5- Mark Richt, Georgia

For over a decade, Richt has been leading the Bulldogs to victory on a consistent basis, other than one losing season (2010). Overall, he has an astounding 118-40 record which includes bowl game appearances in all twelve seasons, eight of which he brought home the trophy for. This past season, the Bulldogs tied with the Florida Gators for 1st place in the East, but Georgia had the advantage as they had beaten Florida near the end of the season. In the most recent recruiting class, Richt came away with a whopping fourteen four star prospects. Most notable of the newcomers is pro-style quarterback Brice Ramsey, who ranked third on 247sports.com’s pro-style quarterback rankings only behind Christian Hackenberg (Penn State) and Max Browne (USC).

4- Will Muschamp, Florida

In his first year at Florida (2011), which was also his first year as a head coach, Muschamp struggled a bit to find success. Due to his struggles, the Gators had essentially been written off from the start of the 2012 season. Such talk did not concern Muschamp and he went on to lead his team to tie for first in the SEC East with Georgia. If the Gators had defeated Georgia, a task in which they came a fumble by tight end Jordan Reed away from, they would have had a shot at Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide for the SEC Championship. Muschamp has done a superb job building his team, especially with the 2013 class of recruits. He recruited the nation’s top cornerback, number two running back, and the fourth and fifth ranked outside linebackers. In the past class, he managed to pull in two five star recruits along with twelve four star recruits. With “The Champ” at the helm, the Gators have returned to their respected spot near the top of the SEC and show no signs of slowing down.

3- Les Miles, LSU

Before his days with LSU, Miles spent four seasons as Oklahoma State’s head coach and held a 28-21 record, including one bowl game victory. Over the course of LSU’s past eight seasons with Les Miles, they have appeared in a bowl game each season along with two national championship appearances, one of which they came out victorious (2007 season). Miles has totaled 85 wins with only 21 losses in his career with the Tigers with five of those wins being bowl games. He continues to produce top tier defensive players for the NFL, which recently includes Barkevious Mingo, Morris Claiborne, Patrick Peterson, Michael Brockers, and a long list of other talented players. The school shows no signs of stopping this tradition as they brought in a five star defensive back along with eight four star defensive prospects.

2- Steve Spurrier, South Carolina

Few coaches in the entire nation are as decorated and respected as Steve Spurrier. Prior to his coaching days at South Carolina, Spurrier spent twelve season as the Florida Gators head coach and lead them to six conference championships along with a national championship from the 1996-1997 season. Through his eight seasons at South Carolina, Spurrier has accumulated a 66-37 record, with only four of those losses coming from the past two seasons. Though it took a bit of time, Spurrier has elevated a team that was used to being 8-5 to a team that is more familiar with 11-2. The question lingers whether or not he can continue this success, but he should not be doubted. In the past two recruiting classes, Spurrier has attracted nineteen four star recruits to South Carolina. What’s more amazing is his ability to accomplish a lot with what may seem less offensive talent than other top SEC competitors. Spurrier managed to win eleven games with a two quarterback system, no “elite” wide receivers, and a star running back who had missed the last four games of the season (all wins). As originally stated, few other head coaches have done so well for such a long time.

1- Nick Saban, Alabama

His championships speak for themselves. In the past four seasons, the Crimson Tide has won three national championships and have had the top rated recruiting class for three consecutive seasons. In his seven seasons with Alabama, Saban has only lost thirteen games and five of them came in his first season. Could it be argued that the school itself is the reason he succeeds? Certainly not. Even prior to his dynasty in Tuscaloosa, Saban won a national championship with LSU during the 2003 season and has a career record of 91-42-1 through his previous stints as the head coach of Toledo, Michigan State, and LSU. Saban is the most accomplished coach in recent history and will surely go down as one of the all-time greatest collegiate head coaches.