Sometimes a coordinator can make all the difference in the world. For example, Lane Kiffin has helped transform two quarterbacks with minimal experience – Blake Sims and Jake Coker – into signal-callers who have led Alabama to the College Football Playoff two straight years.

Since the end of last season, 13 new coordinators have been hired in the SEC. Which new hires will make the biggest impact in their debut years? Here is a list of our top five.

Dave Aranda

Here is where Wisconsin’s Aranda-led defenses finished in the Big Ten between 2013 and 2015: first in the FBS in total defense (289.4 yards per game), second in scoring defense (17.0 points per game), third against the pass (180.9 yards per game) and fourth against the run (108.5 yards per game). Even though these numbers came against Big Ten teams, they are still impressive.

Plus, between Jamal Adams, Kendell Beckwith, Arden Key, Kevin Toliver II and Tre’Davious White, Aranda inherits plenty of talent. Coaching in the SEC will obviously be more difficult, but as Aranda transitions LSU from a 4-3 to a 3-4, he and the Tigers should be up to the challenge.

Josh Heupel

Missouri’s offense has nowhere to go but up, and Heupel might be the right guy to take it even further. With an average of 13.6 points per game last season, the Tigers finished 126th – next to last in all of the FBS ahead of only Kent State – in scoring offense last season, so any uptick will be welcomed in Columbia.

In his lone season as a school’s offensive coordinator, Heupel helped Utah State average 29.0 points per game in 2015, which ranked sixth in the 12-team Mountain West and smack dab in the middle of the FBS at 64th. Those numbers probably would have been better if Aggies starting quarterback Chuckie Keeton hadn’t been limited to seven games due to injuries.

A former Oklahoma quarterback, Heupel was the Sooners’ co-offensive coordinator from 2011-14 before being relieved of his duties following his alma mater’s 40-6 loss to Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Heupel might be the most important hire on new coach Barry Odom’s staff. If he doesn’t help quarterback Drew Lock and the Mizzou offense average more than two touchdowns per game this season, who knows what the Tigers’ next option would be.

Noel Mazzone

Noel Mazzone is no stranger to the SEC, book-ending two stints as Ole Miss’ offensive coordinator — among other stops — around three seasons as Auburn’s OC from 1999-2001. Running UCLA’s offense last season, he helped true freshman Josh Rosen complete 60 percent of his passes for 3,669 yards, 23 TDs and 11 INTs.

In Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight, Mazzone will get to work with a quarterback who – unlike two of his predecessors — actually wants to play in College Station. Knight, who was Baker Mayfield’s backup last season, completed 56.6 percent of his attempts for 2,300 yards, 14 TDs and 12 picks in 10 games as Oklahoma’s starter in 2014.

Jeremy Pruitt

In his lone season as Florida State’s DC in 2013, he helped lead the Seminoles to the BCS National Championship Game when his group shut down Gus Malzahn’s high-powered Auburn offense after the Tigers took a 21-3 second-quarter lead.

As Georgia’s coordinator, Pruitt helped the Bulldogs finish in the top five in the SEC in scoring defense the last two years. Now he replaces Kirby Smart, whose Alabama units finished first in the conference in total defense six of the last seven seasons.

Pruitt was part of two national championship-winning teams as Alabama’s secondary coach from 2010-12. He has already won a ring as a defensive coordinator in the ACC. Potential NFL talent such as Jonathan Allen, Reuben Foster and Eddie Jackson could help him earn one as a DC in the SEC.

Bob Shoop

Shoop, who was Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator from 2011-13, returns to the SEC after a two-year stint at Penn State. Under Shoop, the Nittany Lions were fifth in the Big Ten – but 14th in the FBS – in total defense in 2015, yielding 324.5 yards per game.

Eight defensive starters return for Tennessee, including defensive end Derek Barnett, linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin and cornerback Cameron Sutton. The Volunteers had double-digit leads in three of their four losses last season, plus they squandered a fourth-quarter edge against Alabama.

They’re counting on Shoop to find a way to prevent those breakdowns in 2016. His experience in the SEC and Big Ten might be just what Tennessee needs to back up extensive preseason hype.