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Spring football has arrived. Position battles are raging, junior college transfers are trying to make an impact and SEC coaches are looking for ways to improve their programs.
New coaches have an added challenge. It includes everything just mentioned, with the added pressure of expectations — for immediate improvement or to maintain a standard of excellence.
There are plenty of new coaching faces in the SEC this spring, and all face unique obstacles in their first few months on the job.
Here are the five new coaches facing the biggest challenges this spring:
WILL MUSCHAMP, SOUTH CAROLINA
Taking over the league’s worst team in 2015 vaults Muschamp to the top of this list by default, but his rebuilding job comes with an unusual set of complications.
First, he must answer questions about his resume. What did he learn from his last SEC East coaching job at Florida that will help him win at South Carolina? Will we still see the meme-worthy “Coach Boom” blowups on the sideline?
Assuming he navigates that, he still inherits a roster that was 3-9 in 2015, and just 1-7 in the SEC. The Gamecocks had the league’s worst defense, and the offense wasn’t much better.
The team needs a reliable starting quarterback, play-makers at the skill positions and better pass rushers — among other things.
A big factor in those deficiencies has been a dip in recruiting. The end of Steve Spurrier’s tenure coincided with a slide down the league’s recruiting rankings, and there’s an overall lack of elite SEC-caliber talent on the roster.
The early indicators are good for Muschamp and the Gamecocks. He hired a staff full of experienced recruiters and salvaged a decent recruiting class in his first two months on the job.
There’s a buzz around the program, and the new coach is saying all of the right things.
“I wish I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me what I’ve learned,” he told USA Today. “What did I learn? You need to score more points. It’s real simple. We’re not splitting the atom.”
Converting South Carolina into a consistent winner might not be rocket science, but it’s not going to be a walk in the park, either.
JOSH HEUPEL, MISSOURI
Barry Odom, the Tigers’ new head coach, gets to worry about the big-picture issues — replacing Gary Pinkel and keeping the team together in the wake of last season’s near-boycott.
But Heupel’s task as the new offensive coordinator might be even taller.
Missouri fielded one of the worst offenses in college football last season. There was upheaval at the quarterback position, injuries at running back and a steep decline in performance from the offensive line.
There was also a degree of mediocrity at wide receiver and an overall lack of big-play ability at the skill positions.
In other words, it was a mess. But it’s one the former Oklahoma quarterback is looking forward to tackling.
“You just chip away one day at a time,” Heupel told the Kansas City Star. “You hire staff — good guys that can develop the guys in the room, that are great fundamental teachers of the game. You recruit. You bring in great players — guys that can make a difference for you, that fit not just athletically but mentally the attitude that you’re trying to develop and obtain in this program from the head coach down.”
His immediate spring goals should be to get Drew Lock as coached up as possible at quarterback, and figure out who’s going to replace the four departed starters on the offensive line.
Everything else can come later.
NOEL MAZZONE, TEXAS A&M
Johnny Manziel left College Station after the 2013 season, and in that campaign the Aggies scored more than 44 points per game.
In 2014, that number fell to about 35 points per contest. Last season, it dipped again to just under 28.
That trend, and a few other missteps, have warmed head coach Kevin Sumlin’s seat up a bit. In response, Sumlin jettisoned Jake Spavital after last season and hired Mazzone to replace him as offensive coordinator.
Mazzone, formerly of UCLA, will have to decide on a new quarterback right out of the gate. Oklahoma graduate transfer Trevor Knight and last season’s bowl starter Jake Hubenak are battling for the starting spot this spring.
Mazzone will want to push the pace on offense, but will have to find three new starters on the offensive line and a new starter at running back along the way.
He’ll need to find the answers quickly, or his tenure in the SEC might be a short one.
KIRBY SMART, GEORGIA
There’s the pressure involved with rebuilding projects, and then there’s the pressure of replacing a successful, respected coach at your alma mater.
Kirby Smart is dealing with the latter in Athens, stepping in for Mark Richt.
Smart does have some on-field issues to sort out. Putting a start date on the Jacob Eason era at quarterback, managing Nick Chubb’s recovery and locating a field goal kicker are just a few of the things on his plate this spring.
But the real question looms large: Can he lead the program where Richt ultimately could not — to championships?
Bowl appearances and a few more wins would be fine for most first-year coaches, but that’s not the standard to which Smart will be held.
He has to win, win big and do it now.
“I’ve had opportunities to go places and I stayed at Alabama,” Smart said at his introductory press conference. “I thought it was a good place. I waited on a great opportunity, which is here at the University of Georgia right now. There’s no better place in the country to be.”
It is a fantastic opportunity, to be sure. But one that comes with great expectations.
DAVE ARANDA, LSU
After six straight years in the top four in the SEC in scoring defense, the Tigers finished 10th last fall.
The coordinator for that unit, Kevin Steele, departed for the same job at Auburn as part of this offseason’s coaching carousel. The wheel then spun to Wisconsin’s Aranda for the job in Baton Rouge.
Aranda built some stingy defenses in Madison, ranking near the top of the Big Ten in every major category in his three seasons there.
But he’s the third coordinator at LSU in the past six seasons. That sort of turnover creates confusion in terminology and potential issues in terms of the formations he’d like to run.
There are personnel issues as well, particularly at linebacker, that he’ll need to get sorted out this spring.
Cam Cameron’s offense and the play of Brandon Harris are the first things that most LSU fans worry about heading into 2016, but if Aranda can restore the Tigers’ defense to its usual standard, the offense may not need to score quite as often.
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
