ESPN Search

ESPN's Travis Haney has a list of coordinators in college football who are next in line to be head coaches. Any guesses who's No. 1 on that list? Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart is tied for the top spot along with Clemson offensive co...

Making the rounds on a Thursday: A re-energized Ellis Johnson is embracing his role as Auburn's defensive coordinator. Alabama fifth-year senior Tana Patrick is getting his shot at middle linebacker. Revisiting the five biggest questions for ...

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...

Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson has seen Gus Malzahn's offense from the other side. Now, Johnson and Malzahn are on the same side; the same team, anyway. And the biggest misnomer going when it comes to Malzahn's hurry-up, no-huddle o...

Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson knows a little something about change. This is his seventh defensive coordinator's job -- his fourth in the SEC -- and the 11th time overall that he's been starting his coaching career anew. But it's t...

Thanks to Vanderbilt defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, I'm more convinced than ever that you better be pretty salty when it comes to stopping the run if you want to win a championship. That's especially true in the SEC. Shoop pointed out during ...

Making the rounds on a Friday: Andrew Gribble of AL.com breaks down Alabama's roster after the Crimson Tide's recent attrition. South Carolina defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward gets a three-year contract and a raise, which takes him to $650,00...

Kevin Steele is back at Alabama, this time as the Crimson Tide's director of player development. Alabama's defensive coordinator during the 2007 and 2008 seasons under Nick Saban, Steele will direct the Crimson Tide's recruiting efforts in his new...

Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has seen the figures. The Bulldogs are losing 12 players on defense who started at least two games for them last season, and as many as eight of those players could end up being drafted in April. "I g...

A day after interviewing with the New Orleans Saints for their defensive coordinator's job, Todd Grantham withdrew his name from consideration and said Friday he's staying at Georgia as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator. Grantham issued a news r...

New Auburn coach Gus Malzahn didn't wait long to address a defense that has been reeling on the Plains for the last two years. Malzahn has hired veteran Ellis Johnson to be his defensive coordinator, which makes a ton of sense. Few defensive coord...

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 ...

Scanning the globe for what's making news in the SEC: Tennessee defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri gets emotional in talking about facing his son -- Alabama safety Vinnie Sunseri. Alabama's Barrett Jones says AJ McCarron's knee "is fine." Miss...

From the time he was at Alabama playing football in college, South Carolina defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward has been known as "Whammy." Finding somebody in the football world who doesn't call him "Whammy" is about as difficult as scoring points...

South Carolina is ranked fifth nationally in scoring defense, and what coach Steve Spurrier likes best about his defense is how disciplined defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward has that unit playing. "He's coaching a very sound fundamental scheme, a...

Vanderbilt finished 18th nationally last season in total defense. As the Commodores' second-year defensive coordinator, Bob Shoop, is quick to point out, that was good enough for sixth in the SEC ... or middle of the pack. "That's the reality i...