Oklahoma’s recent transition from Bob Stoops to Lincoln Riley reminds us that there are no sure things in coaching. On any given day, Nick Saban or Gus Malzahn or Butch Jones could move on — either from their own choice, from having a dream job offered (remember my hunch that the Dallas Cowboys will aim for Saban someday?), or from getting fired. With the coaching carousel constantly in motion, here are some SEC assistants who could be close to becoming head coaches.

Jeremy Pruitt, Alabama (DC)

Sure, Pruitt’s stock took a hit when Deshaun Watson picked apart Bama on the season’s final drive. But coaching defense under Saban is like working under Bill Gates — you’re golden. Pruitt has had some downs (his time at Georgia, for instance), but he’s won a title as a coordinator (Florida State, 2013) and worked under Saban. People with much weaker credentials get hired every day.

Dan Enos, Arkansas (OC)

Enos left being a head coach at Central Michigan — where he took the Chippewas to bowls in 2012 and 2014 — to run the Arkansas offense. Considering the big-play balance he’s built (with relative unknowns such as Austin Allen and Rawleigh Williams III), he has to be an attractive head coaching candidate for mid-majors.

Kevin Steele, Auburn (DC)

Steele had a brief head coaching stint, as one of many who failed to win at Baylor (the alternative apparently being to win but create a hellacious scandal). Meanwhile, he’s been a defensive coordinator at Alabama, Clemson, LSU and Auburn. If you’re a weaker Power Five school, you’re drooling at that resume.

Randy Shannon, Florida (DC)

Shannon is a defensive wizard who had a relatively successful head coaching tenure at Miami. Although he didn’t win enough there, he did avoid the horrific NCAA scandal that surrounded booster Nevin Shapiro. He’s sill relatively young, is a great recruiter, and has spent the last few years coaching up an NFL-caliber defense at Florida. He’ll be back as a head coach sooner rather than later.

Mel Tucker, Georgia (DC)

Tucker has been a defensive coordinator for three NFL teams and even spent five games as an interim head coach for Jacksonville. At the college level, he coached under Jim Tressel at Ohio State and worked for Saban as associate head coach/defensive backs coach in 2015. In his first year at Georgia, he helped Kirby Smart stabilize a talented but previously underachieving Bulldogs defense. If UGA wins the East, Tucker could be a hot commodity.

Eddie Gran, Kentucky (OC)

Gran has been around the SEC (Ole Miss, Auburn and Tennessee) and has been offensive coordinator at several schools (Cincinnati, Florida State and now Kentucky). His hands-on fix of a fickle UK offense into a power running machine after the loss of QB Drew Barker put him on some coaching radar screens. If UK posts eight wins or more in 2017, Mark Stoops likely will have to hire a replacement for Gran.

Dave Aranda, LSU (DC)

Aranda is only 40 years old and has starred as a defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and LSU. If he can help Ed Orgeron make LSU competitive in the SEC West, Aranda — who grew up in California — will almost certainly be hearing from a school or schools in the Pacific Time Zone.

Josh Heupel, Missoui (OC)

Heupel was a great Oklahoma passer in his playing days, and he injected some life into the Sooners’ offense as co-offensive coordinator from 2011 to 2014. At Missouri, while the Tigers have struggled, Heupel has injected life into Drew Lock and the Mizzou passing game — which went from very weak to fearsome.

Noel Mazzone, Texas A&M (OC)

Mazzone is a well-traveled offensive guru. He’s run offenses for Tommy Tuberville at Ole Miss and Auburn, coached three years in the NFL, and called plays at UCLA before being hired at A&M. The Aggies have massive turnover in their backfield, but if Mazzone can coax a good season from freshman Kellen Mond or another QB, he’ll be mentioned as a possible head coach in 2018.

Andy Ludwig, Vanderbilt (OC)

Ludwig is only 53, which is hard to believe because he’s called plays at Fresno State, Oregon, Utah, Cal, San Diego State, Wisconsin and now Vanderbilt. Defensive-minded Derek Mason gives a fair amount of authority to Ludwig, who has helped Ralph Webb become Vandy’s all-time leading rusher. Much like Dave Aranda, Ludwig has West Coast ties and could end up heading in that direction.