program possesses enough talent to throw elbows. For now, this is a tenure – and a coaching career – trending in the wrong direction.

No. 9 Mark Stoops (Kentucky)

Last year: No. 6

An autumn in Lexington before Stoops’ arrival was otherwise known as basketball preseason. Stoops is Kentucky’s best coach since Bear Bryant, and he turned a longtime doormat into a perennial factor. But, UK annually plays one of the SEC’s softest schedules, and Stoops squandered second-round NFL talent Will Levis. Stoops raised Kentucky’s floor. He’s probably hit his ceiling, too.

10. Sam Pittman (Arkansas)

Last year: No. 7

Pittman pulled the Hogs out of the desert it had been wandering through since Petrino’s exit, and his personality is a perfect fit for Arkansas. Doesn’t hurt, either, that Pittman has logged some big wins. Naturally, this longtime offensive line coach turned Arkansas into one of the SEC’s best rushing programs. But, defense remains a challenge. Finding solutions on that side of the ball is the next step.

11. Billy Napier (Florida)

Last year: No. 10

Napier’s Louisiana tenure took off in his second season. If he’s primed Florida for a similar Year 2 ascent, he’s done a good job of hiding it. Napier inherited a program thinner on talent and depth than it should be, and deficiencies remain. Napier’s biggest issue: He hasn’t developed or attracted a quarterback to Florida’s standard. Don’t write off Napier, though. He’s on a recruiting blitz. The Gators just need to muster just enough success in the meantime to buy Napier time.

12. Zach Arnett (Mississippi State)

Last year: NA

How to justify putting a rookie coach in this position? Well, Arnett led Mississippi State to a January bowl victory in challenging circumstances after the death of Mike Leach, and he previously proved himself as one of the SEC’s best defensive coordinators. That’s worth something. His MSU defenses reflect Arnett’s blue-collar brand, but he’ll have to prove he’s CEO material, too.

13. Clark Lea (Vanderbilt)

Last year: No. 14

A program that cratered in 2020 under Derek Mason gained a pulse in Lea’s second season, with November victories over Kentucky and Florida. Lea has developed skill-position talent, but Vanderbilt’s best teams play stout defense, and the Commodores haven’t shown growth on that side of the ball, despite it being Lea’s area of expertise.

14. Eliah Drinkwitz (Missouri)

Last year: No. 13

Gary Pinkel and Barry Odom showed in spurts that Missouri can be a thorn in the SEC. Drinkwitz has not matched either predecessor’s success. Missouri’s recruiting also has sunk to the bottom of the SEC, and Drinkwitz has failed to develop a quarterback. Missouri curiously rewarded him with a contract extension last fall, but with a 17-19 record, it's a quick trip from extension to hot seat.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.