New coaches at rival schools

[BanditVol]

This year is unique in that three East rivals have new coaches.   

South Carolina - Will Muschamp.  All I can say is  .  I still can't believe they hired him, but he can recruit.  I think SOS for most of his time at USCe was a still top notch coach who really raised the program up.  Even if he recovers from his disastrous performance at Florida, Muschamp is still not the guy to keep them at the "good SOS" level.  Good news is, there will be some payback for the frustrating 2014 loss to Muschump this year.  Looking forward to it!   

Missouri - Whatever the merits of Barry Odom, he is no Gary Pinkel (who we finally beat decisively last year).  I think it's universally acknowledged that Pinkel got a lot out of his perpetual 3* talent, even in the SEC.  That he was able to take Missouri with their middle of the pack talent to back to back East championships is quite impressive no matter how "down" the East was in 2013 and 2014.  And their loss to Auburn in 2013 was somewhat respectable.   I can't see anyway that Odom is not a big step down from Pinkel.

Collectively I see the above two teams being perpetual mid-pack teams at best under their new coaches. Which leaves...

Georgia - Kirby Smart is certainly an excellent DC and that may or may not translate to HC success.  If you look at recent history, Muschamp was for years the hottest name in the SEC HC market but as a former DC could not coach offense worth a lick at a place naturally set up talent wise to excel at offense.   Will Kirby be a similar bust at Georgia?  I hope so!  Balance that against the fact that Georgia has long been billed as underachieving for their talent level under Richt (which I think is overstated) and Kirby might click like McIlwain did at UF last year (well....at least early on).   But...Georgia was only 85th in scoring offense in the country last year, and they are bringing in a guy known for defense.   Whatever his long term prospects, I am not sure a Smart regime will score very many points this year, so regardless of his long term prospects at Uga, we should win this year at any rate.

[Creek Walker]

Coaching quality in the SEC East took a big step backwards. The only one the jury is still out on is Smart, but thus far the Saban coaching tree has been a big dose of "meh."

[murfvol]

Hiring a Saban defensive guy is like hiring a Spurrier offensive guy. That individual isn't calling the shots. However, I've listened to two interviews with Smart, and he seems organized. That concerns me.

But we'll see if that translates on the field. He's made good hires.

[Black Diamond Vol]

Hiring a Saban defensive guy is like hiring a Spurrier offensive guy. That individual isn't calling the shots. However, I've listened to two interviews with Smart, and he seems organized. That concerns me.

But we'll see if that translates on the field. He's made good hires.

Dooley sounded organized in interviews, too.

[Tnphil]

I won't laugh at Muschamp....we have yet to beat him.

IMO, UGA will be a lot more hardnosed under Smart....on offense and defense. My only hope is with Chaney as his OC they will be pass happy.

[BanditVol]

Dooley sounded organized in interviews, too.

lol...it was his strength, apparently. If only Kirby is half as big a bust...

[BanditVol]

I won't laugh at Muschamp....we have yet to beat him.

IMO, UGA will be a lot more hardnosed under Smart....on offense and defense. My only hope is with Chaney as his OC they will be pass happy.

I forgot Chaney was his OC.  He did well enough at Arkansas, and although he was disliked by many at UT, I thought he did well with what he had.

[murfvol]

Very good point about Dooley. Thing is, if he doesn't hire Sunseri, he might have done o.k. until handling people bit him.

[BanditVol]

Very good point about Dooley. Thing is, if he doesn't hire Sunseri, he might have done o.k. until handling people bit him.

I think he could have prolonged the agony with a decent DC in 2012.   The offense was hitting on all cylinders and the D could have been above average.

Easy to forget, but after he lost to Kentucky in 2010, 8 of 10 assistant coaches left.  Only Chaney and the WR coach stuck around.  The writing was on the wall then, but I still wanted us to go to a bowl and lock in a decent recruiting class, and then in all likelyhood let Dooley go in 2013.   In retrospect, he wasn't really recruiting much anyway, so it was just as well.

[volsboy]

So is it reassuring or scary that Jones is the best coach in the East now by all intents and purposes! I kinda worry about how he handles the pressure of the expectations that have been thrown on this team. It could get crazy.

[BanditVol]

So is it reassuring or scary that Jones is the best coach in the East now by all intents and purposes! I kinda worry about how he handles the pressure of the expectations that have been thrown on this team. It could get crazy.

The expectations have been unrealistically high among a vocal minority of our fans since he set foot on campus.  Nothing much has changed in that regard.

It's true that a big difference is that now the great majority of Vol fans expect a really good season.  Those fans are, however, a lot more reasonable than those described in the first sentence.  Butch will be fine.