SEC: The year of the coaching change

By Terry Pellman

I don’t know if there has ever been a season with this many shakeups in coaching staffs around the SEC. Everyone is wondering, how will it affect this year’s race to Atlanta?

While there are stories to consider in the head coaching changes, the real story falls just below that with all the coordinator changes. Out of the 24 coordinator positions in the SEC, almost half of them have new faces.

Eastern Division

If you are a fan of coaching stability, you would be a fan of the teams in the SEC East this season. Out of the 12 teams in the SEC, four have the same coordinators they had last year: Kentucky, Georgia, Florida and Vanderbilt, all in the Eastern Division.

Tennessee has been shaken up a bit. The guy who was considered one of their best play callers and coordinators, David Cutcliffe, has left for greener pastures , or in this case, bluegrass. Trooper Taylor, along with a few other assistants have left the program as well leaving, the offensive duties to an SEC newcomer, Dave Clawson, who had some success as the head coach at Richmond. David Cutcliffe is looking to repeat what another SEC coach was able to accomplish when coaching the Blue Devils. Steve Spurrier, early in his coaching career, led the Blue Devils to a conference championship.

What are the chances of that happening again with Cutcliffe at the helm? You be the judge.

Spurrier’s name has been on the forefront of coaching stories this year when he pursued different defensive coordinators this fall. Ellis Johnson, who had accepted the Arkansas DC role for a few days, left and took the job in Columbia when the “ole ball coach” came a-calling.

While the feelings of Johnson taking over the duties of the defense were mixed in Gamecock country, the biggest news came on the other side of the ball. Spurrier announced just weeks ago that he’s giving up the duties of play calling and handing the reigns over to his son, Steve Spurrier, Jr.

What are the chances that Spurrier, Sr. will be calling the plays if the game is on the line? You be the judge.

Western Division

Here you can find the majority of the shakeups in the SEC. Four of the schools have new coordinators, while the remaining two have completely new staffs in place.

Houston Nutt’s unceremonious retreat from Arkansas was a story many in the Southeast have followed. With the departure of Mulzahn, followed by several of the top underclassmen leaving, it looked like a program in disarray. The widely circulated e-mail that was sent to Mitch Mustain from one of their boosters led to Arkansas becoming the fodder of several jokes.

In a move that surprised many Arkansas fans (not to mention Falcon fans and players) the Razorbacks landed the services of Bobby Petrino. Petrino comes in with a reputation of winning with Louisville. His offensive approach and schemes are a dramatic change from what Nutt fielded during his tenure with the ‘Backs.

Nutt didn’t remain in the unemployment line very long. Not more than a few days after he left Little Rock, the officials in Oxford came calling and it was announced he was taking over the head coaching responsibilities for the Ole Miss Rebels.

After being questioned by many for the firing of David Cutcliffe and then enjoying what can only be described as a dismal experiment with Coach O, the Rebels have brought in one of the SEC’s better coaches. While many question some of Nutt’s game-day decisions, there is little to no doubt he’s one of the best motivators in the SEC.

Standing in line for the next biggest shake-up are the Auburn Tigers, who have hired two new coordinators; Paul Rhodes on defense and Tony Franklin on offense. Franklin has a bit of a head start on Rhodes in the changeover because he was able to implement some of his spread offense before the bowl game versus Clemson this past season.

While a lot of Auburn fans want to label him as a savant, most of the SEC West looks at their scheme changes as nothing to be feared. Ironically, with so many changes in the SEC this year, it’s become quite the norm in Auburn as Tuberville goes through coordinators like Wilt Chamberlain went through women.

Rhodes, on the other side of the ball, seems to be a solid hire. His name almost reached “household word” status last year when his defense not only contained the West Virginia offense last year, but also destroyed it. Rhodes inherits a lot of talent with this team and his defense should be at the top of the SEC, if not NCAA, by the end of the season.

Ellis Johnson’s departure to Arkansas, then South Carolina, left Mississippi State’s Sylvester Croom looking for a new defensive coordinator. He didn’t look far when he promoted Charlie Harbinson to the position. Harbinson has been around some great programs and defenses during his coaching tenure but this is the biggest responsibility he’s taken. Considered a good recruiter but an average coach, he won’t have big shoes to fill but will be watched closely by the Bulldog faithful.

Les Miles handled the LSU vacancy about the same way Croom handled his. There were a lot of “big name” coaches linked to the LSU job but in the end he ended up promoting two of his defensive staff members to the role of Co-coordinators.

Both Doug Mallory and Bradley Peveto worked under the recently departed Bo Pellini. Both men also have experience in the role of defensive coordinator. The question that remains to be answered is if this co-coordinator reassignment will work. One could easily point to the Oklahoma situation a few years ago and say yes when Brent Venables and Mike Stoops shared the role. Then again, one could point to South Carolina and see the duo of Nix and Thompson end in failure.

Based on the success Jim McElwain had with the offense at Fresno State in 2007, the Alabama faithful are hopeful that the lack of consistency on offense in 2007 won’t be there in 2008. When Saban encouraged last year's offensive coordinator, Major Applewhite, to interview for the Houston opening “for the experience,” it was the first sign that he was being politely edged out the door.

When Applewhite accepted the offer at Texas, all Alabama fans looked for was some experience in the job. Coach Nick Saban’s hire of Jim McElwain follows the trend he’s had in all of his stops. He does have turnover in his staff, but that turnover leads to improved coaching in all those positions.

While the storylines of players being dismissed from programs around the SEC have been in the headlines since spring camp, they are overshadowed by the turnover SEC fans have seen these past few months within the coaching ranks. Yes, all still look to Georgia or Florida as being the front-runners for the Eastern Division. A favorite team to win the West? That’s a better question left for your own judgment.