How do the SEC’s 14 defensive coordinators rank heading into the season? Let’s dive right on into that question.

No. 14: Wesley McGriff, Ole Miss

McGriff earns the distinction of ranking last thanks to the Rebels possessing arguably the worst defense in the league last season despite having some NFL talent. Now McGriff must find a way to scheme up a game plan to stop Kliff Kingsbury’s high flying Texas Tech offense in the opener away from Oxford. Considering the Rebels face a complete rebuild in the front seven, expect the Red Raiders to have their way with this defense come Sept. 1.

No. 13: Matt House, Kentucky

If McGriff didn’t field the league’s worst defense in 2017, that “honor” belongs to House as his unit was beaten basically from October until the end of the season. The Wildcats have been developing the talent for years and enter the season with several seniors in the starting lineup. If House can’t get his unit to take a step forward, he won’t be around to make this list next season.

No. 12: Ryan Walters, Missouri

Missouri’s inconsistency has been perplexing considering Barry Odom got the job after being known as a defensive-minded coach. After firing his DC early in the 2017 season and assuming the duties for the remainder of the season, Odom promoted Walters from secondary coach to DC this offseason. While the Tigers have yet to find their groove, at least the secondary performed adequately in 2017 as Mizzou’s pass defense ranked No. 48 in passing efficiency according to S&P+.

No. 11: Jason Tarver, Vanderbilt

Tarver is entering his first season as DC and landed the job thanks to his history with Derek Mason, but he gets the nod over Walters due to the fact he has a long track record (16 years) of coaching at the game’s highest level, the NFL. Tarver and Mason worked side-by-side to help produce some of Stanford’s best defenses and now have the opportunity to do the same in Nashville. The Commodores have holes to fill but could start the season starting as many as eight seniors on that side of the ball.

No. 10: Tosh Lupoi, Alabama

Lupoi has the most talent to work with on this list (and the assistance of Nick Saban’s defensive mind), but Alabama still hired Pete Golding from UTSA to help the first-year defensive coordinator with calling a defense. That tells you there is some level of concern. To Lupoi’s credit, Saban could have brought in a long list of coaches to fill this position but decided to give the former outside linebacker coach his first crack at being a coordinator.

No. 9: Kevin Sherrer, Tennessee

Sherrer helped Georgia’s linebackers become the strength of the defense last fall and comes to Knoxville with a year of coordinating a defense under his belt (South Alabama, 2013). He also has an outstanding track record of developing linebackers into NFL Draft picks. Considering the deepest position on the defense is at linebacker, that’s another good indication of what could be coming on Rocky Top. According to CFB Matrix’s coordinator grades, Sherrer has been assigned an A grade, which is higher than any other defensive coordinator in the league entering the 2018 season. He’ll have to show more running Tennessee’s defense before he moves up this list, but he could be one of the fastest risers this time next year.

No. 8: John Chavis, Arkansas

You simply cannot put a price on experience and Chavis has loads of it. Chavis has more experience as an SEC coordinator (23 years) than the rest of the DCs in the entire SEC combined. While that’s the good news, the bad news is Chavis never delivered in College Station, and he inherited a unit with less elite talent in Fayetteville. It remains to be seen how well the marriage of Chavis’ defense and the Chad Morris offense will work; if the offense doesn’t manage how many snaps the defense sees, the results could be disturbing this season.

No. 7: Travaris Robinson, South Carolina

Perhaps the fastest riser on this list, it might not be long before Robinson has a program of his own to run after working side-by-side with Will Muschamp for so many years. South Carolina’s defense was solid against most teams last season, but when the Gamecocks faced their toughest opponents, the unit failed to rise to the occasion more often than not. The lack of production from South Carolina’s offense didn’t help matters, but it will be interesting to see how Robinson’s unit holds up if the new tempo offense in Columbia stalls against the better defenses it will see this fall.

No. 6: Bob Shoop, Mississippi State

Shoop is in need of some serious damage control following the last two units he fielded in Knoxville. It remains to be seen if he can raise his status back to being one of the elite defensive minds in the nation, but, at the same time, the work he did at Penn State and Vanderbilt cannot be completely overlooked. He’ll have all the talent a first-year DC could ask for this fall in Starkville and plenty of veteran leadership to work with this fall. His unit has the potential to be one of the best in the league, if not the nation.

No. 5: Mel Tucker, Georgia

This might seem a bit low for Tucker given Georgia’s success last season, but you have to wonder how much of that success was due to Kirby Smart as well as take into consideration that this unit lost a ton of leadership and talent in the offseason. Don’t be surprised to see the Dawgs take a slight step back on this side of the ball. If Tucker can maintain the same level of dominance with the young talent, he belongs near the very top of this list.

No. 4: Mike Elko, Texas A&M

Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Jimbo Fisher’s decision to hire Elko could prove to be the best decision of the offseason in the SEC. In his lone season at Notre Dame, Elko turned the Irish into a formidable defense and now will be asked to do the same with an Aggie unit featuring several potential elite performers. Before leading the Notre Dame defense, Elko routinely caused issues for ACC offenses — including Fisher’s FSU teams — while leading the Wake Forest defense. Keep in mind, this was also occurring while one of the radio guys for Wake Forest was handing out information to opposing teams! Given all the factors working against him in the past, now that he’s leading an SEC defense filled with great players, the sky could be the limit for Texas A&M’s defense in the near future.

No. 3: Todd Grantham, Florida

Grantham would have been my pick to win the Broyles Award last season, given to the nation’s best assistant coach, for the work he did in his only season in Starkville. Grantham was a semifinalist, but no coach led a bigger turnaround for his unit. The Bulldogs went from being the worst defense in the SEC and one of the worst in the nation to one of the best with tons of underclassmen featured in prominent roles. The defense also featured breakout players at every level of the defense. If he can carry that same success to Gainesville this fall, the Gators tradition of having elite defenses will continue for the foreseeable future.

No. 2: Kevin Steele, Auburn

While Auburn’s offense has struggled at times in recent seasons, Steele’s defense continues to get better each season. Steele deserves all the praise thrown his way. His unit’s performance last November was masterful and nearly led the program to its first Playoff appearance. The Tigers have the best front seven in the SEC heading into the season and will need that unit to dominate while the offense finds its footing going up against two of the best defenses Auburn will face next season.

No. 1: Dave Aranda, LSU

Aranda is still the gold standard in the SEC. That’s why Texas A&M made a run at him in the offseason and why LSU made him the highest paid coordinator in the history of college football to keep him in Baton Rouge. His unit’s numbers took a small slide last season, but considering all the drama with that coaching staff, the lack of effectiveness of the LSU offense and the issues of depth at key positions on defense, that was not to be completely unexpected. Aranda will be tasked with holding the entire LSU program afloat during arguably the toughest early-season stretch in the nation. If the Tigers emerge at 2-1 or 3-0 to begin 2018, Aranda will be the reason for that fast start.