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30 NWA Democrat-Gazette College Football Preview Sunday, August 27, 2017 New coordinators galore in SEC FAYETTEVILLE — The CFL has come to the SEC. Among the SEC's 10 new coordina- tors are a Canada and a Canadian. Matt Canada, who was Arkansas Ra- zorbacks Coach Bret Bielema's offensive coordinator at Wisconsin in 2012, now holds that position at LSU. Alabama's new offensive coordinator is Brian Daboll, a native of Canada who was born in Welland, Ontario. Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn also has a new offensive coordinator, Chip Lindsey. Paul Rhoads, the University of Ar- kansas, Fayetteville's new defensive co- ordinator, will be matching wits with Canada, Daboll, Lindsey and new Ole Miss offensive coordinator Phil Longo in the SEC West. The SEC's other new coordinators are: m Ole Miss defensive coordinator Wes- ley McGriff m Mississippi State defensive coordina- tor Todd Grantham m Florida defensive coordinator Randy Shannon m Tennessee offensive coordinator Lar- ry Scott m Kentucky defensive coordinator Matt House The new coordinators are being paid a combined $8.54 million per year. Canada tops the group at $1.5 million, though he's the second-highest paid LSU assistant behind defensive coordinator Dave Aranda's $1.8 million salary. Daboll is making $1.2 million, McGriff $1 million and Shannon $890,000. Rhoads is at $700,000 along with Lindsey. Grantham, Longo and Scott each are at $650,000 with House at $600,000. It's the second SEC defensive coor- dinator stint for Rhoads, who held the same job at Auburn in 2008 for Camden native Tommy Tuberville. Arkansas is paying Rhoads more than twice as much as his $305,000 sal- ary nine years ago at Auburn, evidence of the money SEC schools continue to pour into their football programs. The revenue at stake also plays a role in the high turnover rate of SEC coor- dinators, with a combined 37 changes at the 14 schools the last three seasons. "I think the game overall has changed with the finances that are generated," Rhoads said. "This particular league rec- ognizes the value that's associated with it and pays the going rate. "There's a lot of responsibility and pressure to perform that comes along with the title. Here in 2017 that's what you've got, and that's what you're ex- pected to go out and accomplish." Ed Orgeron, a former Arkansas grad- uate assistant who was retained at LSU after replacing Les Miles on an interim basis four games into last season, hired Canada in the hopes of injecting more life into the Tigers' offense. LSU finished 8-4 last season when it ranked 59th nationally in total offense (423.1 yards per game), 68th in scoring offense (28.3 points) and 101st in passing offense (190.2 yards). In the Tigers' four losses to Wiscon- sin, Auburn, Alabama and Florida they allowed just 60 points but scored 37. Canada was among five finalists last season for the Broyles Award — which goes to the nation's top assistant — when he was Pittsburgh's offensive co- ordinator. The Panthers averaged a school-re- cord 40.9 points per game and 446.8 yards with a nice balance of 225.1 rush- ing and 221.7 passing. Canada was hired at Pittsburgh to re- place Jim Chaney, Bielema's offensive coordinator at Arkansas from 2013-15 who now has the same job back in the SEC at Georgia. When Bielema took the Arkansas job after the 2012 season, he hired Chaney — who had been at Tennessee — and Canada went to North Carolina State. "We're very excited to have Matt Canada as an offensive coordinator," Orgeron said at SEC media days. "Matt runs a very diverse offense, a lot of shifts, motions, use of personnel, fly sweeps. "He makes it difficult to defend, but the thing I like best about Matt was he talked about being a team player, and he talked about running a balanced offense: 50 percent run and 50 percent pass. I think he's going to do an outstanding job." Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables won the Broyles Award last season, but Canada got the best of him in Pittburgh's 43-42 victory over the Tigers. It was the only loss for national cham- pion Clemson, which beat Alabama 35-31 in the title game. That was Steve Sarkisian's lone game as Alabama's offensive coordinator after Crimson Tide Coach Nick Saban decid- ed Lane Kiffin should devote all of his attention to his new job as Florida At- lantic's coach. Sarkisian left Alabama to become offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, and Saban turned to Daboll, an NFL assistant since 2000 — including offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs — and most recently tight ends coach for the New England Patri- ots. Daboll's only previous coaching job in college was as a graduate assistant at Michigan State in 1998-99 when Saban was the Spartans' coach. BOB HOLT ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Arkansas defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads throws to members of the secondary Aug. 5 prior to the start of a scrimmage in Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. v Continued on next page