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The competitive nature of the SEC has never been more evident than this post-season, which has been dominated by coaching changes.

Arkansas and Ole Miss are the only teams with new coaches. But the conference will be impacted by widespread turnover in coordinators.

In fact, it’s easier to name the programs who didn’t hire a head coach or a coordinator.

Kentucky and Vanderbilt stood pat. So did Georgia and Florida. Every other program chose — or was forced — to make at least one change at the coordinator level or above.

And more changes are to come.

LSU has yet to hire a replacement for defensive coordinator Bo Pelini, who took a head-coaching job at Nebraska. New Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino hired one defensive coordinator and now has to hire another one, after Ellis Johnson left abruptly for South Carolina.

Here’s a team-by-team look at the changes:

Auburn: Coach Tommy Tuberville has two new coordinators, Tony Franklin on offense and Paul Rhoads on defense. They replace defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who took a similar job at Texas, and Al Borges.

The Tigers will miss the fiery, young Muschamp, whose sideline energy and enthusiasm helped make him a fan favorite. But Rhoads had a great year at Pitt, which ranked fifth in the country in total defense and held offensive powerhouse West Virginia under 200 yards in a late-season upset.

By hiring Franklin to implement the spread offense, the Tigers were able to sign junior college quarterback Chris Todd, who originally signed with Texas Tech. Todd planned to attend Troy State, where Franklin was the offensive coordinator, before Franklin joined Tuberville’s staff.

Franklin deserves plenty of the credit for Auburn’s bowl upset of Clemson. He gave Auburn a cram course in the spread offense during bowl practice, and the team was surprisingly effective with it.

Ole Miss: The Rebels hired Houston Nutt from Arkansas as its head coach. He has since hired two new coordinators, Tyrone Nix on defense and Kent Austin on offense.

Nix was the defensive coordinator at South Carolina last season while Austin, who is a former Ole Miss quarterback, was the head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League last season.

Nutt is a huge step up from former coach Ed Orgeron. Nix was doing just fine at South Carolina until his defense unraveled in the second half of the 2007 season. Austin’s experience as a head coach and his familiarity with Ole Miss should serve him well as a coordinator.

Arkansas: The Razorbacks replaced Nutt with Petrino, whose reputation as an offensive guru preceded his successful run as a Louisville head coach and his not-so-successful — and very brief — stint as a head coach with the Atlanta Falcons.

Never mind that Petrino hired his brother, Paul, as his offensive coordinator. As much as Petrino knows about offense, he could have named any one of his four children offensive coordinator.

His defense needs more help than a family member can provide.

Mississippi State: Coach Sylvester Croom promoted Charlie Harbison to defensive coordinator to replace Johnson. Harbison coached the secondary in 2007.

Although it might hurt the Bulldogs to lose Johnson, they should benefit from having Croom in a more secure position. Following an eight-win season in 2008, his contract was extended through 2011. Also, offensive coordinator, Woody McCorvey chose to remain with the Bulldogs rather than pursue a head-coaching opportunity at South Alabama.

South Carolina: Although Nix had initial success with South Carolina, Johnson gives the Gamecocks a more experienced defensive coordinator. And he’s very familiar with the SEC, having coached at Mississippi State and Alabama.

He’s also sure to stay longer than Brian VanGorder, who was hired to replace Nix. A few weeks later, VanGorder returned to his previous employer, the Atlanta Falcons.

Tennessee: The Vols suffered a big loss when offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe took the head-coaching job at Duke. His track record with quarterbacks, including Peyton and Eli Manning, was a draw for any top quarterback recruit. Cutcliffe also brought needed discipline to the offense.

His replacement, David Clawson, doesn’t have Cutcliffe’s name recognition with quarterbacks. But he has succeeded as a head coach at Richmond and Fordham, and as an offensive coordinator at Villanova and Lehigh.

Alabama: Nick Saban’s long search for an offensive coordinator to replace Major Applewhite ended with Jim McElwain of Fresno State.

McElwain, who coached Oakland Raiders quarterbacks in 2006, significantly improved Fresno State’s offense in his one season with the Bulldogs.

A best-case scenario: McElwain will turn out to be the next Jeff Tedford, another former Fresno State offensive coordinator who has since had a successful run as Cal’s head coach.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.