You know what they say about hindsight. In life and in SEC football, it’s all the same.

What’s done is done, and there’s nothing you the fan, or Nick Saban or Bret Bielema, can do about 2016 now except try to do a little — or a lot — better in 2017.

This is what those endless streams of coaches’ meetings are for during the winter, spring and summer months. Whether they work or not is a mystery until the season comes and goes, so in that spirit we’ve picked out one thing from each SEC team’s list of hindsights that if handled better or differently in 2017 can make all those exhausting meetings — and sun-drenched practices — so worth it come fall:

Alabama

Build some stability on the sideline for Jalen Hurts: Without all the sideline chaos it was going to be hard enough for Hurts to navigate his way through the SEC jungle as a freshman and lead the Crimson Tide to a conference title and a spot in the national championship game.

But considering that Hurts pulled off what he did with everything going on around him, just imagine what the dazzling, soon-to-be-sophomore can do with calm seas. He should get the chance to show just that this fall with Lane Kiffin long gone to FAU and Steve Sarkisian calling the plays for the NFC champion Atlanta Falcons. Now here comes Brian Daboll to Tuscaloosa fresh off another Super Bowl title with the Patriots.

Yes, Daboll barely has any experience at the college level, but it’s a “low-key” hire by Nick Saban, and he wouldn’t have picked Daboll if he didn’t think Daboll could get the most out of Hurts — without all the noise created by Kiffin and Sarkisian.

Arkansas

Defend the run, defend the run, defend the run: If the Razorbacks had bothered to approach defending the run in 2016, things would have looked a lot different for Bielema. Instead, Arkansas was always trying to outscore teams, and that’s no way to live, especially in the SEC.

In steps Paul Rhoads as the Hogs’ new defensive coordinator, and while he has an arduous task ahead of him, he was the defensive backs coach in Fayetteville last year so he has the lay of the land. A new voice for the entire defense in Rhoads combined with a switch to a 3-4 base defense from the 4-3 and 4-2-5 won’t instantly be the makeover that is needed, but it certainly should help things greatly in 2017.

Auburn

Get quarterback situation under control: Sean White has been solid if not spectacular the past couple of seasons, but he was never dynamic enough to scare SEC defenses. But here comes former Baylor standout Jarrett Stidham to The Plains, and Stidham is very much a dual-threat quarterback who can tear defenses apart the way White can’t.

It’s not a guarantee that Stidham will be under center come September for Gus Malzahn, but why else would he be there? Stidham will be given every opportunity to win the starting job this spring and if he does White will become probably the best backup any SEC team could ever have, with John Franklin III also in the mix. Whatever happens, the Tigers have to figure out who their guy is, because the revolving door thing rarely works anywhere, let alone in the SEC.

Florida

Make the quarterback position more open to competition: When Tim Tebow departed after the 2009 season, Gators fans never would have dreamed eight years later that they would still be looking for the next great Florida quarterback. But that’s been the reality in Gainesville, and that has to change for Jim McElwain to win SEC titles and not just SEC East titles.

The list of starting QBs since Tebow left: John Brantley, Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel, Tyler Murphy, Skyler Mornhinweg, Treon Harris, Will Grier, Luke Del Rio and Austin Appleby. It’s high time for highly touted Feleipe Franks to get his shot at the job, and true freshman Jake Allen from powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale should, too. Del Rio could very well win the job again, but either way, competition breeds greatness, and the Gators need their starting quarterback to be much better, whoever he is.

Georgia

Trust and ride your strength in the backfield more: The Bulldogs have a wonderfully unique situation here with the return of Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. They have two stud running backs coming back to Athens instead of turning pro, both of whom have plenty of motivation to not only improve their draft status for 2018 but to put their proper, winning stamp on a program that will have lofty expectations in 2017.

That should be a scary thought for opposing defenses, if Kirby Smart is smart and leans on the two guys who put their faith in him for one last go-round. As a bonus, the dynamic duo’s return gives Jacob Eason another year to get better without having to be the man.

Kentucky

Change mind-set from thinking you can win to knowing you can: This isn’t really a change in tactic or strategy or switching up a defense, but rather a case of mental growth for a program that has always lived in the shadow of the SEC’s football powers and, heck, the prestigious basketball brand on its own campus. Mark Stoops revitalized this program in 2016, highlighted by the toppling of rival Louisville.

Now it’s up to Stoops — and, of course, his 2017 roster — to make sure there’s not another six-year gap between bowl appearances.

LSU

Let Danny Etling create some offensive balance: Yes, of course Derrius Guice should be and will be the focal point of the offense in 2017, especially with Leonard Fournette gone. But new coordinator Matt Canada has to get the LSU passing game out of its seemingly eternal funk this fall, or else Guice won’t thrive quite like he should and the Tigers will go 8-4 instead of competing for an SEC title. Etling  must be given the chance to thrive and not just be a caretaker of an offense with an all-world running back.

Mississippi State

Get an identity on defense, with new coordinator in place: Todd Grantham’s job won’t just be to recruit the right guys over the next few years or put the right system in place to get those guys to succeed. It goes way deeper than that. The import from Louisville, starting this spring, has to change the culture in Starkville for a defense that allowed 281.5 passing yards per game and 31.8 points per game. The Cardinals, meanwhile, ranked eighth in the nation in yards per play allowed last year and allowed 23.8 points per game.

The Bulldogs have now had four defensive coordinators in four seasons. They can only hope that dubious streak finally ends with Grantham.

Missouri

Defense must find a way to be at least adequate: Like in Starkville, help is needed on defense in Columbia, especially with Josh Heupel’s offense seemingly starting to turn the corner at the end of last season. If the Tigers want to go bowling in 2017, the defense has to be in the same stratosphere as the offense. Head coach Barry Odom upgraded the defense with “mass” on Signing Day and wants his defense to be more physical after it allowed 31.5 points per game and was on the field for a whopping 36 minutes per contest.

Ole Miss

More mental toughness and strength are needed — now more than ever: The mental aspect would have already been a focal point to upgrade in 2017, based on how the Rebels underachieved in 2016. But now with the school self-imposing a one-year bowl ban amid major recruiting violations, the task will be enormous in the locker room, never mind on the field, for Hugh Freeze and his staff. How do you motivate a roster of players without that carrot, in this case a bowl game, dangling for them at the end of the fall, never mind without Chad Kelly’s right arm?

Freeze, if he does survive this awful mess, has the coaching task of his life in 2017.

South Carolina

Give Jake Bentley more freedom to use his arsenal of weapons: Bentley snuck up on everyone last fall, but he was ready when called upon to give the Gamecocks a desperately needed boost at quarterback. In 2017, he’ll be the guy from the start, and with all of the top weapons around him returning, there’s no reason for the offense not to be totally turned over to Bentley, who has the mental moxie to go along with his on-field ability.

Tennessee

Don’t let one loss send you tumbling: Yes, the Volunteers shot out to that amazing 5-0 start, with a Hail Mary in Athens tossed in. Yes, they beat hated rival Florida. But the magic wore off in October with three straight losses, including top-10 clashes against Texas A&M and Alabama. The Vols couldn’t even win at South Carolina to stop the bleeding, and it got worse later on as Butch Jones’ team laid an egg against in-state rival Vanderbilt, giving up 45 points.

The expectations in Knoxville shouldn’t be nearly as overwhelming as they were last year with Joshua Dobbs and Derek Barnett gone. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be pressure on Jones, and the Vols’ faithful will be watching closely to see if this team, though not as talented, is better equipped mentally to handle one bad Saturday.

Texas A&M

Tune out the talk about Kevin Sumlin’s job and just go play: Everything seemed to get to the Aggies in 2016, including rumors (Sumlin) and injuries (Trevor Knight). The team that was a contender for a College Football Playoff berth as late as early November collapsed during that month. The collapse was quick, the fall steep. Four losses in five games to end the season, as the rumors about Sumlin’s job status intensified. Sumlin’s seat is seemingly still red-hot in 2017. If Sumlin and his team can shut its ears enough, it might just be able to shut some mouths, too.

Vanderbilt

Wear out foes with Webb without wearing out Webb: Ralph Webb has blessed the Commodores program with one more season of his greatness when he easily could have walked off, saluted Nashville and headed to the NFL. Now, the guy who became Vandy’s all-time leading rusher with one season to spare needs a little more help from Kyle Shurmur and the rest of the offense so he can be the man again without having to carry quite as much of the load.

Shurmur taking his game to yet another level in 2017 will also make SEC defenses think twice about keying on Webb as they mostly have for the past three falls.