It’s a new era in the SEC East – the era of young coaches in it for the long haul.

The division lost its longest-tenured coaches with the departures of Mark Richt (15 years), Gary Pinkel (15 years) and Steve Spurrier (11 years). When it came time to replace those coaches, SEC East athletic directors placed premium on relative youth in hopes of finding someone able to do the job for 10 years of his professional prime.

The hirings of Kirby Smart (40 years old), Barry Odom (39 years old) and Will Muschamp (44 years old) – all defensive coordinators in their prior jobs, including two (Smart and Odom) with no college head coaching experience – may have demonstrated that being young (by coaching standards) is the best feature a coach can have on his resume.

Similar to NFL running backs restructuring their contracts, SEC East coaches are demanding instant gratification for their achievements. When one month of football can change a coach from a program’s savior to pariah, agents know it is important to work the school for a raise while their clients are in good standing.

Tennessee surprised some SEC observers when it gave Butch Jones, 21-17 in three seasons, a salary bump of $500,000 in December following an 8-4 regular season. When the Volunteers got off to a 3-4 start, Jones, who is now the longest-tenured coach in the division along with Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, appeared more likely to be heading for a dismissal than a raise. By winning its final six games, UT, and by extension Jones, regained momentum heading into the 2016 season and beyond.

Critics of the raise for Jones are quick to point out that Tennessee’s recent cycle of rocky starts followed by strong finishes is no coincidence. In the first half of the season, the Volunteers play traditional SEC powers Florida, Georgia and Alabama. In three seasons, Jones is 1-8 against the Gators, Bulldogs and Crimson Tide. UT’s second half of the schedule typically includes South Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt, none of which played in a bowl game last season.

More recently, Florida gave Jim McElwain a raise of $750,000 for a 10-4 debut season in which the Gators won the SEC East. Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi was quick to criticize UF for rewarding McElwain despite the Gators’ season ending on three straight losses to FSU, Alabama and Michigan by a combined score of 97-24.

Critics of the raises for Jones and McElwain are right that both benefitted from a down year in the SEC East, in which three coaches resigned or were fired and four teams finished below .500. To these critics, beating up on weak competition doesn’t warrant six-figure increases on seven-figure salaries. Critics of the raises, however, aren’t the bosses of athletic departments receiving an extra $31.2 million from the SEC Network.

As mentioned previously, Jones and Stoops — both hired prior to the 2013 season — are the longest-tenured coaches in the SEC East. In that climate, it’s easier to understand why coaches are demanding to be paid now rather than putting in a good three or four years before asking for a raise. Wait that long and your odds of being out of a job are high.

NFL running backs, especially veterans, have started demanding new contracts after every good season. It seems like college football coaches are creating a parallel trend, as job security is as flimsy as a wet noodle.

In the era of SEC Network megabucks, raises for Jones and McElwain are just small investments on the future in a division that’s set on preparing for the long haul.