If you thought the head coaching carousel was wild, that turned out to be nothing compared to what has gone down once SEC assistant coaches began to jump from school to another this offseason.
Which coaches will be the toughest to replace heading into next season?
These four assistants standout:
Andy Ludwig, Vanderbilt OC
As if losing four-year starting quarterback Kyle Shurmur weren’t bad enough, Vanderbilt also lost offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig to Utah. While Derek Mason’s reputation was built on the defensive side of the ball, it was the offense in Nashville that led the way last season. Replacing a coordinator with the ability to call plays, develop quarterbacks and run a pro-style offense has become more challenge in recent seasons as the spread and Air Raid offenses have become more popular.
Vanderbilt’s offense was balanced and explosive. The Commodores ranked 40th in the nation in total offensive efficiency according to S&P+ Ratings — which is impressive considering the talent versus its weekly competition in the SEC. They ranked No. 5 in the SEC in plays of 20+ yards and protected the ball (Vandy’s 14 giveaways were only one more than LSU, Auburn or Mississippi State, which led the SEC in fewest offensive giveaways with 13).
Dan Enos, Alabama QB coach
Alabama’s offense won’t take a major step back without Mike Locksley or Dan Enos on staff next season; the Crimson Tide still have too many playmakers and will cause numerous mismatches provided the unit stays healthy. However, talent will only get you so far, and Enos has proven he’s one of the best developers of the quarterback position in recent SEC history. How Tua Tagovailoa progresses without Enos is a storyline worth monitoring.
It’s also worth mentioning that Tua was oft-injured last season, and that was while playing limited snaps. Tagovailoa doesn’t have the ideal build for major college football, and while that has not affected his play in the least, it is fair to question if he can play an entire season without suffering an injury. When you also factor in the loss of Jalen Hurts and how much progress he made under Enos, how well Alabama’s next offensive coordinator/QB coach manages to develop the backup signal callers in Tuscaloosa will be something to monitor.
Phil Longo, Ole Miss OC
Ole Miss fans who were eager to run off Phil Longo will be calling for him to return soon enough. The Rebels ranked 12th nationally in total offensive efficiency last season according to S&P+ Ratings (after ranking 9th nationally in 2017) and featured the SEC’s leading passer in Jordan Ta’amu. True, Ole Miss struggled in the red zone and against elite defenses, but that’s an issue any unit with depth issues could have run into while playing in the SEC.
While Rich Rodriguez is a bigger name than Longo, he hasn’t shown to be as consistent of a play-caller in recent seasons nor has he ever shown he can beat elite SEC defenses consistently. When you factor in all the major personnel losses this offseason, Ole Miss is poised for a disappointing season on offense unless Rodriguez has been scheming up some magic during his season away from the game.
Charles Huff, Mississippi State RB coach
Rival SEC fans should know by now that they are losing a good coach when Nick Saban and Alabama swoop in and steal him. That’s the case once again here as not only has Charles Huff been with Joe Moorhead for multiple seasons, he was the first hire Mississippi State’s coach made when he landed the job in Starkville.
Huff was Saquon Barkley’s running back coach at Penn State and helped him develop into arguably the nation’s finest running back. In his one season in Starkville, Huff helped develop Kylin Hill as the sophomore began to realize his potential following a slow start to his college career in 2017.
Alabama’s new running backs coach is has a great eye for talent and is known as a great recruiter. Before his recruitment blew up, Huff had Mississippi State in the lead for 2019 running back John Emery of Louisiana. Once Georgia and LSU finally came calling, MSU could not compete for the 5-star running back, but that won’t be an issue for Huff in Tuscaloosa.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
