With no SEC head coaches fired or on the move for other jobs, staff vacancies have taken center stage.

Tennessee began searching for new offensive coordinator after play-caller Tyson Helton departed to take the Western Kentucky job. On Monday, news broke that Chip Lindsey was leaving his job as Auburn offensive coordinator to join Les Miles at Kansas.

For both jobs, former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze was instantly named as a top candidate. Freeze has also been in contact with Florida State. The Seminoles offensive coordinator position came open Monday when Walt Bell agreed to take the UMass job.

Freeze is reportedly also a candidate for the Liberty head coaching job, but he opts to instead be a Power 5 coordinator, ESPN insider Chris Low says he’ll likely draw interest from another SEC school: Alabama. Low shared that tidbit in an interview with Arkansas radio host Bo Mattingly.

Current Alabama OC Mike Locksley, who won the Broyles Award for top assistant coach Tuesday, has been linked to the opening at Maryland. He has familiarity with the school as a previous offensive coordinator and has the reputation as a top recruiter of the “DMV” (Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia) area.

The SEC reportedly discouraged Alabama from hiring Freeze as co-offensive coordinator prior to the 2018 season. If the reports of Tennessee and Auburn considering hiring him are accurate, it would appear that won’t be an issue for 2019 season, perhaps because all appeals related to the NCAA Ole Miss investigation are finished.