ESPN College Football

Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who's destined to be a head coach some day, will see his salary surpass the $1 million mark in 2013.

The Alabama board of trustees on Tuesday approved a new deal for Smart, which will make him the highest paid defensive coordinator in college football next season. Smart, who earned $950,000 last season, will make $1.15 million in 2013 and then $1.35 million in 2014 and 2015.

The Crimson Tide have finished first nationally each of the last two seasons in total defense and scoring defense en route to winning back-to-back national championships. They pulled it off last season despite losing six starters from the 2011 team that were selected in the NFL draft -- four among the top 35 picks.

The only other defensive coordinator in the SEC making more than $1 million is LSU's John Chavis, who will make $1.1 million in 2013.

Smart interviewed for the Auburn head coaching job earlier this year and has been mentioned in connection with several head coaching jobs over the last couple of years.

The SEC will have six new defensive coordinators in 2013, which includes a couple of coaches who were promoted.

D.J. Durkin was promoted at Florida after serving as linebackers coach and special teams coordinator the past three years. Geoff Collins was promoted at Mississippi State to run the defense. He was co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach the past two years for the Bulldogs.

When you survey the lineup of defensive coordinators in the SEC, it’s a reminder of how important defense is in this league.

During the SEC’s streak of seven straight national championships, only once has the team winning the title finished outside the top 10 nationally in total defense (Auburn was 60^th in 2010).

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that SEC schools pay top dollar for their defensive coordinators. In fact, 10 of the 14 are scheduled to make $500,000 or more next season.

Included in that group are three of the four newcomers, although Auburn’s Ellis Johnson is hardly new to the SEC. Johnson, who will earn $800,000 on the Plains, has made previous stops at Alabama, Mississippi State and South Carolina as defensive coordinator.

Arkansas’ Chris Ash is set to earn $550,000 and Kentucky’s D.J. Elliot $500,000.

Currently, the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the SEC is LSU’s John Chavis, who’s scheduled to make $1.1 million in 2013.

However, look for Alabama’s Kirby Smart to get a bump from the $950,000 he made last season and join Chavis in the $1 million-plus club.

South Carolina’s Lorenzo Ward was recently given a new three-year deal that will pay him $650,000 per year.

Also, Texas A&M’s Mark Snyder is in line to get a significant raise from the $500,000 he made last season. His name came up in a couple of head coaching searches this past December, including Kent State.

Below is a look at the reported salary figures for the SEC defensive coordinators. Vanderbilt’s Bob Shoop isn’t listed because Vanderbilt is a private institution and doesn’t release salary information:

• LSU’s John Chavis $1.1 million
• Alabama’s Kirby Smart $950,000
• Georgia’s Todd Grantham $850,000
• Auburn’s Ellis Johnson $800,000
• South Carolina’s Lorenzo Ward $650,000
• Arkansas’ Chris Ash $550,000
• Missouri’s Dave Steckel $550,000
• Ole Miss’ Dave Wommack $550,000
• Texas A&M’s Mark Snyder $500,000
• Kentucky’s D.J. Eliot $500,000
• Florida’s D.J. Durkin $490,000
• Tennessee’s John Jancek $470,000
• Mississippi State’s Geoff Collins $325,000

The crimson parade continues in our countdown of the SEC's best 25 players, which might explain why Alabama won the national championship ... again.

No. 7: Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama, Jr.

2012 summary: Milliner led the SEC with 22 passes defended and 20 pass breakups. He tied for fourth on Alabama's team with 54 total tackles and had two interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a blocked kick. One of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award as the top defensive back in college football, Milliner was also a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which goes to the national defensive player of the year. He was a unanimous first-team All-American and first-team All-SEC selection.

Most recent ranking: No. 22 in the 2012 preseason countdown.

Making the case for Milliner: The Crimson Tide just keep churning out premier defensive backs. Milliner projects as the fourth Alabama defensive back to be taken in the first round of the NFL draft in the past four years. He's everything you're looking for in a cornerback. At 6-foot-1 and 199 pounds, he's big enough and physical enough to match up with bigger receivers and is also excellent in run support. And when it comes to matching up with speedy receivers, he has the cover skills to stick with those guys as well. Go back to the Discover BCS National Championship when Notre Dame tried him deep a couple of times, and Milliner was right there to make the play every time. Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart relied on Milliner to be his stopper in the secondary and put a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. The term "shutdown corner" is thrown around a lot in football circles, and there's been some debate on whether Milliner would fall into that category. What's not debatable is the impact he had Alabama's defense this past season, his instincts to be in the right place at the right time and the way he defended his side of the field. After playing in the shadow of Dre Kirkpatrick and DeQuan Menzie the season before, Milliner developed into the league's most complete defensive back in 2012.

The Rundown

• No. 8: Eddie Lacy, RB, Alabama, RJr.
• No. 9: AJ McCarron, QB, Alabama, RJr.
• No. 10: C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama, Jr.
• No. 11: Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia, Fr.
• No. 12: Barrett Jones, C, Alabama, RSr.
• No. 13: Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia, RJr.
• No. 14: Kevin Minter, LB, LSU, RJr.
• No. 15: Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia, Jr.
• No. 16: Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M, Jr.
• No. 17: Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri, Jr.
• No. 18: Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida, Jr.
• No. 19: Sam Montgomery, DE, LSU, RJr.
• No. 20: Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama, Fr.
• No. 21: Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee, Jr.
• No. 22: Mike Gillislee, RB, Florida, Sr.
• No. 23: Jordan Matthews, WR, Vanderbilt, Jr.
• No. 24: Matt Elam, S, Florida, Jr.
• No. 25: Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State, Sr.

So many good movies out and so much free time this weekend. What would you guys suggest?

• Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart joins Georgia's Todd Grantham as two guys getting attention from the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Grantham talks about NFL rumors with a recruit.
• Here's a look at Arkansas' football staff by the numbers.
• Texas A&M seniors are headed to all-star games.
• Today's NFL shapes the future of Johnny Manziel.
• Vanderbilt and coach James Franklin ready their sales pitch to recruits.
• Several 2013 recruits will make their presence on Florida's campus this weekend.
• Three Tennessee walk-ons earn scholarships.
• Reports say that former Southern Miss quarterback Anthony Alford has enrolled at Ole Miss.
• Preparation is at the heart of Mark Stoops' plan at Kentucky.
• Mississippi State is looking to add a quarterback to an already solid recruiting class.
• LSU is hosting nine commitments and two prospects this weekend.

The final grades are in for the 2012 season, and we’ll start at the very top with repeat national champion Alabama and work our way through the entire league over the next week and a half.

OFFENSE: When you think of Alabama and Nick Saban, you immediately think of defense. But few teams around the country have been as balanced on offense the last few years as the Crimson Tide. With first-year offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier calling the shots, Alabama set a school record with 6,237 yards of total offense and 68 offensive touchdowns. They scored 32 or more points in 12 of their 14 games and joined Texas A&M as the only two teams in the SEC to average more than 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards per game. This offensive line will go down as one of the greatest in SEC history. In the Crimson Tide’s final two games against Georgia in the SEC championship game and Notre Dame in the Discover BCS National Championship, they pounded out a staggering 615 rushing yards against a pair of defenses that were supposed to be pretty stout. And if you’re looking for precision at the quarterback position, AJ McCarron threw 30 touchdown passes and just three interceptions and led the country in passing efficiency. That’s what you call playing winning football. GRADE: A+

DEFENSE: This Alabama defense wasn’t nearly as talented as the 2011 national championship defense or the 2009 national championship defense. The Crimson Tide lost six starters off their 2011 unit, and four of those players were taken in the top 35 picks of the NFL draft. So there were obviously some big holes to fill. But when you survey the final results, it’s safe to say the Tide filled those holes just fine. Alabama once again finished the season ranked No. 1 nationally in scoring defense (10.9 points per game) and total defense (250 yards per game). There were a few hiccups along the way. The secondary had its struggles against LSU, Texas A&M and Georgia, and the pass rush wasn’t always what it needed to be. But this defense played with great pride and a bit of a chip on its shoulder and was able to come up with key stops at key times. It’s yet another reminder that great players may come and go at Alabama on defense, but that the level of excellence and defensive standards under Saban and Smart never change. GRADE: A+

OVERALL: How do you improve on a second straight national championship? The only thing the Crimson Tide didn’t accomplish this season was an unbeaten season. The 29-24 home loss to Texas A&M on Nov. 10 was a downer, but they recovered to win both an SEC title and national title. And when you look at the collection of talent that Alabama lost off that 2011 team and how small the senior class was this season, this might have been one of Saban’s finest coaching jobs. The same goes for Smart, who squeezed everything and then some out of that defense. The bad news for everybody else in the SEC is that there’s no end in sight to this crimson stampede. GRADE: A+

Mark Schlabach speaks with Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart following the Crimson Tide's 42-14 rout of Notre Dame.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Kirby Smart has coached two national-championship defenses at Alabama.

But there will always be a special place in his heart for the one he’s coaching right now and the one he will lead onto the Sun Life Stadium field Monday night in the Discover BCS National Championship.

“I’ll tell you, this group has probably been one of my most favorite to coach since I’ve been at Alabama,” said Smart, who's in his fifth season as Alabama’s defensive coordinator. “They didn’t have bad expectations, but a lot of the media, you guys, had bad expectations for this group.

“I never was worried about their competitive character. Sure, we lost some good players ... four or five [NFL] draft picks, whatever it was, we lost off that team. But we had a lot of good players behind those guys, and this group, to me, had a little chip on their shoulder and felt slighted that people didn’t think they’d be good.”

The actual number of draft picks Alabama lost off last season’s national championship defense was six, and there were more than a few people wondering whether Smart would be able to retool this group into the kind of unit that could get the Crimson Tide back onto this stage.

Well, here they are.

“All we heard about was who we didn’t have on defense, and Coach Smart reminded us more than once what everybody was saying about us,” senior linebacker Nico Johnson said. “All that mattered was that he believed in us, and we believed in each other.

“We weren’t going to be that defense that didn’t live up to the standard here at Alabama.”

Whatever happens Monday night against Notre Dame, this won’t go down as Alabama’s most talented defense, nor will it be remembered as the Crimson Tide’s most dominant defense.

But Smart loves the way this group fights, the edge it plays with and its penchant for coming up with stops in key situations.

The Crimson Tide lead the country in total defense, allowing 246 yards per game. They also lead the country in limiting plays that have gained 10 or more yards (105), and one of the reasons they do is because they don’t miss many tackles. They’ve allowed 54.7 rushing yards after contact per game this season, the second-lowest average in the country.

“We haven’t played great all the time, but we’ve played with great competitive character,” Smart said. “I mean, they have competed hard. We’ve been behind at LSU. We’ve been behind against Georgia. We lost to Texas A&M, but we were behind in that game and fought back.

“So every time these defensive guys have been challenged, they’ve responded.”

The best news for Alabama fans is that Smart is still running the Crimson Tide defense.

For several years, he’s been one of the hottest commodities in college football among assistant coaches, and he interviewed for the Auburn head-coaching job last month. There have been other head-coaching opportunities Smart has passed on.

He absolutely wants to be a head coach, but he’s also in a position that allows him to be picky.

“I have the best non-head-coaching job in the country, period,” said 37-year-old Smart, who earns $950,000 per year.

It’s why he doesn’t worry about where’s he’s going to be in three years or even 10 years.

“If you win, that takes care of itself,” Smart said, “and I’m not in such a hurry to run off and do anything. If I was 47, I might feel differently. But the most important thing to me right now is winning championships and developing young men into better players and better people.”

And although previous head-coaching experience is always a plus when you’re up for a job, Smart said there’s no substitute for the time he has spent under head coach Nick Saban.

“To me, personally, my development to become a head coach will be much better working for Coach Saban than necessarily going somewhere else because you learn every day that you’re in there,” said Smart, who was named the AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year this season.

“The experience that I’ve been able to gain through being with [Saban] is, ‘Hey, this is how you run a major program. This is the way you do it, and this is the way you question every part of your organization, therefore making it better.’”

Smart's time will come to run his own program, probably sooner rather than later.

Right now, he's too busy winning championships to worry about when the right job will come along.

Mark Schlabach discusses the BCS title game with Alabama's defensive coordinator.

The head coaches are the ones who make the big money in the SEC.

But without a quality staff, a head coach isn’t going to survive very long in this league.

So as we look back on the 2012 regular season, let’s pay tribute to 12 assistant coaches who separated themselves from the rest. Each of these guys made a huge difference in their development of players and units.

We’ll call it our “Dandy Dozen” of SEC assistant coaches, and they’re listed in alphabetical order:

Mike Bobo, Georgia, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks: A finalist for the Broyles Award, Bobo has the Bulldogs ranked in the top four in the SEC in both rushing and passing offense. They scored 28 or more points in 11 of their 13 games, and did it with an offensive line that was both young and unproven when the season began.

Burton Burns, Alabama, associate head coach/running backs: Despite injuries to Dee Hart and Jalston Fowler, Alabama didn’t miss a beat in its running game. In fact, Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon became the first two players in school history to each rush for 1,000 yards in the same season.

John Chavis, LSU, defensive coordinator/linebackers: Like clockwork, Chavis just keeps on churning out rock-solid defenses at LSU. The Tigers are No. 8 nationally in total defense and No. 11 in scoring defense, and that’s despite losing their top playmaker on defense (Tyrann Mathieu) in the preseason.

D.J. Durkin, Florida, special teams coordinator/linebackers: When you play as many close games as the Gators did this season, you better be good on special teams. They weren’t just good. They were excellent in all facets, which is a credit to Durkin and the job he did in coordinating the entire kicking game.

Herb Hand, Vanderbilt, offensive line: For the second year in a row, Zac Stacy rushed for 1,000 yards, and for the second year in a row, the Commodores more than held their own up front offensively. One of the best decisions James Franklin made when he took the job was holding onto Hand from the previous staff.

Kliff Kingsbury, Texas A&M, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks: Just his work with Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel alone was enough to get Kingsbury some serious props. But Texas A&M’s offense also put up crazy numbers in its first season in the SEC. Kingsbury, a finalist for the Broyles Award, has suddenly become a hot commodity in the head coaching ranks.

Brad Lawing, South Carolina, defensive line: One of the more underrated coaches in the SEC, Lawing has been doing it for a long time at a very high level. His defensive lines at South Carolina have been excellent the past few years and are one of the big reasons the Gamecocks have made their move into the SEC’s upper tier.

Matt Luke, Ole Miss, co-offensive coordinator/offensive line: Just about everybody agreed in the preseason that the offensive line was Ole Miss’ weakest link, but Luke was able to get everything and then some out of that group after a lackluster showing by the Rebels in the trenches in 2011. What’s more, Ole Miss was one of only three teams in the league (Texas A&M and Georgia) to average more than 250 yards passing and 165 yards rushing this season.

Sam Pittman, Tennessee, offensive line: Few units in the league improved as much from 2011 to 2012 as Tennessee’s offensive line. The Vols gave up just eight sacks in 12 games, which was tied for fourth nationally, and padded their rushing average by more than 70 yards per game. Pittman’s approach was exactly what the Vols needed up front, and they blossomed into one of the top offensive lines in the SEC.

Dan Quinn, Florida, defensive coordinator/defensive line: The Gators won 11 games in the regular season, and they held the opposition to 17 or fewer points nine times. Quinn, a Broyles Award finalist, put a defense on the field during his first season at Florida that was very good. But the one this season played at a championship level. The Gators head to the Allstate Sugar Bowl ranked No. 3 nationally in scoring defense and No. 5 in total defense.

Bob Shoop, Vanderbilt, defensive coordinator/safeties: For the second straight season, the Commodores rank among the top 20 teams nationally in total defense. They’re also No. 15 in scoring defense. They’re not real big up front and lost three key players from last season (Chris Marve, Casey Hayward and Tim Fugger), but Shoop keeps finding ways to stop people.

Kirby Smart, Alabama, defensive coordinator/linebackers: Alabama fans were holding their breath when it looked like Smart might be going to Auburn as head coach. The Crimson Tide had six players drafted off of their 2011 national championship defense, but here they are again going back to the national title game and ranked No. 1 nationally in total defense and No. 2 in scoring defense.

Our Friday stroll around the league:

• Terry Saban gives some insight on Kirby Smart's future at Alabama.
• Rhett Lashlee joins Gus Malzahn at Auburn as offensive coordinator.
• Ellis Johnson comes to Auburn with a long list of endorsements.
• David Climer of The Tennessean wonders if Butch Jones is capable of building a winning football program at Tennessee.
• Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart was "first class" throughout the whole process of hiring Jones, says Cincinnati's athletic director.
• Bret Bielema seems to be a fit at Arkansas.
• Florida will have 11 of its commitments in for official visits this weekend.
• Mississippi State cornerback Johnthan Banks won the Thorpe Award.
• A trip to the Capital One Bowl is worth more bonus money to Georgia's coaches.
• Georgia's Mark Richt and Nebraska's Bo Pelini discuss their Capital One Bowl matchup.
• Gary Pinkel's job just got tougher, writes Dave Matter of The Columbia (Mo.) Tribune.
• Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin was quick to identify a game-changing talent.

As one athletic director noted weeks ago, the three SEC schools still in the market for a head coach are swimming in a lot of the same waters as they try to put a wrap on their searches.

Arkansas, Auburn and Tennessee could all have their new head coaches named by the end of this week. Already, Kentucky has named former Florida defensive coordinator Mark Stoops to replace Joker Phillips.

It should get interesting over the next few days because guys like Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy and Louisville's Charlie Strong are prime targets at a couple of different schools.

At Tennessee, it appears that Gundy and Strong are at the top of the list, as Jimbo Fisher has decided to stay put at Florida State. Tennessee officials are also expected to talk with North Carolina's Larry Fedora on Tuesday in New York.

At Auburn, the name that's created the biggest buzz in that state is Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who according to Al.com, interviewed with the Tigers on Monday. The other names prominent in that search are Arkansas State coach Gus Malzahn and Strong. Malzahn was the offensive coordinator at Auburn for three years before taking the Arkansas State head job this season.

With Alabama heading to play in the Discover BCS National Championship Game in January, the timing would be anything but ideal for the Crimson Tide if Smart gets the job, especially if he hires away some of the Alabama assistants to go with him. Either way, Smart is easily the hottest commodity out there among assistant coaches in college football and has been selective the past few years. The Auburn gig may be too attractive to turn down if he gets an offer.

There have been reports that former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino is on Auburn's list, but multiple sources have told ESPN.com that Petrino is not a serious candidate. Auburn's president, Jay Gogue, simply isn't going to sign off on Petrino, and at this point, Petrino is going to have a hard time breaking back into the SEC.

At Arkansas, two of the top targets are former North Carolina coach Butch Davis and Gundy. Davis, an Arkansas alumnus, has a lot of support among several in the Hog Nation. He was fired at North Carolina following an NCAA investigation of the program that landed the Tar Heels on probation, although he was not mentioned in the 111-page report by the NCAA.

Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart was named Tuesday as the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Assistant Coach of the Year.

Smart, in his sixth season on the Alabama staff, won the Broyles Award in 2009 as the top assistant coach in college football. His Alabama defense is ranked first nationally in scoring defense and second nationally in total defense.

His defenses have helped Alabama win two BCS national titles in the past four years, and five of his defenders earned All-America honors in 2011. Smart has had six players become first-round NFL draft picks in the past three years.

Off the field, Smart has been involved in various fundraising activities as a member of the Alabama coaching staff. He participates in Nick’s Kids, an organization in which head coach Nick Saban and his wife Terry have raised more than $2 million for area youth charities over the past five years. Smart participated in tornado relief efforts after the devastating storms in April of 2011. He helped set up a fund to help the son-in-law and grandchildren of former Alabama coach Joe Kines following a car accident that killed Kines’ daughter.

Each year, staff representatives from NCAA and NAIA football-playing schools are asked to nominate an assistant for consideration. From those nominations, a winner is selected by the AFCA Public Relations Committee. The winners of this award were selected from Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and the NAIA.

The Assistant Coach of the Year award was first presented in 1997 and was created to honor assistant coaches who excel in community service, commitment to the student-athlete, on-field coaching success and AFCA professional organization involvement.

The criteria for the award are not limited to on-field coaching ability or the success of the team and players that these assistant coaches work with. Service to the community through charitable work and other volunteer activities, participation in AFCA activities and events, participation in other professional organizations and impact on student-athletes are all taken into account in the selection process.

Some people hand out game balls. We hand out helmet stickers.

A look at Saturday’s top performers in the SEC:

Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia: Jones obviously loves playing against Florida. He lit up the Gators for four sacks last season and was even more disruptive Saturday in the Bulldogs’ 17-9 victory over the Gators. His strip of a leaping Jordan Reed at the 5-yard line thwarted the Gators’ potentially game-tying drive. It was one of two forced fumbles by Jones, who led Georgia with 13 total tackles, including 4.5 for loss. Three of those were sacks, and he also recovered two fumbles. Not a bad day at the office.

Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina: This is a tribute to one of the classiest kids you’re ever going to meet. All of college football is keeping its collective fingers crossed that Lattimore will be able to recover from the awful-looking injury he suffered to his right knee Saturday in South Carolina’s 38-35 win over Tennessee. Lattimore has been a terrific player for the Gamecocks, but the thing that makes him so special is the way he carries himself, the way he treats people and the way he represents his family, his football team and his university. If there’s any way possible, he’ll be back.

Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M: Johnny Football reappeared Saturday after looking more like Johnny Turnover last week. Manziel called it a night early in the third quarter of the Aggie's 63-21 romp at Auburn, but not before he'd accounted for five touchdowns. He finished with three touchdown runs, two touchdown passes and amassed 350 yards of total offense all in a little more than a half. Manziel retired to the bench after the opening possession of the second half. He now has 3,009 yards of total offense on the season. Cam Newton set the SEC record for total offense in 2010 with 4,327 yards in 14 games.

Bryson Rose, PK, Ole Miss: Rose provided all of the points Ole Miss needed in the second half Saturday, including a game-winning 31-yard field as time expired in the 30-27 victory over Arkansas. He was 3-for-3 on field goals, all of them coming after halftime. The Rebels’ senior place-kicker also booted field goals from 53 and 27 yards. The 53-yarder was a career-best for Rose and put Ole Miss ahead 27-20 in the fourth quarter.

Kirby Smart, Alabama’s defensive coordinator: Despite having to plug in so many new players, the Crimson Tide are playing as well as ever on defense. Nobody has scored more than 14 points against them this season, and they shut down Mississippi State on Saturday in a 38-7 win. The more you watch this defense play, the more impressed you are with how well-coached the players are and how few mental errors they make. They might not have a bunch of NFL first-rounders on this defense, but they’re sure playing like it.

A year ago, five assistants in the SEC moved on to be head football coaches.

Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain took over at Colorado State. Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee took the UAB head job. Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was hired as the Arkansas State head coach. Florida offensive coordinator Charlie Weis landed at Kansas, and South Carolina defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson got the job at Southern Miss.

Who are the next five?

Here’s a look at five of the most promising head coaching candidates in the SEC?:

Todd Grantham, Georgia associate head coach and defensive coordinator: His fiery approach has made a huge difference with Georgia’s defense, and Grantham also brought a mental toughness with him from the NFL coaching ranks that has helped to re-energize the entire program. He has 11 years of NFL coaching experience and was the Cleveland Browns’ defensive coordinator for three years. Grantham also has extensive college experience has worked under a who’s who of coaches during his career, including Nick Saban, Frank Beamer, Wade Phillips, Dom Capers and Richt. The players love Grantham's passion and love playing for him. He's going to get a shot somewhere.

Shawn Elliott, South Carolina co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach: When Steve Spurrier does decide to step down as the Gamecocks’ head coach, don’t be surprised if Elliott gets serious consideration. He’s been a big part of the Gamecocks’ success since coming over from Appalachian State and has helped Spurrier re-invent himself a little bit offensively with the zone read package. This is Elliott’s third season at South Carolina, which has finally found some continuity in the offensive line after struggling up front in the early years under Spurrier. It’s also no coincidence that the Gamecocks are 24-7 since Elliott joined the staff.

Brent Pease, Florida offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach: Granted, it’s only four games into the season, but that Florida offense looks night and day better than it did in either of the last two seasons. Pease obviously deserves most of the credit. The Gators are balanced, more physical and more disciplined, and it’s all resulted in a 4-0 start. This is just Pease’s first season at Florida after coming over from Boise State, and he was also a guy Alabama’s Nick Saban had his eye on while looking for McElwain’s replacement. A former NFL quarterback, Pease has worked with both quarterbacks and receivers during his career. If he gets this Gators’ offense turned around for good, he’s going to be a hot commodity.

Kirby Smart, Alabama defensive coordinator and linebackers coach: One of the hottest names among SEC assistants for the past couple of years has been Smart, who’s in a position to be picky. He’s already had a couple of opportunities come his way, but wants to be sure it’s the right fit. He’s certainly been a great fit at Alabama and knows that defense inside and out. It’s always going to be Nick Saban’s defense, but Smart is the one who puts the plan together each week and has Saban’s absolute trust. Smart is now making just under $1 million, and in addition to being a top-notch tactician, he’s also an excellent evaluator of talent and one of the best recruiters on Alabama’s staff. It’s just a matter of time. Smart’s going to get a head job, and it’s going to be a good one.

Frank Wilson, LSU running backs coach and recruiting coordinator: When you start talking about the premier recruiters in the country, Wilson’s name is right there at the top of the list. Obviously, being a successful head coach requires a lot more than just being able to recruit. But when you’re as good at it as Wilson is, it’s the great equalizer. Plus, look at the job he’s done with the LSU running backs. Wilson has also coached at Tennessee, Ole Miss and Southern Miss, and he was a successful high school coach in New Orleans. So he has strong ties in the south and has made quite a name for himself in a short period of time. Wilson turns 40 next year and is sure to start showing up on a lot athletic directors’ short lists over the next few years.

It's time to take a look at the best in the SEC from Week 1:

Alabama's defense: Many wondered if Denard Robinson and Michigan's offense could give Alabama's younger defense some fits. That didn't happen. Alabama absolutely smothered Robinson and Michigan's offensive line early on in its 41-14 win. Defensive coordinator Kirby Smart game planned the Wolverines and Robinson perfectly, basically taking the potential Heisman candidate out of the game. Michigan got past Alabama's secondary on two deep plays, but the game was out of hand by that time. Senior cornerback Dee Milliner stepped up the way coach Nick Saban wanted him to. He showed tremendous coverage skills and grabbed one of Alabama's three interceptions.

Connor Shaw, QB, South Carolina: No, he didn't have even close to spectacular numbers against Vanderbilt, but talk about heart and grit. After suffering a shoulder contusion in the second quarter, Shaw returned in the third with basically half of his right arm attached. He was the ultimate leader, throwing and running with immense pain shooting through his shoulder. He took some more hits along the way and even slammed into the ground at the end of a 12-yard run toward the end zone. He finished the game with 67 passing yards and 92 rushing yards and the Gamecocks won 17-13.

Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee: What a debut for Tennessee's junior college transfer receiver. He more than made up for the loss of Da'Rick Rogers in the home run department for the Vols. He absolutely burned NC State's All-American cornerback David Amerson on a 41-yard touchdown pass and sprinted right by him again on a 67-yard touchdown run on an end-around. He finished the night with 165 total yards and two touchdowns, and the Volunteers won 35-21.

Marcus Murphy, RB, Missouri: Welcome back to college football. After missing the 2011 season due to a shoulder injury, Murphy returned with a fury as the Tigers' punt returner. He returned five punts for 181 yards and two touchdowns in a 62-10 win over Southeast Louisiana. Those touchdowns came from 70 and 72 yards out. Quite the return.

Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia: The rookie running back showed that he might have what it takes to be the Bulldogs' every-down back. He was Georgia's top rusher, carrying the ball eight times for 100 yards and two touchdowns, including a 55-yard run for a score. He also showed his explosion in the return game by taking a kickoff 100 yards back for a touchdown in the 45-23 win over Buffalo.