The SEC once again flexed its muscle as the dominant powerhouse conference in college football in 2015 with a handful of ranked teams led by an Alabama side that won yet another national championship this season. That didn’t mean there weren’t moves made in terms of personnel changes this offseason as a number of teams either replaced or simply added new coordinators and coaching assistants. Here is a breakdown of the new assistant hires in the SEC this offseason.
Jeremy Pruitt, Alabama Crimson Tide
Defensive Coordinator
The Crimson Tide had no choice but to find a new defensive coordinator after Kirby Smart left to become the head coach at Georgia and while it some might not like the decision to hire Pruitt the bottom line is that Nick Saban deserves the benefit of the doubt based on what he has accomplished with the program. Pruitt is an Alabama-native and is familiar with the system that Saban wants to run so it makes sense that Saban brought him in as the team’s new defensive coordinator.
David Aranda, LSU Tigers
Defensive Coordinator
Alabama got its man in Pruitt but the majority of college football experts seem to think that LSU got the best hire in Aranda, who arrives from Wisconsin to take over for the departed Kevin Steele. Aranada has a track record of producing several quality defenses despite not having many three or four-star recruits and it will be very interesting to see what he can do with the Tigers where he might have the most talent he’s ever had at his disposal next season.
Kevin Steele, Auburn Tigers
Defensive Coordinator
Gus Malzahn’s decision to hire Will Muschamp didn’t quite work out last season but that doesn’t mean the addition of Steele in the defensive coordinator role will not work out. Steele is a veteran SEC coach with plenty of experience and pedigree and it will be interesting to see how he fits in after his one season at LSU didn’t necessarily work out.
DeMontie Cross, Missouri Tigers
Defensive Coordinator
Barry Odom’s search for a defensive coordinator led him to hiring a former teammate of his in Odom, who arrives at Missouri with the chance to help form one of the better defensive coaching staffs in the SEC. Cross is highly regarded as a former understudy to Gary Patterson at TCU and he and Odom are in position to maximize the potential at their disposal at Missouri with Greg Brown also hired away from Louisville to coach the cornerbacks and Chris Wilson hired away from USC to coach up the defensive line.
Bob Shoop, Tennessee Volunteers
Defensive Coordinator
Tennessee had an excellent defense a year ago but they have the potential to be even better after adding Shoop from Penn State in the offseason. The Vols will return a ton of talent on the defensive side of the football and Shoop could be the elite defensive mind that maximized their potential and helps them to become an elite defense in the SEC next season. The Vols offense has really picked up the pace over the last few years as Butch Jones has put the pieces in place to make this one of the top offenses in the SEC. If Shoop can elevate the level of the defense too, this team could finally emerge as that sleeper that everyone else was hoping they’d be.
Travaris Robinson, South Carolina Gamecocks
Defensive Coordinator
The group that was supposed to turn the Auburn defense around last season will get a fresh start at South Carolina with Travaris Robinson and Lance Thompson following Muschamp to Columbia this offseason. It’s an interesting hire as these are simply Will Muschamps holdovers. If, say, Steve Spurrier was maintained as head coach, he’d be focused on revamping the defense and Robinson would not be someone that he would be looking at.
Robinson will serve as the defensive coordinator while Thompson handles the linebackers and it will be very interesting to see how they fare after this group fell short of expectations at Auburn last season.
