SEC Welcomes New Football Coaches

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The 2015 College football season is nearing the end, with only the bowl games left to play in December. Depending on who your team is, it’s been an up and down roller coaster per usual. Teams have lost players to injury or suspension and some even lost their head coaches. It’s hard to know when it’s time to let a coach go, and everyone has a different feeling about it. The SEC will welcome three new coaches for the 2016 season.

The University of Georgia bulldogs finished this season 9-3, landing the 3rd spot in the East Division. But next year, the Bulldogs will be joined by a new head coach. After 14 years, the school decided to let go of Mark Richt. Richt ended his career at UGA with a record of 145 wins and 51 losses. But no worries, he has taken a job as head coach at his alma mater, the University of Miami. The new head coach of Georgia will be Kirby Smart. He previously served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Alabama. During the announcement press conference Smart said “”It’s an honor and privilege to return home to the University of Georgia and my home state.  I’m honored and excited for the opportunity at Georgia and promise high energy, effort every day, and hard work every minute on the part of all our coaches, staff and student-athletes.” Smart has coached for both collegiate and professional teams since 1999. Georgia fans are ready for the change and excited to see what happens next season!

As everyone knows, the University of South Carolina’s head coach, Steve Spurrier, left his job as head coach in the middle of the 2015 season. The Gamecocks struggled all year long with an interim coach and ended the season with a record of 3-9. Gamecock fans everywhere are fed up with losing and can’t wait for next season. Will Muschamp was announced as South Carolina’s new head coach starting in the 2016 season. Muschamp formerly served as the head coach at the University of Florida for three years. His record at Florida was 28-21. After a tough losing season, the Gamecocks are ready to be a dominating force in the SEC once again.

The Missouri Tigers are currently in the SEC West. Their former coach was Gary Pinkel, who decided to retire following the 2015 season after fifteen years of coaching. The Tigers ended the season 1-7 in the SEC and 5-7 overall. In recent years, Missouri has not been a strong competitor in the Southeastern Conference. But Tiger fans are hoping that’s all about to change with new head coach Barry Odom. Odom played football for Missouri when he was a student and then went on to coach a few high school teams. He then became the defensive coordinator for the University of Memphis. This past season he served as Missouri’s defensive coordinator and was named head coach for the 2016 season in early December. The Mizzou defense ranked ninth in the nation allowing only 302 yards per game. The Director of Athletics at the school said, “Coach Odom was the clear choice to serve as our next coach. He is a man of high integrity and possesses all the qualities you look for in a successful head coach”.

It’s shaping up to be an interesting season next year with all these fresh faces calling the shots!