Ranking the SEC football offensive coordinators, offseason sees 10 changes

The top three offenses in the SEC will be undergoing makeovers this offseason, including the one run by the two-time defending national champs.

Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia will each have new starting QBs and OCs after an offseason that has seen 10 of the SEC’s 14 schools change play callers.

The sheer amount of turnover is a headline in itself, but there are several compelling stories within that story.

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher has made one of the biggest boom-or-bust hires in recent memory by bringing polarizing play caller Bobby Petrino back to the SEC.

The 61-year-old Petrino is one of the most proven and also controversial coaches on the football sidelines.

It’s a case of desperate times calling for desperate measures, as Fisher’s 5-7 record in Year Five with the Aggies in 2022 does not sit well.

Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs, meanwhile, played it safe by promoting veteran Mike Bobo from analyst to offensive coordinator.

RELATED: How Mike Bobo was instrumental behind scenes of win over LSU in SEC title game

Smart knows what he’s getting in Bobo, and vice versa, making for what would appear to be one of the smoothest transitions possible.

Here’a a way-too-early ranking of the offensive coordinators in the SEC, including those who return at Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, LSU and Ole Miss:

1. LSU, Mike Denbrock

Denbrock worked well with Brian Kelly in his first year as the LSU OC, with the Tigers producing 32 points in a win over Alabama and 30 in the SEC title game loss to Georgia.

RELATED: Brian Kelly says ‘divide is not huge’ between LSU and Georgia

Denbrock reunited Kelly last season after helping lead Cincinnati to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons.

2. Georgia, Mike Bobo

Bobo produced the highest-scoring UGA offense in school history in his 14th and final season under Mark Richt after coaching and calling plays for the SEC’s all-time leading passer (Aaron Murray).

The transition at Georgia should be seamless, and with a championship defense on the other side of the ball, Bobo should find himself calling plays in the SEC title game at a minimum.