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The 2016 Southeastern Conference offseason was, as usual, a whirlwind of coaching changes.
The one nobody’s talking about that could have the biggest impact? Missouri offensive coordinator Josh Heupel.
Sure, Tennessee landed a coup when they got Bob Shoop to leave Penn State to shore up a defense that returns eight starters but blew plenty of big leads in 2015.
South Carolina defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson has the reputation of being one of the top recruiters in college football. Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt has been an assistant coach on three of the last six national champions, and the man he has to replace, Kirby Smart, hired his successor at Georgia, former NFL defensive coordinator Mel Tucker.
Dave Aranda is likely going to give LSU’s opponents fits this year with a multitude of pass-rush schemes that may make the Tigers the dark horse to win the SEC West. Meanwhile, Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele left LSU for the Plainsmen, giving the 2016 SEC West race a who’s better dynamic.
But all of these coaches are defensive coordinators, and while they certainly will have an impact, a defensive coordinator rarely brings the sizzle an offensive coordinator will.
And for shizzle, after finishing last in the SEC in total yards in 2015, the Missouri Tigers offense needs sizzle.
Heupel, starting quarterback for the 2000 national champion Oklahoma Sooners, returned to Norman four years later. As the Sooners’ quarterbacks coach in 2008, Heupel mentored Sam Bradford to the Heisman Trophy, and in 2010 as Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator, Heupel guided Landry Jones to the Sammy Baugh Award, given to the nation’s top passer.
True, it’s one thing to lead Bradford to stardom. He clearly already had ability.
It’s another to get three seasons of 4,000 yards passing out of Jones, who once went 37 straight preseason drives for the Pittsburgh Steelers without guiding his team to a touchdown.
If that doesn’t impress you, Heupel’s accomplishments as the offensive coordinator at Utah State last year will. After injury-prone starting quarterback Chuckie Keeton went down after three games, the Aggies scored more than 50 points in a game three times in Keeton’s absence, including a 52-26 victory against No. 21 Boise State, with backup quarterback and dual-threat sophomore Kent Myers.
This season, Heupel will work with sophomore quarterback Drew Lock, who was less-than-impressive in eight starts for Missouri last season.
However, Lock was also offered by the likes of Ohio State, Texas, Ole Miss, Michigan State, Tennessee, West Virginia and Louisville. While nobody is expecting Lock to outplay Chad Kelly this season, Heupel has a piece of clay to work with in an environment where expectations aren’t overwhelming.
Lock also is a drop-back passer, the kind of quarterback Heupel likes to work with. The only question is if Missouri’s offensive line, which returns only one starter, can provide enough protection.
New Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney? He was part of the Derek Dooley debacle at Tennessee, and while Chaney succeeded at Pitt after running back James Conner went down in the first game last year, promising quarterback Chad Voytik also fell apart under Chaney.
South Carolina’s Kurt Roper’s résumé lacks the consistency of Heupel, whose only real blemish is being fired after an 8-5 season at Oklahoma in 2014 despite the fact the Sooners averaged 36.4 points per game.
Texas A&M’s Noel Mazzone was coaching high school football seven years ago. Eddie Gran of Kentucky nearly didn’t leave Cincinnati to come to Lexington.
The rest of the new coordinator hires in the SEC are on defense, and while that certainly doesn’t mean they won’t have an impact, will it have the impact of a man who once consistently produced some of the top offenses in college football resurrecting the worst offense in the SEC with a four-star quarterback?
Probably not.
