College football head coaches have given us some of the best personalities in sports. From Jim Harbaugh to Mike Leach to Ed Orgeron, college football is full of fun and entertaining coaches across the country. An old twitter thread by my fellow writer and co-host of the Outside The Huddle Podcast, Shea Brennaman had me thinking about a fun idea. In this thread, Shea compares characters of The Office to SEC schools as a whole which we discussed on this weeks episode that you can listen to here.
For this article I decided to take each head coach from the SEC and do my best at comparing them to different characters from the best TV show in the history of TV, The Office. For this article I try to look at specific moments of the characters since over the 9 seasons the development and personalities of the characters tend to change. As always, let me know what you think and what you would have done differently, I will have the thread of the characters on my twitter which you can follow @Ryanmcc09.
SEC East
Kirby Smart - Dwight Schrute
Dwight Schrute is one of the best salesmen in the world and Kirby Smart over the past few years has been one of the best recruiters in the country. Dwight also for the better part of the show lived in the footsteps of Michael Scott just like how Kirby for the time being is living in the footsteps of Nick Saban until he can try to overthrow him like how Dwight tried to by going behind Michael's back. Also Kirby Smart looks like he cuts his own hair just like how Dwight said he does.
Dan Mullen - Jim Halpert
Early on in the show nobody really took Jim Halpert seriously just like how nobody thought that Mullen would do much at Mississippi State. But like Jim, Mullen was able to surprise some people and show that he is actually really good at what he does when he tries. Mullen is also one of the more laid back coaches personality wise just like how Jim is in the show. Not to mention that Mullen and Kirby Smart will be going back and forth at each other like how Jim and Dwight did for many years to come.
Derek Mason - Roy Anderson
Roy Anderson has a blue collar job working in the warehouse and Derek Mason has a blue collar personality being a tough gritty guy. Trying to make Vanderbilt successful is also a tough job to do similar to Roy's job in the warehouse. Like most of the other warehouse workers you don't hear from Roy and you kind of forget about him until he tries to punch Jim for kissing Pam, just like how you sort of forget about Derek Mason sometimes until he tries to fight other coaches as he did against Florida this year.
Mark Stoops - Pam Beesley/Halpert
Pam for the first few seasons was just kinda there, at least in terms of what she did for the office. As the receptionist she really didn't do much and nobody really expected her to just like Mark Stoops at Kentucky in his first few seasons there. It seemed like Pam was never going to get over the hump and find true love with Jim just like people doubted if Mark Stoops could ever get Kentucky over the hump. Pam ended up marrying Jim and stoops eventually led Kentucky to a top 10 ranking at one point and won a big time bowl game.
Will Muschamp - Andy Bernard
The obvious reason here is that both of these men have serious anger issues. Besides that I also see a lot of similarities most notably that despite the fact that Andy really isn't that good of a salesman he manages a way to squeak by and stay around. Similarly, Muschamp hasn't been a bad coach but he certainly hasn't been a good coach in the SEC but somehow manages to stick around. Also I can almost guarantee that Muschamp has punched a few walls in his coaching career.
Barry Odom - Darryl Philbin
Barry Odom is a guy you really don't hear a lot about just like Darryl, at least for the first few episodes of The Office. You never really know what goes on in the warehouse with Darryl just like you really don't hear much from Missouri and never know what goes on there, until the NCAA finds out and tells everyone. Darryl and Barry are both bigger guys who look like they could hold their own in a fight as well and are tough hard nosed guys.
Jeremy Pruitt - Stanley Hudson
You don't really ever see Stanley do much similar to how Tennessee was in their first year under Pruitt. Stanley also had a heart attack and nearly died in The Office which is probably how Jeremy Pruitt felt at times this past season with the team he was left by Butch Jones. While Stanley can be a really good salesmen you hardly ever see it just like how Pruitt is probably a pretty good coach but at Tennessee you probably won't see it for a few years.
SEC West
Nick Saban - David Wallace
David Wallace is the top dog (at least of characters that make significant appearances). Similar to how he runs the company for the most part, Nick Saban has run the SEC for the better part of the past decade. Saban and Wallace are both very straight forward and down to business and are very good at what they do, at least until Wallace runs the company into bankruptcy and Saban has to face Trevor Lawrence.
Gus Malzahn - Ryan Howard
Ryan is very up and down just like Gus. You never know what you will get from either of them. One minute Ryan Howard is the VP of the company and the next he is working in a bowling alley. One minute Gus is leading Auburn to a national championship appearance and the next he wins 7 games despite being ranked in the top 10 pre-season. Gus can be one of the best coaches in the SEC but often he just let's Auburn fans down.
Matt Luke - Kevin Malone
Kevin is a fun guy that really doesn't do much in the office and nobody really expects him to do much. Matt Luke in my opinion seems like fun guy but really hasn't done much and hasn't been expected to do much mostly because of the mess he inherited. Both guys are also bigger, slower moving guys. Kevin is a bit slower intellectually and Luke because he is a good ole southern boy. Overall I think both Kevin and Matt Luke are both very likable guys and people really want to cheer for them when they can.
Joe Moorhead - Phyllis Vance
Phyllis is one of the quieter characters in the office and sort of minds her own business. Overall I would say that Joe Moorhead is the same way, at least in his first season. Phyllis is also a character that no one really loves but no one hates either, for the most part I feel that people outside of the state of Mississippi are indifferent about Moorhead and Mississippi State. Also looks don't really have much to do with these comparisons but if you told me that Phyllis and Joe Moorhead were related I would believe you.
Ed Orgeron - Creed Bratton
Creed Bratton is by far the most off the wall character in the show and Ed Orgeron is by far the most off the wall coach in the SEC. I don't have any proof but I'm pretty sure Ed Orgeron and Creed have both wrestled alligators at some point in their lives, or at least smuggled them illegally in Creeds case. Creed and Orgeron are both sort of old school guys but have some new school in them at moments. Really with both of these guys you can't ever predict what you are going to get out of their mouths.
Jimbo Fisher - Jo Bennett
Jo Bennett came into the show towards the end just like how Jimbo came to the SEC recently. Both Jo and Jimbo are very good at what they do and watch out because Jimbo may just find himself running the SEC in a few years if he can duplicate what he did at Florida State. I don't think a lot of people like Jo particularly but I also think they are scared of her similar to how people feel about Jimbo Fisher. Also the obvious one here is that both Jo and Jimbo came from Tallahassee, Jo from the Sabre headquarters and Jimbo from Florida State.
Chad Morris - Toby Flenderson
This one people may take the wrong way. Toby is known as the most hated character in the show by Michael in particular but I'm really getting at it from another angel. Toby sits in the annex and is rarely heard of most of the time. He is also one of the most boring characters in the show that people forget about. Not that Chad Morris is a boring guy, but he is kinda just out there in fayetteville and I think people tend to forget he is there a lot, partially because he is newer and partially because of how bad Arkansas has been the past few years.