Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1288550
32 NWA COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW | 9.20.2020 MUSICAL SEC CHAIRS BOB HOLT ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FAYETTEVILLE — When it comes to coaching in the SEC, it's often a case of old faces in new places. Whether it's SEC schools hiring and firing head coaches or adding coordinators or position coaches, the names often are the same. Coaches just move from school to school within the SEC. All four of the new SEC head coaches had previous coaching experience in the conference. And of the four coaches they replaced, three stayed in the SEC. Over the past nine years, Sam Pittman has gone from being the offensive line coach at Tennessee, the University of Arkansas and Georgia to being hired as the Razorbacks' new head coach this season. New Missouri Coach Eliah Drinkwitz — an Alma native and Arkansas Tech graduate whose assistant coaching stops include Alma, Springdale and Arkansas State University — was in the SEC as an Auburn quality-control assistant in 2010 and 2011. Lane Kiffin is back in the SEC as the Ole Miss head coach after previously being the head coach at Tennessee in 2009 and offensive coordinator at Alabama from 2014-16. It's been a long spell between SEC gigs for Mike Leach, but Mississippi State's new coach is back after being Kentucky's offensive coordinator from 1997-98. "I'm not comparing it to the NFL in that aspect, but it's a little bit like the NFL," Pittman said of the SEC coaching carousel. "In the NFL, you see a lot of coaches when they leave one [team], they go to another. "It's why a lot of coaches have a contract that they can't leave an SEC school to go to another. Well, if the school fires them, obviously, they'll have the opportunity to do that." Chad Morris, fired after 22 games as Arkansas' coach because of a 4-18 record, is now Auburn's offensive coordinator. Barry Odom, Missouri's coach the past four years, didn't get to face Morris when the Tigers ended last season with COACHES OFTEN REAPPEAR AT DIFFERENT SPOTS IN CONFERENCE AP Photo/Jim Rassol Florida Atlantic coach Lane Kiffin looks over his team before an NCAA college football game against UCF on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, in Boca Raton, Fla.