Lincoln Riley surprised many when he left Oklahoma for USC. The Sooners have been the better program over the past decade and were headed for the resource-rich SEC in the coming seasons.

Riley’s move left some wondering if he wanted to avoid the SEC due to the intense levels of competition. Ed Orgeron was fired not even two years after winning a national championship at LSU. Dan Mullen lost his job this season as well, less than 12 months after winning the SEC East.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart is well aware of the difficulties that come from playing in the SEC. He’s in his sixth season at Georgia and it hasn’t always been easy.

He understands the pressure to deliver at these big-time programs.

“The amount of pressure that’s put on coaching staffs to win now is immense,” Smart said. “I think you have to understand when you get into this business, the nature of this business and the high stakes that are involved in the SEC coaching, that’s part of it. It’s not for everybody.

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