What Outside Fans Love and Hate About The SEC

Everybody who has followed college football or even college sports in the past 30 years has a passionate opinion of the SEC. One way or another, you have an opinion of the conference. There are some absolute truths, some half-truths, and some incredibly biased opinions involved with this feeling that you have. It is important to try to acknowledge these truths and move towards a greater knowledge of what we have with the SEC. So what do we have with this conference?

The SEC is a football based conference that has had a team at or near the #1 spot in the sport since about 2003. A team has won the NCAA championship from the SEC in 8 of the last 10 years. Those championships include 7 straight from 2006-2012. The conference also contains one of the most dominant basketball team ever in the Kentucky Wildcats who have won 8 national championships (2nd to only UCLA with 11). Kentucky leads all schools in winning percentage all-time in basketball. This conference is widely regarded as the cream of the crop when it comes to baseball and softball success as well. The numbers surely seem to back this up. Outside of those sports, the conference boasts several nationally recognized teams that have had continued success in a variety of sports.

Outside of the conference it is widely acknowledged that the SEC has the best football conference. They have the most dominant team and they have several elite programs. The conference has some fantastic schools both athletically and academically. They are to be respected. There are some fantastic all-around programs that the conference boasts. Those schools are to be respected for the programs that they have.

Fans of the conference are very vocal about that success. They continually boast of success by any SEC team in any sport and use it as confirmation bias that their conference cannot be beat in anything. That is where the hate comes in. SEC West fans were trying to act like undefeated FSU and Ohio State teams cannot compete in the SEC West. Not that they would finish 2nd or 3rd, the argument is that they would magically be below .500 in the conference. That the nation's elite programs would struggle to tread water. That they'd be worst than Arkansas. That the SEC is the best in every sport because Alabama and LSU are elite in football.

Let's start there with the dominance across sports. As a conference, the SEC typically boasts the national champion. There is no arguing 8 out of 10. However, football dominance is not overall sport dominance for the history of time. As of July 2015 (when last combined champs summary was released) the SEC had a total of 267 titles across all sports, but that number is smashed by just 3 schools in the Pac 12....UCLA, Southern Cal, and Stanford have a combined 323 titles across all sports. That is 56 more titles by 3 schools than all 14 SEC schools combined. Do not talk to us about sustained dominance across all sports. Feel free to brag about baseball, football, and/or softball success, but don't go overboard.

Now to football...
The SEC is the best conference. However, it is not untouchable. Were another elite program to join, they would still be elite. That team might finish 2nd or 3rd behind Alabama, perhaps LSU, or even Auburn in a good year, but they'd still win. The school wouldn't be treading water. They wouldn't be Arkansas...oh and Arkansas was not the best 6-6 team ever, They were 6-6 and there was a reason for it. 6-6 teams aren't magically 13-0 in other conferences. Maybe a game or 2 difference, but they aren't magically playoff contenders elsewhere in the Power 5.Oh and while the SEC West is elite, the SEC East is hot garbage in football. Missouri went from Big 12 bottom feeder to 2x SEC East champ. The West is the best division in Power 5, but you could argue the East as the worst. So don't get too carried away.

What can the SEC brag about though?
They can brag about their team being fantastic in the best football conference in the nation. For Alabama that means being the best against the best. Why a team with 4 national championships in recent history would want to share that success as conference pride is beyond me. Live it up Alabama! Your team has been kicking everyone's ass!! Do not degrade yourself by chanting for your conference in some collectivist nonsensical movement. Embrace your team. Why the heck are you rooting for your top rival to knock off FSU in the national championship? Seriously? Rooting for your rival.....You could be the class of sports, but you chose things like "keep the title in Alabama" ? Come on man!!!! You are the fanbase in the country most entitled to brag and enjoy your ride. IMO you ruin it a bit when you give others credit.

Kentucky brag about what you have done in basketball. Brag about that all day. Enjoy it.

Auburn don't claim the titles that you didn't win. Enjoy the ones you won legit.

Ole Miss you don't win titles and you are only relevant now because your coach paid athletes. Don't start....

Mississippi State you have never won a national title in any sport, just stop...

South Carolina you won some baseball titles, but you can't even win the SEC East. No, you wouldn't be a playoff contender elsewhere...

No, there won't be an all-SEC playoff. No, you won't get 3 teams. Yes, another team could possibly win. Yes, football and sports exist outside the SEC. If you would just acknowledge that as an SEC fan, you wouldn't be so despised.

Just enjoy being the top dog in football. Enjoy being perhaps the best overall conference. Please just don't go overboard. If you are an Alabama fan that does not do the constant conference brag, mad props to you. Respect to that program for the dominance it has provided. Don't be so willing to share. Enjoy what Nick has done.

Next week I will go over the current state of all FSU sports. Until then, have a great one.

-Noland

College Football Playoff Preview

In the preseason I picked two of these teams to be here, Alabama and Florida State. Although, I did predict that Alabama would lose 3 games if it went with Blake Sims at QB and was proven wrong. I also said that I was expecting Ohio State to lose one of their opening two games with their true freshman QB. The Buckeyes lost to Virginia Tech and were playing even with Navy until their athletes pulled away. That loss I thought would knock them out of the hunt, but they rebounded nicely to make it. Before the Braxton Miller injury I considered the Big 10 a toss-up between Ohio State and Michigan State. Post injury I saw that loss and maybe a few more. Great job by the Buckeyes this year at handling adversity. The Pac 12 race I predicted to be the tightest because I thought UCLA would be a tad better and picked the Bruins to win. However, I realized the Ducks would be good and thought they would just miss out. Those Ducks had a great season and will be playing my Noles in the Rose Bowl.

After weeks of controversy and predictions from the committee and college football fans everywhere, I think the committee mostly got it right. While I would have liked to see Baylor over Ohio State, Baylor did not play a conference championship and was a co-champion while Ohio State won the Big 10 outright. The order of the teams is not right as the only undefeated team is #3, but the teams are fine and I like every other fan am excited for this playoff.

Let's start with the Rose Bowl...

Rose Bowl

Jan. 1 5 PM ESPN

Oregon v. Florida State

The Seminoles are undefeated and have won 29 straight games. No matter how you slice it, what they have done in this run is incredible. This team has not lost in the calendar year 2013 or 2014 and there is nothing anyone can do about that. Every Florida State fan should live in the moment and enjoy that fact. These Noles are on one of the most historic runs in college football history and a win in this game would be their 30th straight victory.

Interesting note in this one is that the Noles first game in 2014 was at the Rose Bowl and their second game was in Dallas. If the Noles win the Rose Bowl on New Years Day, their first game of 2015 will be at the Rose Bowl and their second game will be in Dallas. It is funny the cycles that exist in college football.

Now, to the game....Marcus Mariota has had an outstanding season and nobody is arguing with his Heisman run, but let's not forget the teams he has done it against. This guy faces very poor pass defense in the Pac 12. In fact, there is only one top 86 pass defense on Marcus Marriota's schedule. The Stanford Cardinal is ranked #7 in pass defense. In that game he wasn't having a 300 yard game and threw an interception. Every other defense he faced was ranked 87 or lower against the pass. Yes, he had a great season, but those numbers were inflated a little bit and FSU has a better secondary than this team usually faces. It should be interesting to see how this offense matches up with the Seminoles defense. Oregon's offense is basically Georgia Tech's with a passing threat and if Mariota can get the linebackers in coverage, he can have a big day. The secondary though is better than that of what Oregon has faced so they will have to exploit the lack of depth FSU has at linebacker. This is huge for the Heisman trophy winner's draft stock. Decimate the Seminoles D and guarantee a top 10 pick. Struggle and have teams second guess themselves on selecting you.

When FSU has the ball, they get to play Oregon's defense which is inferior to most that they have played. FSU has played 5 top 15 defenses (Clemson, Louisville, Florida, Boston College, and Miami) while Oregon is not even close to that. In fact, Oregon's defense is ranked 81 behind pretty much every team Florida State has played. This is not to mention that Florida State has had 3 weeks to prepare for Oregon and Jameis Winston skipped the Heisman ceremony to prepare and watch film. From the awards circuit last year, Winston gained 20 pounds and wasn't able to prepare as well as he has this time. Now, while Marriota is doing all the traveling, Winston is plotting and getting ready. He also got that look in his eye during the Georgia Tech game that had been missing the rest of this season, but was apparent last year. This guy is ready. His WRs are healthy and he got 3 weeks to work out with the true freshmen receivers and gain a little chemistry. Winston is ready to go off. Add in the emergence of Dalvin Cook and it will be very tough for Oregon to stop this offense. FSU really wants to get to 30 and Jameis Winston just wins. You have to kind of expect him to win again at this point. I know I am not betting against him.

Another factor that has come up that will aid the chances of FSU's success is that Oregon's top DB had a season ending injury in bowl prep practice. All-American Ifo Ekpre-Olomu suffered a devastating knee injury and will not play. While that really sucks and I wish he was okay it does effect the game. Oregon cannot cover Florida State without him and this game could get ugly. It will absolutely be a shootout and Oregon needs to hope Florida State either has a slow start or has just as much trouble stopping their offense. I am very excited for this one tomorrow night...
Florida State 63 - Oregon 42

Sugar Bowl

Jan. 1 8:30 PM ESPN

Alabama v. Ohio State

Alabama is the favorite in this one and the favorite to win the title period. They have been there before and had success. The Crimson Tide have also dominated recruiting in recent years. Just based on their recruiting success and always being #1 in recruiting, one would expect the Tide to be in the top spot. However, there are some factors that make this game not as much of a sure thing as you would think. Alabama is 5-8 against the spread this season while Ohio State is 8-5 against the spread. The Tide is favored by 9.5 points and Ohio State could cover easily. The question is will they? More importantly the question is, can they win it outright? For that answer we need to look deeper into the match-up.

This is about as good as it gets in college football. You have the two coaches that most consider the best at least in the x's and o's department. Meyer won 2 National Championships at Florida and Saban has won 4 (3 at Bama, 1 at LSU). The incredible 6 National Championships between these two coaches is an absolutely amazing job at coaching by each. The two have met up 3 times against each other with Meyer winning the first match-up and Saban winning the next two. In fact, Saban is only one of 4 active coaches who has bested Meyer multiple times. However, Meyer is one of very few coaches able to prepare with multiple weeks as well as Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide. Urban Meyer is 7-2 in bowl games for a .772 Winning Percentage. He is 4-1 in BCS level bowls, with his only loss coming to Clemson last season. Meanwhile, Nick Saban has a 8-7 record in bowls for a .533 winning percentage. He is 5-2 in BCS level bowls. While it is true that you don't want to face Nick Saban with multiple weeks to prepare, it may be more true to say that about Urban Meyer. With multiple weeks to prepare and coming off of bye weeks, Meyer has been absolutely fantastic.

Sure, Meyer can flex his muscle as a coach, but the key here will be whether his team has anywhere near the talent to compete with Alabama. At the end of the day, they just don't have the horses and I don't think the extra prep time will be enough to compete with the much more talented Alabama squad. The Buckeyes are down to their third string QB and have an offensive coordinator that is leaving for a head coaching gig at Houston. Those are tough things to overcome when you are playing a squad this talented. Any distractions are negatives in a game of this magnitude and that is not good for Ohio State.
Don't underestimate Meyer coming up clutch in the big game. There is also the chance that they get to Blake Sims and force him to make mistakes. If Ohio State can force Sims to make mistakes and make Sims beat them, they have a good shot. That is their chance. Sims plays well and it is a blowout, but if he plays poorly, the Buckeyes have a chance. At the end of the day, expect Saban to pull out the victory.

Saban and the rest of the country will get what they want....The FSU-Alabama showdown is coming. Saban against his former offensive coordinator.
Alabama 35 - Ohio State 24

National Championship Game

Jan. 12 8:30 PM ESPN

Florida State v. Alabama

This game is one that has seemed destined to happen for about 3 years. In 2012, the Seminoles choked blowing games against NC State and Florida. The following year it was Alabama's turn blowing a game against Auburn. FSU was much better than Alabama in 2013, but it was still the match-up everybody wanted to see. Now, this season it will finally happen, assuming both teams win their semi-final match-ups on their superior talent. Everybody wants the Saban-Fisher match-up and we should finally be getting it. This game will get serious ratings and everyone wants to see how Fisher does against his former boss.

I love that picture of the three coaching legends. These guys are close, but make no mistake about how badly these two want to beat each other. Not just to be National Champion, but this game has a tremendous effect on the future of college football. Alabama will be expected to win and if the lines opened today are a projected 9 point favorite. FSU will be riding a 30 game winning streak if they get to this one.The storyline entering this game couldn't be much better. There is only one thing that could make this more interesting and that would be if Jakob Coker beat out Blake Sims at QB.
Speaking on Blake Sims and QB, the QB position is by far FSU's biggest edge. The Seminoles have a guy that has never lost a game and is considered historically great by many. While the Crimson Tide have a guy that is their biggest chance of losing. There is absolutely no comparison of the QBs in this game. Jameis is simply much better. FSU also has more talent in the secondary than Alabama so I would give that edge to the Noles as well. The passing game edge has to go to FSU.

They may have the edge in the passing game, but Alabama has an edge up front. Many believe that Alabama has a huge edge here, but I don't think it is that big. FSU will likely have Eddie Goldman and Nile Lawrence-Stample back for the playoff and that difference should not be understated. The Noles also have allowed only 2 sacks in the past four games. Since, the switch of Cameron Erving to center and Roderick Johnson to LT this line has been fantastic. Johnson hasn't been going against scrubs either, in the Florida game, he face Donte Fowler. Playing in just a handful of games, Roderick Johnson was able to be named to the Freshman All-American Team. While I give Alabama the edge here, it is a very small edge.
I also give Alabama an edge with their running game. That edge is very small though as well because FSU has been running the ball much better lately. Dalvin Cook is an absolute superstar in the making and will likely be a huge factor in this game.
Alabama is much better at linebacker, but the Noles have a solid starting group. FSU just seriously lacks depth at the LB position.
At the end of the day this will be a dogfight and will be what everyone is hoping for, but I just can't see Alabama stopping Jameis Winston. I don't see anyone denying this kid his destiny. He is supposed to win out in college football. He is the best there is in college football and he will not lose a college game. The supporting cast is too strong and the Noles have been too disrespected to fail. Sure, they could lose due to all the parity this year, but this is the best team and it seems to be their destiny. The most talent, the best team, the most battle tested, these Noles are ready. Jameis Winston is ready and I cannot wait. This passing game is too good to be denied.
Florida State 56 - Alabama 42

Finish the mission. Add to the hardware. Make it 31 straight and leave no doubt. Florida State Football. Go Noles!

-Noland

100 Greatest Coaches of All-Time (40-31)

The coaches on this list are all outstanding. Before continuing though, let's look back at who has already made this list.

Preview
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41

40. John McGraw

Career Coaching Record: 2763-1948 (.586 Winning Percentage)

McGraw was a fantastic manager in Major League Baseball. He won 10 Pennants and 3 World Series Titles in his 33 years as manager. All of his success came with the New York Giants whom he managed for 31 years. His success was also pre-Willie Mays which allows him to crack the Top 40. Not many people remember him because he started his coaching career in the late 1800s, but the guy is a legend and an innnovator. John McGraw clearly belongs on this list.

39. Rick Pitino

College Career Coaching Record: 696-246 (.739 Winning Percentage)
NBA Career Coaching Record: 192-220 (.466 Winning Percentage)

Pitino is seen as a failure in professional basketball, but I strongly disagree with that statement. He coached in the NBA for just over 5 years and went around .500 during that time. However, the record does not tell the whole story. During his two stints in the NBA, Pitino took over the worst team in the NBA at the time. He took over a league worst Knicks team in the 80s and led them to the playoffs in both seasons as Knicks head coach. Then, after several seasons with Kentucky, Pitino came back to the NBA to coach the league worst Boston Celtics. Now, this job was probably much more enticing because Tim Duncan was sitting there to be drafted and everyone knew he was going to be a star. Unfortunately for Pitino, Duncan ended up with San Antonio, after the Spurs won the lottery. How much would the basketball world have changed if Duncan went to the worst team in the league and Pitino gotten to coach the Big Fundamental.

As it stands though, we can only judge him on what actually happened. That is despite not achieving too much in the pros, Pitino is one of the best coaches ever. He has won those two NCAA Championships. Rick Pitino won one championship at Kentucky and one championship at Louisville. In fact, his Kentucky tenure is highly underrated and one of the best coaching jobs in sports. He entered Kentucky with sanctions from the Eddie Sutton era which made the Wildcats ineligible for postseason play his first two seasons at the school. Still, he won 81% of his games at Kentucky and advanced to the Elite 8 or better 5 times in 8 seasons. They were one of the 8 best teams in the country 5 times during an 8 year tenure. That is amazing given the sanctions. It is more amazing when you think about the fact that one of his best teams was ineligible for postseason play. His second year, the Wildcats won the SEC and looked really strong, but they had to sit out. Accomplishing that in the circumstances he came into, makes it easy to see why Kentucky loved him as the coach. Kentucky of course won the title the year after Pitino left as well. Tubby Smith won with Pitino's recruits, and then Kentucky fell off until John Calipari took over a few years ago. To put things in perspective of how good Pitino was at Kentucky, he won 10% more games than John Calipari despite coming into NCAA sanctions. Pitino also made the NCAA Tournament every year he was eligible at Kentucky, and Calipari was bounced first round in the NIT one season.

Now, Pitino has made Louisville into a basketball powerhouse again. This team won an NCAA Championship recently and has advanced to 3 Final Fours under Pitino. They have 5 trips to the Elite 8 or better under Pitino as well. Pitino has also led Providence to the Final Four. He is the only coach to lead 3 different schools to the Final Four in NCAA history. Well, the only coach to do so without having those wins later vacated anyway.

38. Bill Belichick

Career Coaching Record: 199-105 (.655 Winning Percentage)

This year, probably in week 1, Belichick will win his 200th game in the NFL. 200 wins is quite the accomplishment and Belichick is quite the coach. In fact, I'd say that he is the most prestigious active NFL coach today. Winning 3 Super Bowls and the success he has had with the New England Patriots is quite impressive. However, there is that Spygate thing and that makes ranking him difficult. I would say that it is a complete non-issue, but if it was, then they probably would have won a Super Bowl since the information was found. I would say it is a huge issue, but it just doesn't seem to be. Therefore, I decided to leave him in the group that he belongs in based on record and number of titles, but drop him a few spots. His resume can be argued with any of those in this list from 31-40, but I dropped him behind those with a very similar resume that didn't have a scandal. Still, he clearly belongs on this list and clearly belongs Top 40. I will say this though, if Belichick is able to get his 4th ring, it makes him a strong argument for the Top 10 and helps him prove that Spygate was not a big deal. Until that happens though, the doubt will remain.

37. Walter Alston

Career Coaching Record: 2040-1613 (.558 Winning Percentage)

Walter Alston is the greatest manager in Dodgers history and one of the greatest managers in MLB history. With the Dodgers he won 4 World Series Titles and 7 NL Pennants. Sure, he had a loaded roster especially in the rotation, but he still did great things for the team. It was also no small task being apart of the Dodgers relocation out West. Alston is a huge figure in the history of baseball.

36. Nick Saban

College Career Coaching Record: 165-57-1 (.743 Winning Percentage)
NFL Career Coaching Record: 15-17 (.469 Winning Percentage)

Nick Saban had a brief an unsuccessful NFL career that was capped by him saying he was not offered or interested in the Alabama job only to leave two weeks later. You had to feel for Dolphins fans and for their owner in that instance because it seemed everyone knew Saban was full of crap. He did however make the right move and it is hard to question him. The guy is a legendary college coach and knows how to sell the goods of his university. It's the way in which he left the Dolphins that has their fans cursing his name to this day. Saban can absolutely coach at a very high level though.

The obvious reason for Saban cracking the Top 40 is his 4 National Titles. Those titles (3 at Bama, 1 at LSU) put him in elite company in college football coaching. His record at Alabama is what puts him on this list though without a doubt. His record at Michigan State was very unspectacular, he only spent one season at Toledo, and LSU just had that one spectacular season. The Tigers lost 3 or more games every season under Saban except that National Championship season. They have actually had more success under Les Miles.

So, the only question with where to rank Saban is how much credit should we give to his Alabama success? We should obviously give him a ton of credit for that success. 3 NCAA Championships in 4 years is an incredible feat no matter where you are coaching. Although, I still dispute that 2011 Championship, but that is another story for another day. Out of 7 seasons at Alabama, Saban's Tide have lost more than 2 games twice. They have won 3 National Championships and appeared in 5 BCS level games. It is easy to see that he will probably get at least one more before he retires too. Each additional top 5 season, and each additional championship would put him further up this list.

35. Larry Brown

Pro Basketball Career Coaching Record: 1327-1011 (.568 Winning Percentage)
College Basketball Career Coaching Record: 219-88 (.713 Winning Percentage)

Larry Brown has proven himself to be a terrific basketball coach. He has had success at both the collegiate and professional level. In fact, he has won a championship in NCAA and NBA. Currently, he coaches the SMU Mustangs, and he has flipped back and forth between college and pro. With the Mustangs, he advanced to the NIT Finals this past season, and probably should have been invited to the NCAA Tournament. He wasn't, but once again showed his coaching chops by leading a bad program to 27 wins and postseason play. Before Brown took the Mustangs to the NIT Finals, they hadn't advanced to the NIT tournament since 2000. This program has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1993. Brown could easily lead them there this season.

During the 1980s, Brown coached the Kansas Jayhawks. At Kansas, Brown achieved his most coaching success. His winning percentage at Kansas was .754 and he went to the NCAA Tournament all 5 years with the Jayhawks. He went out on top with them during the 1987-1988 season winning the NCAA Championship. His first major college job was a two year stint at UCLA earlier in the decade. He won 71% of his games with the Bruins.

Despite all that success in college, Brown is best known for what he did in the pros. He is known by most as the coach of Allen Iverson for the majority of Iverson's career. Brown even led Iverson to the NBA Finals one season, which would have been a difficult task for any coach. His work with Iverson in my opinion was his best coaching job, despite never winning a title. Without Brown, Iverson was nowhere near the same player. After Philly, he left for Detroit and coached them for two years. He advanced to the NBA Finals each year in Detroit, winning the NBA Championship during the 2003-2004 season. That championship was his first year in Detroit and beat the original super team of the 2000s. Those Lakers had Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, and Shaq in the starting lineup. He had success coaching 9 different organizations in the NBA, but will always be remembered for work in Philly and Detroit. Oh, and for the fact that he has an NCAA and an NBA Title.

34. Bobby Winkles

Career College Coaching Record: 524-173 (.751 Winning Percentage)
MLB Career Coaching Record: 170-213 (.444 Winning Percentage)

Bobby Winkles was not successful in either stint of his managerial career in Major League Baseball, but he is one of the greatest college coaches of all-time. With the Arizona State Sun Devils, Winkles won 75% of the games he coached. He did this in the Pac 10 at a time when they had the most dominant team in baseball and a Top 10 coach of all-time. In fact, it wasn't until Winkles left the Sun Devils that the USC program and Rod Dedeaux really took over the sport. The Trojans won five titles under Dedeaux (during the Winkles era) while Winkles won 3 with Arizona State. Once Winkles left for MLB, Dedeaux and the Trojans immediately won the next three titles. Winkles was the only guy that put up a worthy fight against Dedeaux's 10 titles. Since he did so well with this coaching legend in his conference, Winkles definitely gets bonus points.

33. John Kundla

Career NBA Coaching Record: 423-302 (.583 Winning Percentage)
Career College Coaching Record: 121-116 (.511 Winning Percentage)

John Kundla was a very good basketball coach who ended up in the Hall of Fame. His 5 NBA titles put him on this list, but his winning percentage keeps him from being higher. That percentage is much lower than several other legendary basketball coaches. He even had quite a few sub .500 seasons which is rare for a basketball coach of this caliber. Those 5 championships though are hard to argue against. Kundla is also in the Hall of Fame.

32. Jimmie Johnson

Career College Coaching Record: 81-34-3 (.704 Winning Percentage)
Career NFL Coaching Record: 80-64 (.556 Winning Percentage)

Jimmie Johnson is an absolute legend. If not for Jerry Jones thinking he knew more than Jimmie, there is no telling how many NFL Championships Johnson would have won with the Cowboys. He is one of the best NFL coaches in history. Johnson also won an NCAA Championship while coaching the Miami Hurricanes. Winning titles at the collegiate and professional football puts him in an elite company of three. The other two coaches are obviously Pete Carroll and Barry Switzer. Johnson will be remembered for his success at those two locations. He was fantastic with the Cowboys and very strong towards the end with the Miami Hurricanes. His Miami Dolphins teams at the end of his career were okay and he made 3 playoff appearances in 4 seasons. However, those Dolphins teams were nothing special. Johnson's first coaching gig at Oklahoma State was quite forgettable. With the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Johnson was basically a .500 coach living in Barry Switzer's shadow. Then he went to the U and his career took off. Although at Miami he blew two of the most memorable games ever in a 42-10 comeback loss to the Frank Reich led Maryland Terrapins and the "Hail Mary Play" against the Flutie led Boston College Eagles.

31. Barry Switzer

Career College Coaching Record: 157-29-4 (.844 Winning Percentage)
Career NFL Coaching Record: 40-24 (.625 Winning Percentage)

Switzer is an amazing and underrated football coach. A coach beyond the talent of even Jimmie Johnson. The latter is often considered a better coach, especially by Cowboys fans, but numbers don't lie. He had a higher winning percentage and more championships. Despite Johnson's two Super Bowls, Switzer even had the better record in professional football. At college though is the much bigger difference, Johnson left Oklahoma State because he knew he couldn't win the National Championship at that school with Switzer at Oklahoma. That is very telling about how well Switzer ran OU.

Those Oklahoma Sooners under Switzer were dominant. They won 3 National Titles and contended in most seasons under the legendary coach. He won more than 84% of his games at Oklahoma, which accounts for one of the best records of all-time. To put it in perspective, he won 10% more in his college coaching career than Nick Saban has in his. Switzer also won a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys. Barry Switzer rarely gets the recognition he deserves and should probably be even higher (closer to 1) on this list.

-Noland

Alabama WR DeAndrew White Hospitalized

Later today I will have my reaction to the Dwight Howard mess in Orlando, but I wanted to focus on something else this morning.

Sophomore Alabama WR DeAndrew White was hospitalized after a fight on "The Strip" in Tuscaloosa. Reports seem to indicate that White had a concussion related to this incident. There were apparently firearms at some point in this incident that occurred at 2 A.M. Let this be another lesson to everyone that nothing good happens at a bar at 2 A.M. on a Wednesday Night. This would seem to be some negative attention that Crimson Tide did not want as they were making their White House visit. White by virtue of staying out past curfew missed that visit. It is unclear whether Nick Saban will take further disciplinary action. This type of incident unfortunately happens far to often and it is not limited to the SEC. Florida State has had similar incidents in the past as well. I am not sure White's age, but as a sophomore he is likely a minor making this incident even more stupid. If you are in college and finals are coming up you should not be in a bar @ 2am. Especially when you are a recognizable person and possibly underage. I'd say any Alabama football player is pretty recognizable in Tuscaloosa. Just stupid.

Here is the official university statement.
“On April 19, 2012, at approximately 2:10 am, Tuscaloosa Police and University Police responded to the 1200 block of University Blvd. on a report of a fight and shots fired.
“A 20 year old male was injured during the physical altercation and was transported to DCH with non-life threatening injuries. No weapons were involved in the fight.
“During the altercation, two males who were not involved in the fight pulled handguns and fired in the air, allegedly to disperse the crowd. The two males were apprehended by University Police officers, and both firearms were recovered.
“Another victim, a 31 year old male, was found lying unconscious on the sidewalk in the 1300 block of University Blvd. He has severe head injuries. It is unknown at this time if he was injured in the altercation, but his injuries were not the result of weapons being discharged. The two males who discharged the firearms have been charged with Reckless Endangerment.”

-Noland

SEC Coaches

As you could tell from my Petrino post I am not the biggest fan of SEC Coaches. I believe that the worst one is now gone, but Calipari, and Saban are not that far behind. This morning I looked up one of my old favorite videos that demonstrated why I was upset with Saban and Petrino. The video is one of a group of songs by Ryan Parker making fun of different issues in sports. I think they are all entertaining even the ones I don't particularly agree with. You may want to check him out here.

-Noland