With no offseason head coach firings (only Les Miles was axed, in September) and no head coaches leaving for other jobs, there hasn’t been much change at the top of SEC staffs besides Ed Orgeron dropping the interim tag at LSU. There was, however, some coordinator shuffling. Nine SEC teams made coordinator changes.

Every SEC West team except Texas A&M hired at least one new coordinator, while Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze brought in new blood on both sides of the ball. The SEC East wasn’t quite as active, with only Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky making changes, all internal promotions.

10. Kentucky DC Matt House: Kentucky’s newest defensive coordinator joined the staff last season as the inside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. He has 16 years of experience coaching defense at various levels, including as a coordinator for three seasons (2013-15) at Pittsburgh and FIU. On the surface, House seems like a solid hire – if you overlook his final season at Pitt (2014), when a fan actually created a website called hasmatthousebeenfiredyet.com. The site no longer exists, and hopefully Big Blue Nation doesn’t have to bring it back.

9. Tennessee OC Larry Scott: With his connections to the recruiting hotbed of South Florida and experience as Miami’s interim coach, Scott has an intriguing background. His resume, however, was missing one key item teams look for in an offensive coordinator: experience as a play-caller. Scott will be calling plays for the first time with a first-year starter at quarterback. Sure, it could work out just fine, but the new quarterback would probably be more confident under a veteran play-caller, and Scott probably wishes he had a veteran quarterback to lean on.

8. Ole Miss OC Phil Longo: In his first season coaching in the FBS, Longo will be an interesting play-caller to watch this fall. He’s making a huge jump from Sam Houston State to Ole Miss, but it’s clear that he gets X’s and O’s as the man behind the No. 1 offense in the FCS. He’ll have better talent to work with in Oxford; the big question will be if he’s ready for SEC defenses.

7. Ole Miss DC Wesley McGriff: The Rebels are somewhat surprisingly making McGriff a million-dollar assistant despite his limited experience as a coordinator. He has been a co-coordinator at Ole Miss (2012) and Auburn (2016), but only the sole coordinator at Division II Kentucky State in the 1990s. He turned down the Vanderbilt defensive coordinator position in 2015. With more than 26 years in coaching, McGriff has paid his dues and should be ready to run the show.

6. Arkansas DC Paul Rhoads: After 20 years of being a defensive position coach and coordinator, Rhoads became the head coach at Iowa State prior to the 2009 season. Rhoads only had one winning season in seven years leading the Cyclones and was fired after the 2015 campaign. He landed at Arkansas in 2016 as the defensive backs coach. When Bret Bielema decided to shake things up on defense, Rhoads was a natural choice to promote. Rhoads hasn’t been a coordinator since 2008, so he might be a little rusty in calling a game, but the Hogs should be in good shape with the veteran coach.

5. Mississippi State DC Todd Grantham: If Dan Mullen can get along with Grantham, the defense should benefit from bringing on the veteran coordinator. Last season, Louisville ranked No. 14 in total defense under Grantham, while Mississippi State checked in at No. 110. Grantham’s most recent stop was in the ACC, but he’s familiar with the SEC from his four years at Georgia (2010-13). MSU has dealt with a revolving door at the position, so three or four seasons of Grantham would provide some much-needed stability.

4. Auburn OC Chip Lindsey: Tigers coach Gus Malzahn got exactly what he was looking for in Lindsey, a man familiar with Malzahn’s system who has also established himself as a play-caller. Since working as an analyst at Auburn in 2013, Lindsey has been moving up the coaching ranks, becoming the offensive coordinator at Southern Miss in 2014, Arizona State two years later and now AU. Tigers players can breathe easy knowing the system won’t change, but Malzahn has said he’s looking forward to seeing Lindsey “spice up” the offense.

3. Florida DC Randy Shannon: It’s been a while since Shannon was a defensive coordinator, but when he was (2001-06), the Miami Hurricanes were a perennial BCS contender. If there was any concern that it’s been too long since he has called games, that issue was put to rest in the Outback Bowl, when the Gators held Iowa to 226 yards and three points. Shannon gives a young Florida defense continuity at an important time, as eight starters from last year’s squad have either used up their eligibility or entered the NFL Draft early.

2. LSU OC Matt Canada: A lack of production on offense was a driving reason behind Miles’ ouster, so Orgeron knew the pressure was on when it came to hiring his offensive coordinator. In hiring Canada, Orgeron has given Tigers fans a real reason to get excited about the team’s passing game.

Interestingly enough, the two most recent quarterbacks developed by Canada were SEC transfers. Former Florida QB Jacoby Brissett played for Canada at N.C. State (2014-15) and former Tennessee QB Nathan Peterman was the quarterback of the highest-scoring Pittsburgh team in school history. Canada was actually fired from N.C. State after the 2015 season, but it’s safe to say he’s bounced back and proven the Wolfpack wrong.

1. Alabama OC Steve Sarkisian: What a luxury it is for Alabama to have an accomplished head coach on staff working for peanuts just waiting for an opportunity to open up — like Lane Kiffin taking the FAU job. The 42-year-old Sarkisian is 46-35 as a head coach in seven seasons at Washington and USC, and will likely get another head coaching opportunity, so Alabama should enjoy him while he’s in Tuscaloosa.

While Sarkisian is calling plays, the Crimson Tide can expect an offense similar to Kiffin’s with more use of tempo. There shouldn’t be any problems with continuity, as Sarkisian has frequently worked alongside Kiffin and succeeded him at multiple stops.