The SEC West is Destined for Success

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - If you thought Texas A&M was already in trouble, keep thinking that as more news ensures. Not only will the Aggies play in one of the nation's toughest conferences, their division just became a juggernaut in itself.

With the recent hiring of Mike Leach at Mississippi State, the Southeastern Conference becomes a must-see television spectacle on a daily basis. But to add insult to injury, the Bulldogs will be one of seven teams from the SEC West vying for a title on the regular.

With six proven coaches all facing off on a weekly setting, how the heck do you as the fan expect to pick a clear front-runner each season. For 2020, Alabama and A&M should be the favorites to claim victory and head to Atlanta. After that, your guess is as good as mine.

The SEC West over a month added two of College Football's top offensive minds to their already impressive arsenal. Leach helped developed the air-raid style offense at the collegiate ranks during his time at Texas Tech. In his final two seasons with Washington State, the Cougars were one of the nation's top passing teams, with both Gardner Minshew and Anthony Gordon finishing near the top of the NCAA passing yards.

Ole Miss added the likes of Florida Atlantic head coach Lane Kiffin after his three-year stint in Boca Raton. Kiffin helped Alabama transform into a passing team with Jake Coker and Blake Sims under center before taking the Owls to a pair of Conference USA titles and a 26-13 record. He will likely bring a similar offensive attack to work with Matt Corral and dual-threat passer John Rhys Plumlee.

Leach has gone 139-90 as a head coach over the past two decades of making plays. He will have a familiar approach when playing the Aggies as he used to make the trip to Kyle Field consistently from Lubbock. All-time against A&M, the lovable madman known for his offensive style has gone 7-3, 3-2 in College Station.

The West already has the likes of Jimbo Fisher, who has kept the Aggies afloat with two bowl victories into his 10-year contract. A proven winner at Florida State, the Aggies coach, is expected to take the next leap into transforming A&M into a contender for the 2020 season.

Fisher is nearing the middle of the totem pole when looking at SEC West coaches. Nick Saban was won five titles in 13 years with the Crimson Tide. He's also been to five College Football Playoffs and lost 15 games in that same span, going to seven title matchups as well. LSU's Ed Orgeron will have a chance to take the Tigers to their first National title since 2007 on Monday night against Clemson.

Although considered a "middle tier coach," Auburn's Gus Malzahn has been consistent in the SEC. It was his offensive play-calling that led the Tigers to a title in 2010. In his first season with the Tigers, they would return to the big game and fall short to Fisher's Seminoles in the final BCS era game.

Still, Malzhan has yet to post a losing season in seven years with the program and has brought them to a pair of New Year Six outings. He's a proven winner and the only coach in the conference to beat Saban on multiple occasions.

The SEC features Florida's Dan Mullen, Georgia's Kirby Smart, South Carolina's Will Muschamp and Tennessee's Jeremy Pruitt — three of whom are Saban disciples. They all fall on the opposite spectrum of the conference, yet still could cause havoc in the 2020 season.

But the SEC West is now destined for success. Six proven coaches will be knocking each other down until one stands tall and likely represents the conference in the playoffs. Hopefully, A&M could be the one on top.

Things should be interesting moving forward for the Aggies. If Kiffin and Leach become stars, you could be talking about their division in more than just a competitive unit.

Unless Sam Pittman's Arkansas comes out of nowhere. Then chaos should unfold and rightfully so.