Even though the SEC is the best college football conference in America, its divisions haven’t been balanced lately.

The West has won the last seven conference championships, led by Alabama, which has captured four national titles since 2009. The previous year, Florida won the SEC championship, the last East team to do so.

In terms of coaches’ tenures, the SEC West has been the epitome of stability. Despite a tumultuous year in 2015, Les Miles is entering his 12th season as LSU’s head coach to lead all conference field bosses in seniority.

To put that in perspective, the SEC East’s two longest-tenured head coaches are Kentucky’s Mark Stoops and Tennessee’s Butch Jones. Each is entering his fourth season with his respective school.

Meanwhile, every SEC West head coach has been in the division since at least 2013. Relatively speaking, Arkansas’ Bret Bielema and Auburn’s Gus Malzahn are its “newbies.”

We’re right in the middle of an election cycle, so here are approval ratings for the SEC West’s coaches.

Alabama

Coach: Nick Saban (10th year)
Saban isn’t only the best coach in college football today, he might be its best of all time. He established himself as a coaching great in 2003, when he led LSU to a national championship. But his most impressive accomplishment might be how well he has recovered from his disastrous two-year stint with the Miami Dolphins, when he went 15-17 before rushing back to the SEC and taking the Crimson Tide job.

His four national titles and four SEC championships at Alabama are a tough standard to match, but one of the best things he’s done while leading the Tide has been entrusting Lane Kiffin with the offense. Bama has entered the last two seasons without a clear-cut starting quarterback and has reached the College Football Playoff both times.

When you consider his 119-19 record at Alabama along with his recruiting prowess, Saban is second to none. At 64, he’s the oldest coach in the conference, but he shows no signs of slowing down.
Approval rating: 100 percent

LSU

Coach: Les Miles (12th year)
There’s no doubt that the Mad Hatter has his detractors. And yes, he nearly got fired last year. But after compiling a 121-35 mark with the Tigers, he’s still the SEC’s second-best coach.

He hasn’t won a national championship since 2007, but he and Saban are the conference’s only current coaches who have won a national title. Other critics might disparage Miles for the fact that LSU’s defense always seems to be better than its offense, but what that also indicates is that he definitely knows how to recruit on that side of the ball.

Sticking with Cam Cameron as his offensive coordinator is an example of Miles’ stubbornness, but the biggest knock on him is that he can’t beat Alabama. Including LSU’s loss in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, Miles has dropped his last five games against the Tide. That has to end if he wants to keep his job.
Approval rating: 75 percent

Mississippi State

Coach: Dan Mullen (8th year)
In just seven seasons in Starkville, Mullen has built a case as arguably the best coach in Bulldogs history. He obviously has former Mississippi State quarterback – and current Dallas Cowboys starter – Dak Prescott to thank for his success, but the former Florida assistant currently finds himself in a rebuilding year. His 64-39 record is very good, but he needs to improve upon his 26-30 mark in SEC games. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles life after Prescott. Mississippi State should give him plenty of time to find out.
Approval rating: 70 percent

Ole Miss

Coach: Hugh Freeze (5th year)
Freeze’s 44-21 record in four seasons in Oxford is definitely a positive. Beating Alabama two years in a row is also a very good thing. Producing three first-round picks in this year’s draft looks good on a résumé as well. However, Freeze and Ole Miss are embroiled in a recruiting scandal that the coach has taken responsibility for, but it’s something that could linger for a while and might have some serious ramifications. If the NCAA comes down hard on Freeze and the Rebels, it could potentially wipe out another big season for Ole Miss. The school is paying Freeze a lot of money to avoid situations such as this one.
Approval rating: 65 percent

Arkansas

Coach: Bret Bielema (4th year)
He might not be improving the Razorbacks as quickly as some Hogs backers would like, but there’s no denying that Arkansas has come a long way since Bielema’s first year in Fayetteville, when he went 3-9 overall and 0-8 in the SEC. Two straight winning seasons and a 5-3 conference mark in 2015 are definitely promising signs.
Bielema still does and says things that can rub opponents the wrong way, but he’s not going to change his approach. However, he will be forced to rebuild his offense this season.
Approval rating: 60 percent

Auburn

Coach: Gus Malzahn (4th year)
After a terrific first year, the bloom is definitely off the rose for Malzahn. When your team goes from 12-2 and a spot in the BCS National Championship Game to 8-5 and then 7-6 last season, something is definitely wrong.

Malzahn’s reputation as an offensive genius took a big hit with the way Auburn’s starting QBs performed in 2015. But the most telling aspect of Auburn’s recent downward spiral is how it has struggled in SEC play over the last three years. After hitting a high-water mark with a 7-1 record in conference games in 2013, Malzahn has gone 6-10 in those matchups since then. He got a contract extension earlier this year, but that doesn’t guarantee the Tigers will be better this year. In what might be a risky move, Malzahn is pinning his hopes on starting QB Sean White.
Approval rating: 50 percent

Texas A&M

Coach: Kevin Sumlin (5th year)
Even though they ended just three years ago, the Johnny Manziel-led glory days seem like a distant memory for Sumlin. In two years with Johnny Football, Sumlin’s Aggies went 20-6 with a win in Tuscaloosa and victories in the Cotton and Chick-fil-A bowls.

Since then, A&M has had back-to-back 8-5 seasons, and the team has made far more noise off the field. Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray, who each started at QB for the Aggies in 2015, both decided to transfer. Plus, offensive coordinator Jake Spavital was relieved of his duties in favor of Noel Mazzone, who returns to the SEC after coaching in the NFL, on the high school level and at two Pac-12 schools.

Sumlin has brought in Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight to try to shore up the quarterback situation, but he goes into this season with the most pressure he’s ever faced in College Station. We’re not exactly sure what A&M would do if Sumlin produced another 8-5 season, but don’t be surprised if it happens again.
Approval rating: 45 percent