Summary of new SEC coaching hires from the weekend

[AuricGoldfinger]

Florida--San Francisco's Todd Golden. This was an out-of-left-field hire. Up and comer who is only 36 and much of whose playing and coaching career has been in the Bay Area.

Mississippi State--New Mexico State's Chris Jans. Another surprising hire, but he's more seasoned (52 years of age) and took NMSU to the NCAAs four of five seasons in Las Cruces. Has a lot of experience in the JUCO ranks.

Missouri--Cleveland State's Dennis Gates. Highly respected in the sport. Has only been at CSU for three seasons, but spent eight seasons as an assistant to Leonard Hamilton at Florida State. Made the NCAAs last season and the NIT this year.

South Carolina--Not official yet, but supposedly has locked in on Chattanooga's Lamont Paris. Has been with the Mocs for five seasons, going 87-70, but the last three seasons has won 20, 18, and 27 games and went to the NCAAs this season (where they should have beaten Illinois). He was an assistant at Wisconsin before taking the Mocs' job in 2017.

LSU--(Edited to add) Murray State's Matt McMahon. Has been a consistent winner at MSU for seven seasons, with three NCAA appearances. Good hire, but it will be a tough road for the next few years as I think LSU will get hammered with sanctions.

Georgia --Already hired Florida's Mike White.

[charlestonalum]

LSU hired McMahon from Murry State

[AuricGoldfinger]

LSU hired McMahon from Murry State

Good luck to him. He's gonna need it.

He does get a nice long-term deal, though:

[tweet][/tweet]

[Doreknox]

Overall, these are some really odd hires. They seem to motivated by changing for change's sake rather than landing better coaches. Golden has been hyped as a potential young Coach K but you'd think FL could get and would want a more established coach. Not sure if SC and MO are actually upgrading with their selections. The Furman coach seemed like a better choice in SC. State hired a guy who wins but has sexual harassment baggage. Seems like McMahon could have had his pick of better jobs in the SEC and throughout the country. On paper, GA made the best hire in the league this year.

These new guys come to the SEC from lesser leagues. We'll see if their tenures are any better than their predecessors. Sometimes, it's the school/program that's lacking and not the coach.

[UltimateVUFan]

Sometimes, it's the school/program that's lacking and not the coach.

Sort of like VU football???
(Hate to poke fun at ourselves, but reality is what it is.)

[Doreknox]

Sometimes, it's the school/program that's lacking and not the coach.

Sort of like VU football???
(Hate to poke fun at ourselves, but reality is what it is.)

Yes, except for one guy.

[All n 4 Vandy]

...Sometimes, it's the school/program that's lacking and not the coach.

Exactiment!

[AuricGoldfinger]

Sometimes, it's the school/program that's lacking and not the coach.

Sort of like VU football???
(Hate to poke fun at ourselves, but reality is what it is.)

In that case, sometimes it's both.

[AuricGoldfinger]

Good article from SI's Pat Forde on the new hires: https://www.si.com/college/2022/03/23/s ... en-florida

[charlestonalum]

Did anyone ever think that college athletics or sport in general is rational? Exactly half of contests will have a winner but people want to win then all.

[OldDude]

Good article from SI's Pat Forde on the new hires: https://www.si.com/college/2022/03/23/s ... en-florida

Thanks, Auric. Good read.