It was quite a ride for Missouri Tigers fans in 2015. There was a quarterback suspension (Maty Mauk) a threatened player boycott and finally, a health issue that forced the retirement of Gary Pinkel.

Into the breach steps defensive coordinator Barry Odom, who was elevated to head coach.

While he finishes putting his staff together amid the mad scramble to lock up recruits before Signing Day, it’s fair to wonder what the expectations for Missouri are going forward.

After a sixth-place finish in the SEC East this past season, Odom will be looking to recapture the magic of two first-place finishes in 2013 and 2014.

But is that realistic? Let’s break down the SEC East:

POWERS ON THE RISE

Florida made dramatic strides in its first year under coach Jim McElwain, eventually running away with the East this season. Tennessee enters the bowl season on a five-game winning streak and were a fourth-and-14 stop away from winning the East on a tiebreaker.

Georgia should, at worst, maintain the 9- or 10-win floor at which its been operating under new coach Kirby Smart. The ceiling for the Bulldogs is much higher, though it remains to be seen if Smart can reach it.

South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Kentucky share some of the same issues facing Missouri heading into 2016. Will Muschamp is taking over at South Carolina, while Derek Mason and Mark Stoops continue rebuilding efforts at Vanderbilt and Kentucky, respectively.

RECRUITING

For a team in so much transition, the 2016 class isn’t looking too bad. There are 16 commits so far, and right now, the class rates 11th in the SEC and 41st nationally.

Missouri is a fine school, but it doesn’t match-up well with the rest of the SEC in terms of facilities or location. Since they joined the SEC, the Tigers have finished 12th, 13th, 14th and 11th in the league’s recruiting rankings. And that was with Pinkel winning 41 games and two SEC East crowns in the five seasons before this one.

Odom will have to continue Pinkel’s penchant for finding hidden gems and polishing them into good SEC players in order to be successful. The margin of error is smaller than it is at other SEC East schools.

MONEY TALKS

Odom’s new contract ranks him near the bottom in terms of SEC coaching salaries, and the pay scale for his assistants is likely to be at a similar level. That makes securing and retaining coaching talent an issue, which doesn’t help a program’s continuity.

The facilities are also in need of an upgrade, and plans are underway to achieve that. But even with the new football center, they still won’t compare favorably with some of their SEC brethren.

SO, WHAT’S THE LEVEL?

Missouri has overachieved a bit since it joined the SEC. Pinkel did a great job leading his team to a pair of SEC titles with stingy defenses, efficient offenses and tough players who knew how to win close games.

Odom has a lot to prove as Missouri’s new coach. Will he be able to pull the team back from this season’s disappointment and reapply the methods Pinkel used with so much success?

It’s hard to predict any more SEC East titles in Missouri’s immediate future. There are just too many questions about the new coach and the overall direction of the program.

There’s no reason, however, that the Tigers can’t climb out of the cellar and maintain a 7- or 8- win floor with an occasional run at an East title.

If that happens, will it be good enough for Tiger fans who’ve grown accustomed to watching SEC Championship Games in Atlanta? Time will tell.