On the gridiron, coaches’ strengths and weaknesses are on display for all to see. How would those play out on the battle field? Extending the “football as battle” metaphor thrown around by announcers on a weekly basis, SDS takes a fun look around the conference at what each coach’s strengths and weaknesses would be leading an army instead of a football team.

Nick Saban, Alabama

Greatest strength: Motivation. Saban isn’t known as the greatest tactician, so he’s not going to be the type drawing up the specific battle plans; that type of work is handed off to his trusted lieutenants. Saban knows how to get his men ready to roll, though.

Greatest weakness: Defending against non-traditional attacks. Saban’s teams haven’t always been prepared for the new wave of read-option college football offenses, so if opposing troops take a different mode of attack, Saban’s men could be hung out to dry.

Bret Bielema, Arkansas

Greatest strength: Ground attack. You’re not going to overwhelm a Bret Bielema-led army with a ground game. His troops will be ready to meet any foe head-on in combat on the ground, both attacking and defending.

Great weakness: Adaptability. If you can stifle Bielema’s initial plan of attack, things get a little dicey for the Arkansas general. He and his top assistants have shown a tendency to botch things when they have to lean on a secondary mode of attack.

Gus Malzahn, Auburn

Greatest strength: Element of surprise. Malzahn has an adaptable offensive plan, and you never know where the big play might hit you from, and his formation isn’t going to tip you off.

Greatest weakness: Defending counter attacks. Auburn’s losses to Mississippi State and Alabama showed that if you hit back hard enough, Auburn could have issues. Both teams took advantage of miscues both big and small to put the Tigers away.

Jim McElwain, Florida

Greatest strength: Familiarity with the landscape. McElwain might be the newest SEC head coach/general, but he already knows the terrain well, having coached in the SEC for four years with Alabama.

Greatest weakness: Lack of a point man. McElwain is still out looking for the right man to direct his troops on the field, and most seem to think he doesn’t have the right one in the locker room yet.

Mark Richt, Georgia

Greatest strength: Leadership. One of the reasons Richt has hung around at Georgia so long is his unmatched leadership ability, with the support of a whole university behind him that few other generals can match.

Greatest weakness: Losing battles he shouldn’t. Every year, Georgia drops a game or two to a team it should beat on paper. Richt’s tendency to let his team slip against out-gunned opponents would be a bad one on the field of battle.

Mark Stoops, Kentucky

Greatest strength: Ability to bother the big guys. Stoops is at the helm of one of the more overlooked battalions in the SEC, yes he’s found ways to trouble higher-regarded opponents. He had his team battle hard against Florida, Mississippi State, Missouri and Louisville, showing that there’s more to his team than their might on paper.

Greatest weakness: No unified front. Stoops had an Air Raid disciple running his offense in 2014, but trotted out the Wildcat formation aplenty. He was hired as a defensive-minded coach, but that side of the ball struggled. We’re still trying to figure out what Stoops’ squads do well.

Les Miles, LSU

Greatest strength: Wiliness. While the Tigers are generally one dimension, you can’t trust General Miles to stick to the battle plan. After grabbing some grass off the battle field, Miles is liable to throw a wrench in the proceedings with deception — a fake kick, a new offensive formation, you name it.

Greatest weakness: Stubbornness. Miles knows what he likes to do, and he does it until an opponent stops him. When an opposing general finds a way to slow down Miles’ ground offensive, the Mad Hatter is in trouble.

Dan Mullen, Mississippi State

Greatest strength: Keeping the morale up. Mullen seems to always have a smile on his face, something that helps his troops stay cool in the heat of battle.

Greatest weakness: Under-stocked war chest. Between the gap Mullen has to make up for in recruiting and his limited assistant salary pool, the Bulldogs have to win while out-gunned by their opponents.

Gary Pinkel, Missouri

Greatest strength: Anti-missile capabilities. You want to launch an air attack on a Gary Pinkel team? Good luck. The last two years, Missouri has had one of the strongest pass rushes in the conference to counter any strikes through the air.

Greatest weakness: Unable to beat super-powers. Pinkel can certainly win the smaller battles, as he proved the last two years picking his way through the SEC East. When he runs into an army that can overpower his, his group has a hard time going blow for blow.

Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss

Greatest strength: Fresh approach. Freeze rose quickly through the ranks, from high school coach to SEC leader in a decade. He comes to the battlefield with a different mindset than many of his SEC general brethren, finding advantages in places they don’t look.

Greatest weakness: Maintaining momentum. Like his in-state counterpart Mullen, Freeze is working from a position of weakness. When he pulls a major victory, like the 2013 recruiting class or this year’s triumph over Alabama, he has to work even harder to keep his battalion rolling along at a high level.

Steve Spurrier, South Carolina

Greatest strength: Bravado. Spurrier might be able to talk an opponent out of attacking his army by boasting about the impressive artillery he has on hand, even if the opposite is true. It worked in 2014, when Spurrier’s reputation and talk about his team had the Gamecocks viewed as a top-10 unit until the games started.

Greatest weakness: Attention to detail. Everyone knows the Head Ball Coach can draw up a hell of a battle plan. He just seems to let his preparedness slip against overmatched opponents, rarely finding an easy match even against underdogs.

Butch Jones, Tennessee

Greatest strength: Strong guard towers. What do you think all of those bricks are for? Butch is building up a strong base at home, gaining support from within Fort Knoxville while replenishing the Volunteers’ war chest.

Greatest weakness: Lack of stealth. Everyone knows Jones’ Tennessee team is on the way up; you can hear the gleeful “brick by brick” cries rising up from within their home base. With early talk of the Vols being a 2015 favorite in the East, the orange T is already on other generals’ radar.

Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M

Greatest strength: Air assault. Few coaches have more air artillery at their disposal than Sumlin, and fewer still use it as well as he does. Sumlin’s array of weaponry is enough to stare down any opponent

Greatest weakness: Unprotected battle lines. Sumlin is open to a sneak attack with no defensive lieutenant to keep watch, although his previous defensive battle commander fell asleep during the night watch the last two years.

Derek Mason, Vanderbilt

Greatest strength: Willingness to change the plan. Mason went into battle with a hand-picked staff this year, and it didn’t work. He more or less cleaned house, giving his team a fresh approach going forward.

Greatest weakness: Indecision. “He who hesitates is lost” applies to Mason. He couldn’t settle on a quarterback to lead his team into battle, and the war was lost by the time he had a decision made for him.