SEC Football Preview: Five biggest questions for 2015

Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

3. Are we overestimating the impact of coordinators?

By now, you have heard the narrative. Texas A&M will be greatly improved after signing John Chavis as their defensive coordinator. The same is being said for Auburn with the signing of former Florida head coach Will Muschamp. Which begs the obvious question: is it really that simple? Kevin Sumlin has done a lot to turn Texas A&M back to prominence but each season the Aggies have had bad defenses.

Last season, Auburn gave up an average of just over 26 points a game along with 388 total yards per game. The defensive inadequacies were a big reason Auburn went just 8-5 and were .500 in the SEC.

As the offseason grows increasingly long, it seems we buy into the idea that either the offense or defense of a particular team can be greatly improved by swapping out coordinators. We forget that we believed the same thing when the old offensive or defensive coordinator was hired. Yes, the one that was just fired.

I do believe Coach Boom will help Auburn turn things around on defense. He did it early on in his career as a defensive coordinator at both Auburn and Texas.

For all LSU’s recent challenges, the one thing that has been consistent has been their stout defense. A defense that produces top NFL prospects each season. Chavis should also be able to help turn things around at College Station.

Keep in mind both coordinators are inheriting a bit of a mess on defense. It will take time to see the drastic improvements that many people are expecting to see this season. It is not a simple formula where a respected coordinator is hired and four wins are added to the team’s win total for the coming season.

Next: Will Georgia disappoint again?