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Thursday, March 13, 2008
New faces in new places in the SEC
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A lot of SEC coaches are going to be wearing nametags during spring ball. By my count, nine of the 12 teams have at least one new coordinator and four schools have replaced both. Here is rundown of the new faces in the new places.
SEC EAST
Florida (1): Dan McCarney comes in as assistant head coach for defense, replacing co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, who took a job with the Baltimore Ravens. Charlie Strong is the defensive coordinator. Dan Mullen remains as offensive coordinator.
Georgia (0): Georgia had to replace tight ends coach Dave Johnson with John Lilly, but OC Mike Bobo and DC Willie Martinez are back.
Kentucky (0): Joker Phillips has had the extra duties of “head coach in waiting” added to his title as OC. Steve Brown is back as DC.
South Carolina (1): Steve Spurrier originally hired Brian Van Gorder as his defensive coordinator when Tyrone Nix left for Ole Miss. Van Gorder then bolted to the NFL and Spurrier hired Ellis Johnson, a former DC at Alabama and Mississippi State. The head ball coach will continue to call his own plays.
Tennessee: (1) The Volunteers have four new coaches, all on the offensive side of the ball. Dave Clawson, who turned Richmond into a I-AA title contender, takes over at OC, replacing David Cutcliffe. The Vols also added a very good recruiter in RB coach Stan Drayton, who was at Florida. John Chavis remains as DC.
Vanderbilt (0): Bobby Johnson has one of the best staffs around. Ted Cain is back as OC and Bruce Fowler is back at DC.
SEC WEST
Alabama (2): Major Applewhite went to Texas and Jim McElwain replaces him as offensive coordinator. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele was promoted to head defensive coach and Kirby Smart, the former Georgia defensive back, was promoted to defensive coordinator.
Arkansas (2): Bobby Petrino retained a couple of assistants from the old staff and hired his brother, Paul, as offensive coordinator. Ellis Johnson left Mississippi State and took the job as defensive coordinator, but left after a short time to go to South Carolina. Willy Robinson, a former DC with the San Francisco 49ers, is the new Hogs’ DC.
Auburn (2): Ron Borges is out as OC and has been replaced by Tony Franklin, a guru of the spread offense. Franklin began installing the offense last December. When Will Muschamp bolted for Texas, Paul Rhoads left Pittsburgh to take the DC job at Auburn.
LSU (1): Bo Pelini, the Tigers’ old DC, was so good that it took two men to replace him. Doug Mallory and Bradley Dale Peveto were promoted from within and made co-coordinators. Gary Crowton returns as OC.
Ole Miss (2): New coach Houston Nutt has put together a pretty good staff. Kent Austin, the former Rebels quarterback, returns to Oxford as OC. He knows the spread, but Nutt wants to run the ball. Ole Miss got a big coup in hiring Tyrone Nix as DC. Nix, who played at Southern Miss, is a great coach and knows the state as well as anyone.
Miss. State (1): When Ellis Johnson left for Arkansas, secondary coach Charlie Harbison was promoted to defensive coordinator. Louis Campbell, who was on the Arkansas staff as an administrative assistant, was hired as linebackers coach. Woody McCorvey is back as offensive coordinator.
