SEC Football: Coordinators Under the Most Pressure in 2016
There was massive coaching turnover in the SEC this offseason, as 10 of the conference's 14 member institutions welcomed at least one new coordinator.
Many of the newcomers will have a ton of pressure on their shoulders, as well as several incumbents who have to find a way to turn things around in 2016 to avoid more turnover next offseason.
Which SEC coordinators are under the most pressure in 2016? Here are our picks based on history, talent and expectations.
7. Auburn DC Kevin Steele
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If you've read anything that I've written over the offseason, you should know by now that Auburn's defense really wasn't half bad last season when defensive end Carl Lawson was in the lineup. They held Louisville scoreless in the first half of the opener prior to Lawson's hip injury and gave up just 339 yards per game over the last five games when he returned.
New defensive coordinator Kevin Steele's job is to keep that momentum going forward.
Lawson is back, along with tackle Montravius Adams, freshman All-SEC corner Carlton Davis, veteran safeties "Rudy" Ford and Tray Matthews and graduate transfer linebacker T.J. Neal. What's more, head coach Gus Malzahn has high hopes for a defense that should be essentially the same as last year's, just simplified a bit.
"We're blessed to have a guy like him," Malzahn said. "Our defenses responded extremely well. Our players were flying around during the spring. They were having fun, like I said, with our defensive staff. You can just sense it when you go on the defensive staff room. They are all on the same page. It's a great feeling. And he's really looking forward to working with our defensive players, and the rest of our defensive staff is, too."
Auburn's offense is very much in question, and the defense might be leaned on—especially early in the season—to keep the Tigers in games and give the offense a chance to come together in a critical year for Malzahn and the entire Auburn staff.
6. Georgia OC Jim Chaney
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Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney doesn't have pressure relating to job stability to worry about, but man, his fall camp is going to be really interesting.
He has to worry about star running back Nick Chubb's knee, which ended his season in early October of 2015 after one play against Tennessee. He has to worry about fellow star running back Sony Michel, who injured his wrist over Independence Day weekend and might not be ready for the season. He has to worry about his quarterback battle, which includes veterans Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey, as well as hot-shot freshman Jacob Eason. He has to worry about his offensive line, which needs stability at tackle and consistency from veterans.
Oh, and he also has to worry about the possibility of the North Carolina offense forcing his Bulldogs into a shootout in the season opener in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta.
Known for getting the ball into the hands of playmakers in space, Chaney is the right guy for the job. He's able to spread things out and get creative before the snap, which is something that new head coach Kirby Smart saw succeed firsthand over the last two seasons as Lane Kiffin helped Alabama win back-to-back SEC titles.
But with all of the moving parts on the roster, that's going to be a big challenge for Chaney.
5. Texas A&M DC John Chavis
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Year 1 for defensive coordinator John Chavis with Texas A&M was a bit of a mixed bag.
The secondary finished second in the conference at 166.3 yards per game, but second-to-last in the conference in rush defense at 213.69 yards per game. This, with a front four that includes studs Myles Garrett, Daeshon Hall and Daylon Mack.
A little bit more consistency would go a long way.
While it seems like criticizing Texas A&M's defense has become a reflex, the defense kept the Aggies in virtually every game. The bar should be set higher, though.
With the front remaining intact, safety Armani Watts anchoring the back end, cornerback Priest Willis eligible after sitting out a transfer year and linebacker Otaro Alaka back after missing most of the 2015 season, this defense has to progress from "good enough" to "pretty darn good" in 2016, considering the questions lingering on the offensive side of the ball.
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4. Alabama OC Lane Kiffin
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Alabama welcomed a new defensive coordinator to Tuscaloosa this offseason when former Georgia and Florida State defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt made the move to the Crimson Tide. But it's still head coach Nick Saban's defense, and Pruitt has the most talented roster in the country to work with.
Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has plenty of talent to work with on his side of the ball too, but this will be his biggest challenge yet with the Crimson Tide.
Not only does Kiffin have a crowded quarterback battle to navigate through, but he also has the most inexperienced running back corps Alabama has had since Saban's first season with the program in 2007 and has to replace first-round draft pick Ryan Kelly at center.
Think about that for a second—a first-round draft pick at center.
The middle of the Alabama offense is absolutely riddled with question marks, and the early-season schedule—which includes games versus USC and at Ole Miss over the first three weeks of the season—cranks up the pressure on Kiffin even more.
He has to have more answers than questions by the time Alabama boards that plane to Arlington, Texas, to take on the Trojans, otherwise a second straight national title might be more myth than reality.
3. LSU OC Cam Cameron
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LSU will enter 2016 with sky-high expectations, but also with an offense that is one-dimensional behind superstar running back Leonard Fournette.
Can Cameron help quarterback Brandon Harris take the next step through the air and take a little pressure off Fournette when teams stack the box? Will head coach Les Miles let Cameron get a little more creative and try to open up that second dimension?
"We're going to throw it and run it with advantages, and where the advantages are, we're going to," Miles said at SEC media days. "[Wide receivers] Malachi [Dupre] and Travin [Dural] would be those guys."
The Tigers were picked second in the SEC West when the media vote was released earlier this month, and that leaves Cameron with a very small margin for error this season—one within which Miles and the entire staff are coaching for their jobs.
2. Texas A&M OC Noel Mazzone
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Noel Mazzone shined at UCLA with a tempo-based power-rushing attack that produced 1,000-yard running backs in three of his four seasons as the Bruins' offensive coordinator.
His quest at Texas A&M is to repeat the feat with an offense that has questions along the offensive line and a couple of running backs who, while talented, have never been the No. 1 guy for the Aggies.
Oklahoma transfer Keith Ford and veteran reserve James White are both all-purpose backs who should be able to handle the load as long as the offensive line—under new position coach Jim Turner—comes together.
"We've got to be able to run the ball better," said head coach Kevin Sumlin at SEC media days. "Even though we had a 1,200-yard rusher, we've got to be able to run it a bit more when we need to run it."
The bright side for Mazzone is that quarterback Trevor Knight has experienced the highs and lows from his time at Oklahoma, has the best group of wide receivers in the SEC—and perhaps the country—to work with and has already shown that he can help quarterbacks play at a high level in short order thanks to his work last year at UCLA with Josh Rosen.
He better get this Aggie offense out of the gate quickly, because this talented group shouldn't be as inconsistent as it has been over the last two seasons.
1. Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee
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Offense is supposed to be Auburn's calling card under head coach Gus Malzahn and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, but it was anything but its calling card last year when the Tigers finished 10th in the SEC in total offense at 370 yards per game.
What's more, the quarterback play was mediocre. Jeremy Johnson and Sean White combined to throw as many interceptions as touchdown passes (11), and the passing game as a whole finished 10th in the conference at 124.50, landing Malzahn and the entire staff on the hot seat.
While Malzahn will shoulder some of the load, it's up to Lashlee—who holds the title of quarterback coach—to find the right guy under center to lead the 2016 Tigers.
"We're always going to have the same philosophy and core beliefs with our offense, but once we make that call on who that [quarterback] is, we will tweak and try to build around their strengths and try not to ask them to do things that are maybe not their strengths," Malzahn said at SEC media days.
The pressure is on Lashlee to play a big part in not only making sure that Johnson, White and junior college transfer John Franklin III are all prepared to be better, but also choosing the right man for the job.
Quotes obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com, unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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