ESPN College Football

Alabama fans can breathe easier for now.

Defensive coordinator Kirby Smart has withdrawn his name from consideration for the Southern Miss head coaching job.

Smart's name has been thrown around a lot this offseason in connection with several vacancies, but the Southern Miss job is the only one he's interviewed for. Smart met with Southern Miss officials this week and was thought to be the favorite, but he decided that it wasn't the time to make a move.

One of the top defensive coordinators in the country, Smart won the Broyles Award in 2009 as the top assistant coach in college football. He came to Alabama in 2007 with Nick Saban and has been the Crimson Tide's defensive coordinator for the past four seasons.

There were reports that Smart was in play for both the Ole Miss and Texas A&M head coaching jobs, but he never interviewed at either place.

While Smart is out of the picture at Southern Miss, another top SEC defensive coordinator, South Carolina's Ellis Johnson, remains in the mix. Johnson interviewed with Southern Miss officials on Thursday.

South Carolina freshman wide receiverAce Sanders discusses the Gamecocks' season-opening 41-13 win over Southern Miss.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen has moved fast in replacing recruiting coordinator Frank Wilson, who'd barely been hired at Mississippi State before he left to join Lane Kiffin's staff at Tennessee late last week.

Mullen is close to finalizing a deal with Tony Hughes, the defensive backs coach at Southern Miss last season. Hughes would coordinate the Bulldogs' recruiting efforts and also help out with the defensive backs.

It's a nice get for Mullen, who's made it clear that locking down the state of Mississippi on the recruiting trail is a must if the Bulldogs are going to reach a point where they're contending for SEC championships.

Hughes was at Ole Miss for three seasons with Ed Orgeron before joining the Southern Miss staff last season. He's an excellent recruiter, as evidenced by the fact that he was able to lure heralded receiver DeAndre Brown to Southern Miss last season.

Hughes was also the point man in recruiting top running back prospect Kendrick Hardy, who committed to Southern Miss this past weekend.