This was a historic year for coaching hires across the country. A record 38 head coaches were hired at the FBS level. With that comes another important process: the hiring of coordinators. Having elite coordinators can make or break a season for teams especially in this league. (Looking at you, Matt House.) So who are the most important coordinators this year in the SEC? Here are the top five.
5. John David Baker, Ole Miss
Baker was courted by multiple schools in the SEC this offseason but ended up in Oxford. Including Charlie Weis Jr, there is not a single coordinator walking into more talent at his disposal than Baker. He has been very successful at his previous stops and worked wonders at East Carolina. If Ole Miss is going to have anything close to the success they had a year ago, they will need Baker to hit the ground running.
4. Buster Faulkner, Florida
There’s an argument to be made that Buster Faulkner’s hiring was the most important coordinator hire of any in the entire country. The Florida Gators were held captive by Billy Napier’s ego and inability to give up play calling for four years. Hiring Faulkner, who admittedly has aspirations of being a head coach, was a massive win for Sumrall. It’s not like he got him from a group of six school. He was hired away from another Power Four school (Georgia Tech) that is on the rise and had more success than Florida over the last two years. He doesn’t have Haynes King at quarterback, but the roster is talented.
3. Jim Knowles, Tennessee
Josh Heupel isn’t on the hot seat, but it’s getting warm for some reason. Last year’s defense in Knoxville was horrid. The Vols finished 13th or worse in the SEC in passing, rushing, total, and scoring defense. In steps one of the best, and most expensive, coordinators in the country. Knowles should be an instant upgrade for Josh Heupel’s staff. The bar is incredibly low after last year’s abysmal numbers. The concern for Vols fans is that Knowles’ defenses traditionally take a year to fully understand and implement. If Knowles can get this group to be ahead of the learning curve then Tennessee can surprise some people and be a dark horse for the playoff discussion.
2. Holmon Wiggins, Texas A&M
Wiggins has the most pressure on him of any offensive coordinator in the conference. He’s a first time coordinator and taking over the reigns for a team that has arguably the highest expectations they’ve ever had. The Aggies don’t exactly thrive under pressure historically, yet they are fully expected to go right back to the college football playoff for a second consecutive season. The good news for Wiggins is that he has Marcel Reed entering his third season as the starter. He also has a really good group of receivers. What he doesn’t have at his disposal is experience on the offensive line, something last year’s team had in spades.
1. Kendal Briles, South Carolina
It’s not that Briles, or his team, necessarily have more on the line than anyone else on this list. South Carolina’s playoff chances are way less than several other teams and coordinators on here. However, Briles is the only coordinator in this league whose success is tethered to a coach keeping his job. Shane Beamer’s job security is incredibly dependent on how much the offense improves this season. It’s hard to imagine that the offense won’t do just that with Briles. The bar is set incredibly low after Mike Shula and the debacle that was his stint as the offensive coordinator last season. Briles has a great track record of not only improving offenses but improving them immediately. He did that at Arkansas with KJ Jefferson, FAU as Lane Kiffin’s offensive coordinator, and put up a top 30 offense consistently at TCU over the last three years.
