USA Today Sports Ranks The SEC Coaches

Blake Toppmeyer of USA Today Sports recently ranked the SEC Coaches from top to bottom and put Georgia's Kirby Smart at No. 1.

Texas' Steve Sarkisian followed Smart at No. 2.

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1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
Smart doesn’t rule college football with the same authority he did a few years ago, but he retains clear superiority over his SEC peers. See Georgia winning three of the past four SEC championships. Smart’s ability to recruit, retain and develop talent remains a weapon, even in this era of transfer free agency. Georgia is still a perennial contender and built to last amid the sport’s constant state of evolution. That’s a credit to Smart.

2. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Texas missing the playoff in the face of whopper expectations took some shine off Sarkisian, but let’s keep perspective. Texas beat top rivals Oklahoma and Texas A&M, a pair of playoff qualifiers. Sarkisian solidified the program so that going 10-3 counts as underwhelming. He’s one of just four SEC coaches with multiple playoff victories on the resume. This season will be a litmus test of whether Sarkisian has peaked. He built another roster fit for national title contention.

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Here's Toppmeyer's full list:

1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
2. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
3. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
4. Lane Kiffin, LSU
5. Josh Heupel, Tennessee
6. Mike Elko, Texas A&M
7. Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri
8. Jon Sumrall, Florida
9. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
10. Brent Venables, Oklahoma
11. Alex Golesh, Auburn
12. Pete Golding, Ole Miss
13. Shane Beamer, South Carolina
14. Will Stein, Kentucky
15. Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State
16. Ryan Silverfield, Arkansas