SEC Q&A: Which Coach Is Under the Most Pressure in 2017?

It's the offseason, and the pressure associated with high-profile SEC jobs means coaches are constantly looking over their shoulders, hoping not to get canned.

Who's under the most pressure this offseason?

That question and more are answered in this week's edition of SEC football Q&A.

I go back and forth on Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin and Tennessee's Butch Jones as being on the hottest seat in the SEC this offseason. Both are scorching, but I tend to lean more toward Sumlin based on a longer timeline of mediocrity without progress.

Texas A&M hasn't finished above .500 in the SEC in any of the last four years. That's a full cycle of players—Sumlin's players—who haven't contended for the SEC West title in November.

At a place like Texas A&M, that should be unacceptable—especially after a $450 million facility renovation that was directly tied to the success Sumlin enjoyed in his first season as the program's head coach and the program's first season in the conference in 2012 (11-2, 6-2 SEC).

Instead of adding on to that foundation, the construction of the program has stalled.

That has to change in 2017, otherwise Sumlin should be looking for work.

Tyler Lecka/Getty Images

Jones should be concerned as well, because he mismanaged the roster in 2016 after the Vols were picked to win the SEC East at media days for the first time since 2005. They looked entitled, and Jones became even more of a cliche machine and capped it off with the ridiculous "champions of life" comment that made the program look like even more of a joke than its play on the field did during the fall.

Lost in a season of tumult and disappointment that resulted in the Vols missing out on a trip to the SEC Championship Game and countless slow starts in games was the fact that the program didn't actually regress. The Vols finished 8-4, which is the same record they finished with at the end of last season, and have a chance to match Jones' best win total, nine, in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl against Nebraska.

Is that enough to keep Jones off the hot seat? 

No. Progress needs to be made, especially since Tennessee will be getting a new athletics director and chancellor next academic year.

But it's enough to keep him behind Sumlin on the list of SEC coaches on the hot seat.

It's going to be pretty much the same, which is exactly why Steve Sarkisian got the offensive coordinator job at Alabama once Lane Kiffin wraps up his work during the playoff run and moves on to take over the FAU program.

Sark's offenses at Washington and USC were, more or less, what Alabama wants to do: using a power rushing attack with tempo while spreading defenses out, and adjusting game plans to the quarterback's specific skill set.

Early in his Washington career, that included quarterback Jake Locker using his legs. The former Husky signal-caller topped the 300-yard mark in each of his two seasons under center with Sark.

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

At USC in 2014 and early 2015, it was more of a traditional pro-style attack with Cody Kessler running the show.

The 2017 Tide offense will likely look like an enhanced version of his early Washington units, with Jalen Hurts using his legs and arm to stress defenses, a lot of tempo and an effort to create mismatches before the snap at the line of scrimmage.

So basically, what Kiffin did in Tuscaloosa over the last three seasons.

"

Why would any senior play in a meaningless bowl game? Why not make redshirting freshmen eligible instead? https://t.co/9BzFo69loc

— R Edmo (@SeanInTheSky) December 20, 2016"

A lot of seniors and draft-eligible players can and do benefit from bowl games that pit teams that are close, at least in theory, to each other in the college football landscape.

Sure, there have been some high-profile players who have bailed this bowl season, including LSU running back Leonard Fournette and Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey. But those players are the exceptions, not the rule.

Further more, sitting out a meaningless bowl game is much different than sitting out a playoff game or the entire season. Scouts and their teammates understand that, at some point, players have to look out for their own careers. 

I do love the idea of allowing redshirting players to play in bowl games without losing a year of eligibility, though. That would allow bowl games to serve two purposes—a celebration of the year that was and a preview of what could be.

Let's just take Florida, for example. The quarterback position has been a hot mess in Gainesville this year thanks to injuries to Luke Del Rio and ineffectiveness from Austin Appleby. The Gators play Michigan in Week 1 next year and would love to have at least a glimpse of what redshirting freshman Feleipe Franks has to offer, in case he wins the job during the offseason.

That would essentially allow bowl games to serve as a bridge between seasons and keep the interest of fans who don't know what to expect after roster turnover hits in January.

No recruits make decisions based on the outcome of bowl games. No, not even Mike Harley, who joked that he would commit to the winner of the Russell Athletic Bowl between West Virginia and Miami.

Coaches have spent years cultivating relationships with players and families, and one bowl game won't erase any of that.

That said, Florida has to do better on the recruiting trail. Off back-to-back SEC East titles, the Gators are buried in the 10th spot in the SEC's team recruiting rankings, according to Scout, and ranked 24th nationally.

That simply won't cut it, and it's something that head coach Jim McElwain is set to address with some changes to his staff, including his search to replace defensive coordinator Geoff Collins.

"Continuity in what we're doing is important, and a couple other factors as we kind of look at it and make sure we answer some recruiting needs that we have and that type of deal, as well," McElwain said, according to Thomas Goldkamp of 247Sports.

Yes, that ranking will improve based on sheer quantity. The Gators only have 13 commits as of Tuesday morning, including 4-star defensive end Zachary Carter. That number will rise, as will the Gators' team recruiting rankings.

If the new hire can clean up down the stretch, Florida's class will be fine. There's no reason to panic yet.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of CFBStats unless otherwise noted.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on SiriusXM. Follow Barrett on Twitter and Facebook.