ESPN College Football

Everybody knows that the only people who gossip more than reporters are assistant football coaches.

That said, it’s that time of year again when assistants’ names are being bandied about in connection with different job openings at the same rate that credit cards are being swiped at shopping malls.

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen mine in a while. Could be bad news when the next statement arrives.

Anyway, in keeping with the spirit, here are some things to watch for in the SEC, guys who may be on the move this year and guys who will be on the move at some point because of the quality of their work:

• Georgia coach Mark Richt faces a critical hire at defensive coordinator. It appears that he’s not going to do anything until after the bowl game. The Bulldogs will make a big play for Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who won the Broyles Award as college football’s top assistant this season and is a Georgia graduate. But getting Smart away from Alabama may prove difficult. He's already making $360,000 and has a pretty sweet thing going right now at the Capstone.
• Speaking of Alabama, assistant head coach and linebackers coach Sal Sunseri is one of the leading candidates to join Jimbo Fisher’s staff at Florida State as defensive coordinator.
• It looks like Urban Meyer’s top choice to replace Charlie Strong as defensive coordinator is Ole Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix, who’s already met with Meyer about the job. Nix has done an excellent job with the Rebels’ defense the past two seasons and could also be in the mix at Georgia.
• Strong has said he doesn’t plan to take anybody with him to Louisville from the Florida staff at this point, but that could change. And if it does, look for cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford to be at the head of the list.
• Tennessee has already lost two assistants. Eddie Gran went to Florida State and Frank Wilson to LSU. Linebackers coach Lance Thompson is also a guy to keep an eye on, especially if he can get a coordinator job. There’s a chance offensive coordinator Jim Chaney may end up back in the NFL.
• Georgia assistant head coach and defensive tackles coach Rodney Garner interviewed for a position on Lane Kiffin’s staff a year ago at Tennessee. Garner is one of the best recruiters in the SEC, and if he’s not going to be a candidate for the defensive coordinator’s job after spending nine years on Richt’s staff, he may look to go elsewhere after the bowl game.
• Vanderbilt defensive coordinator and secondary coach Jamie Bryant will be on a lot of short lists. He had other offers last year, but chose to stay at Vanderbilt. The Commodores’ secondary has been outstanding each of the past two seasons. They were ninth nationally in passing defense this season.
• Another SEC assistant who’s going to start receiving increasing interest is South Carolina recruiting coordinator/special teams and safeties coach Shane Beamer. He’s had recent talks with Murray State about the Racers’ head coaching job. One of the top recruiters in the league, Beamer has experience coaching running backs, cornerbacks, safeties and special teams.
• With Dan Mullen, Larry Porter, Dave Clawson and Strong all landing head coaching jobs the past two years, who will be the next SEC assistant to get a head gig? Ellis Johnson, South Carolina’s assistant head coach for the defense, may get a look. When you look at what he’s done with the Gamecocks’ defense, he deserves a shot. Watch out for Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, too. The improvement the Tigers made offensively this season speaks for itself. Does somebody give Tennessee’s Ed Orgeron another chance? Arkansas offensive coordinator Paul Petrino was in the running for the Western Kentucky head job earlier this season. Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain and Kentucky defensive coordinator Steve Brown are also names to keep in mind. But the guy at the top of the list is Smart. He’s the SEC’s hottest commodity right now when it comes to assistant coaches and has that Nick Saban pedigree that will be very attractive to athletic directors.

Tennessee running backs coach and special teams coordinator Eddie Gran has agreed to take a position on Jimbo Fisher’s staff at Florida State, multiple sources have confirmed. This is the second departure on Tennessee’s staff. Receivers coach Frank Wilson left the Vols on Saturday to take a job on the LSU staff as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator.

More lucrative contracts from other schools have been the issue for Lane Kiffin in keeping his staff intact, although Tennessee has tried to counter the offers. The Seminoles are prepared to pay Gran $300,000-plus. Gran made $190,000 last year at Tennessee and has been one of the Vols' most valuable recruiters in the state of Florida.

Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin put together what he called a dream coaching staff last year and boasted about being able to lure top coaches from other staffs.

It looks like the same thing could be happening to him this year.

Receivers coach Frank Wilson left the Vols on Saturday to take a job on the LSU staff as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. Wilson, who's from New Orleans and has strong ties to that area, will replace Larry Porter, who was named the Memphis head coach earlier this week.

Wilson received a big pay raise to go to LSU and will make more than $300,000 per year with the Tigers. He was one of the Vols' lowest paid assistants at $150,000 per year.

Tennessee running backs coach and special-teams coach Eddie Gran could be next. He has a chance to join Jimbo Fisher at Florida State in a similar capacity and would also be in line for a big raise. The Seminoles are prepared to pay him $300,000-plus. Gran made $190,000 last year at Tennessee and has been one of the Vols' most valuable recruiters in the state of Florida.

Making the rounds in the SEC:

• With Eddie Gran having already interviewed for the Memphis job, Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin says losing assistants is a "good thing."
• Alabama's players get a laugh out of seeing Nick Saban on the big screen.
• Georgia's win over Auburn opens up a few doors for the Bulldogs, but their bowl outlook is still murky.
• Now that Arkansas has gained bowl eligibility, the next step for the Hogs is to finish strong.
• Kentucky's goals are much loftier than just getting to a bowl, writes Chip Cosby of The Lexington Herald-Leader.
• Mississippi State senior running back Anthony Dixon wants to go out with a bowl game.
• Florida is growing accustomed to its defense sealing the deal in the second half, and the Gators seem to be fine with that.

It's that time of year again when you're going to start hearing different names connected with potential head coaching openings.

And this year, several SEC assistants could end up being in play.

Already, Tennessee running backs coach and special teams coordinator Eddie Gran has talked to Memphis about its head coaching opening. Gran interviewed this past weekend following the Vols' game against Ole Miss.

LSU assistant head coach and running backs coach Larry Porter is also a possibility at Memphis, while Auburn assistant head coach and receivers coach Trooper Taylor is somebody else who's been mentioned in connection with the Memphis job.

Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is another guy who's going to get some interest, and maybe this is the year that Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong finally gets his long overdue shot.

Another name to keep in mind is Kentucky defensive coordinator Steve Brown, who interviewed for the Mississippi State head job last year.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

JC Shurburtt of Scouts Inc. has picked the country's 25 best recruiters among assistant coaches, and the SEC leads the way with nine.

LSU and Tennessee each had two guys on the list. Ed Orgeron and Eddie Gran made the cut for the Vols, while Larry Porter and D.J. McCarthy both did for the Tigers.

Rounding out the SEC representatives on the list were South Carolina's Shane Beamer, Georgia's Rodney Garner, Alabama's Kirby Smart, Florida's Charlie Strong and Auburn's Trooper Taylor.

If I were extending that list further, some of the other SEC assistants that would have been in the running include Vanderbilt's Robbie Caldwell, Kentucky's Joker Phillips, Tennessee's Frank Wilson, Alabama's Burton Burns, Mississippi State's Tony Hughes, Ole Miss' Chris Vaughn, Auburn's Curtis Luper, Arkansas' Tim Horton and Georgia's Mike Bobo.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

Selecting the best recruiters in the SEC is like selecting your favorite golf holes at Augusta National.

There are so many. How do you choose?

After talking to coaches around the league, recruiting analysts, recruiting buffs and doing our own research on who's recruited who over the years, we've come up with a Top 25 list.

Keep in mind that these are assistants only. Head coaches are not included in this list, although Alabama's Nick Saban and Florida's Urban Meyer would be the top two if we did include head coaches.

The most underrated recruiter as a head coach in the SEC has to be LSU's Les Miles. The Tigers are well on their way to the No. 1 recruiting class in the country this year.

And in each of the past three years, LSU has finished 11th or higher nationally in the rankings compiled by ESPN's Scouts Inc. The only other SEC school that can claim that distinction is Florida.

We'll start the countdown with Nos. 11-25. Check back Wednesday morning, and we'll unveil Nos. 1-10 of the best recruiters in the SEC:

• 25. Jon Fabris, Georgia defensive ends coach

• 24. Shane Beamer, South Carolina recruiting coordinator, special teams coordinator and safeties coach

• 23. Curtis Luper, Auburn running backs coach

• 22. Charlie Fisher, Vanderbilt passing game co-coordinator and receivers coach

• 21. Paul Petrino, Arkansas offensive coordinator and receivers coach

• 20. Chris Vaughn, Ole Miss recruiting coordinator and running backs coach

• 19. Mike Bobo, Georgia offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach

• 18. Robbie Caldwell, Vanderbilt assistant head coach and offensive line coach

• 17. Kirby Smart, Alabama defensive coordinator and secondary coach

• 16. Eddie Gran, Tennessee special teams coordinator and running backs coach

• 15. Tony Hughes, Mississippi State defensive assistant

• 14. Frank Wilson, Tennessee receivers coach

• 13. Billy Gonzales, Florida recruiting coordinator and receivers coach

• 12. D.J. McCarthy, LSU receivers coach

• 11. Lorenzo Ward, South Carolina defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

Remember when the special teams coach was the guy at the bottom of the totem pole, usually one of the younger guys on the staff juggling different responsibilities and not making a lot of money?

Well, not anymore.

Special teams are important enough at Arkansas that Bobby Petrino brought John L. Smith aboard to coach them and is paying him $210,000 per season. Smith has a two-year contract and will be the highest paid special teams coach in the SEC.

Granted, Smith isn't just any coach. He's been a head coach at four previous stops, including Michigan State and Louisville. He'll be an asset to Petrino in several different ways with that kind of experience, but it's also another reminder of the importance college coaches are placing on special teams nowadays.

Steve Spurrier brought in Ray Rychleski from Maryland to oversee the Gamecocks' special teams last season and paid Rychleski in the $170,000 range. Rychleski, though, may be on the move to the Indianapolis Colts after just one season in Columbia.

Tennessee is paying Eddie Gran $185,000 to coordinate its special teams, but Gran will also coach running backs. Rychleski oversaw the tight ends at South Carolina, and Petrino said Smith will assist somewhere on the defense for the Razorbacks.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

Lane Kiffin has built a coaching staff the Tennessee fans are giddy about -- and with good reason.

In particular, he was able to raid a few SEC rival staffs of their best recruiters.

Doing that is one thing. But gloating about it after you do it tends to have a lasting effect, especially in this league.

Listen to what Kiffin had to say after luring Lance Thompson away from the Alabama staff and Frank Wilson from the Mississippi State staff. Kiffin also hired former Auburn coach Eddie Gran and former South Carolina recruiting coordinator David Reaves, who's Kiffin's brother-in-law.

"To be able to take South Carolina's recruiting coordinator, Mississippi State's recruiting coordinator, Alabama's best recruiter and Auburn's best recruiter over the past 10 years was a great accomplishment for us," Kiffin said after completing his staff. "Once again, I would like to thank (athletic director) Mike Hamilton, the athletic department and our donors for making this possible."

The salaries for Tennessee's new coaching staff are expected to exceed $3 million, which doesn't count Kiffin's $2 million salary.

Who says these are tough economic times? Obviously, they're not at Tennessee.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

New Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin said he was going to take his time hiring his coaching staff, and he did.

But on Friday, Kiffin put the finishing touches on that staff, reaching agreements with Frank Wilson to coach receivers and Willie Garza to coach the secondary. Wilson had recently been hired at Mississippi State, but chose to reunite with Ed Orgeron at Tennessee. Wilson worked under Orgeron all three seasons at Ole Miss from 2005-07.

Garza was the defensive coordinator at North Dakota State last season and appeared to be headed to New Mexico before latching on with the Vols.

Earlier on Friday, Kiffin reached an agreement with former Auburn running backs coach Eddie Gran to coach running backs at Tennessee. Gran also coached special teams at Auburn.

Kiffin's staff is laden with guys who've had success on the recruiting trail in the SEC. He also declined to keep anyone on Phillip Fulmer's previous staff at Tennessee. There was some thought that running backs coach Stan Drayton might be retained, but it appears now that he may end up at Syracuse.

The Vols are expected to pay more than $3 million in salaries for their staff, which doesn't include Kiffin's $2 million salary.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

It has taken Lane Kiffin a while, but he's close to completing his staff at Tennessee. His latest hire is former Auburn running backs coach Eddie Gran, another guy with strong recruiting ties.

That's been a recurring theme with just about everybody Kiffin has hired, starting with his recruiting coordinator, former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron, who's one of the most renowned recruiters in the country.

Gran was with Tommy Tuberville at Ole Miss and Auburn. In addition to coaching the running backs, he was Auburn's special teams coordinator from 2000 through this past season.

Kiffin is also making a run at Frank Wilson, who was recently hired at Mississippi State by Dan Mullen. Wilson was the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Southern Miss last season, but was with Orgeron all three seasons at Ole Miss as the running backs coach and assistant special teams coach.

Wilson has deep recruiting ties in the New Orleans area as well as the Gulf Coast area in the state of Mississippi. Wilson would coach receivers at Tennessee.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

As new Auburn coach Gene Chizik works toward putting together his staff, several former Auburn assistants are turning up elsewhere.

The old switcheroo was completed Saturday when former Auburn defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads was announced as the new head coach at Iowa State, replacing Chizik.

How's that for a trade?

Tommy Tuberville, after 10 years on the Plains, doesn't have the support of key people at Auburn and resigns under pressure. He's replaced by his defensive coordinator from the unbeaten 2004 team (Chizik), and Tuberville's coordinator from this season (Rhoads) replaces Chizik at Iowa State as head coach. Rhoads was an assistant at Iowa State from 1995-99.

Also, Tuberville's longtime running backs coach, Eddie Gran, was in Knoxville Sunday interviewing with new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin.

Gran, who was with Tuberville at Auburn and Ole Miss, could be valuable to the Vols on a couple of different fronts. For one, he's produced the likes of Ronnie Brown, Carnell Williams and Deuce McAllister, but he also has a special teams background and has recruited the South Florida area for Auburn.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

My two lists of the top coordinators and position coaches in the SEC from earlier this week generated some interesting debate.

The one coordinator that was left off the original list that I heard the most about was Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong. That's a good call. He was extremely close to making the initial cut.

Kentucky defensive coordinator Steve Brown also got some votes, and there's no question he's done a good job of turning around a Kentucky defense that's been awful for much of this decade. This is Brown's second year as defensive coordinator after coaching the defensive backs from 2003-06.

Among the Georgia fans, there was considerable banter as to whether Mike Bobo was a good play-caller or an average play-caller. It should be pointed out that this is only his second full season of calling the plays for the Bulldogs after taking over those responsibilities from Mark Richt.

Auburn running backs coach Eddie Gran was another name that came up. Gran wasn't on the original list, but seven of his former running backs are currently playing in the NFL. Gran also oversees Auburn's special teams.

A South Carolina fan wondered how Shane Beamer could be included. Here's how: His cornerbacks are playing lights out this season, and the areas of special teams he was over in 2007 actually played pretty well. While at Mississippi State, he tutored three defensive backs to Freshman All-SEC honors. Only 31, Beamer has coached everything from cornerbacks, to outside linebackers, to running backs during his career while also holding down recruiting coordinator duties at Mississippi State. The other impressive thing about Beamer is that he hasn't just ridden his father's coattails. The younger Beamer played at Virginia Tech for his father, but has gone out and made his own way in the coaching world with stops at Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Mississippi State and South Carolina.

A few Tennessee fans were grumbling about defensive coordinator John Chavis being on the list of top coordinators. Granted, the Vols are off to a dismal start, but they're ranked fifth nationally in total defense and getting better each week with a bunch of younger players showing promise. Chavis' defense was also the backbone of Tennessee's 1998 national championship team.

Somebody mentioned that Alabama offensive line coach Joe Pendry was known only for all the NFL jobs he's lost. Who hasn't lost a job in the NFL? Furthermore, talk to anybody in the NFL who's coached with Pendry, and they'll tell you that he's as good as they come. You don't spend 19 years coaching in the NFL if you're even a marginal coach. And the last time I checked, the Alabama offensive line has been pretty stout the last two years.