Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

The sudden firing of Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin on Wednesday is a reminder of how tenuous the coaching profession can be.

It also drives home the point of how vital a good staff is to any head coach. Good assistants make a good head coach. Great assistants make a great head coach and don't usually stay assistants for very long.

Having taken the pulse of several around the league, here's my list of the 10 best offensive or defensive coordinators in the SEC. This list can change every year, every few weeks in this conference. They're listed alphabetically. I'll come back later with my list of the best position coaches in the league. Let me know who I've left off and why:

• Kent Austin, Ole Miss, offensive coordinator
• John Chavis, Tennessee, defensive coordinator
• Gary Crowton, LSU, offensive coordinato
• Bruce Fowler, Vanderbilt, defensive coordinator
• Ellis Johnson, South Carolina, defensive coordinator
• Willie Martinez, Georgia, defensive coordinator
• Jim McElwain, Alabama, offensive coordinator
• Dan Mullen, Florida, offensive coordinator
• Joker Phillips, Kentucky, offensive coordinator
• Paul Rhoads, Auburn, defensive coordinator