My wife is a sales and marketing expert, and she’s always talking about the importance of branding. If you think about it, the same can be said for football teams.

While players and coaches come and go, teams establish certain identities over the course of time, and those “brands” are associated with the way fans and foes alike think of certain teams.

If we did a brand analysis of every team in the SEC East, what would we find? Well, let’s have a look:

FLORIDA

Offense: Pro-style

Jim McElwain and Doug Nussmeier would like to run balanced offenses that force teams to honor both the run and pass. Will Grier’s suspension derailed the debut season of this offense, and the search for a suitable replacement rolls on this spring.

Jordan Cronkrite and Jordan Scarlett are capable running backs, and the left side of the offensive line returns intact. Even modest improvement from the quarterback position would help the Gators begin establishing their new offensive identity.

Defense: Attacking

There are some significant personnel losses, but that won’t change coordinator Geoff Collins’ approach. The Gators were second in the league with 40 sacks last fall, and they’ll be getting after quarterbacks at a similar clip in 2016.

CeCe Jefferson had 3.5 sacks as a freshman in a reserve role last season, and he should double that total with more snaps. The team’s second-leading tackler, Jarrad Davis, put off entering the NFL Draft and returns to add stability to the linebacking corps. And Jalen Tabor (four interceptions) is one of the SEC’s best corners.

GEORGIA

Offense: Ground and pound

New coach Kirby Smart is a defense-first guy, and his choice for offensive coordinator, Jim Chaney, has run every type of offense imaginable. With a defensive-minded coach and a pair of talented running backs in Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, we’re likely going to see a run-first offense similar to what Chaney did at Pittsburgh and Arkansas.

Of course, there will be some passing, too. Chaney coached Drew Brees at Purdue and has to be excited about working with five-star recruit Jacob Eason. But while that relationship builds, the Bulldogs will be hoping for five yards and a cloud of dust on most of their plays.

Defense: Forcing the issue

Coordinator Mel Tucker has a wealth of experience coaching defenses on the professional and college levels. He was the secondary coach under Smart at Alabama last year after NFL stops in Cleveland, Jacksonville and Chicago.

The Bulldogs will no doubt try to mirror the success Smart and Tucker had with the Crimson Tide, which means controlling the line, getting after the quarterback and forcing turnovers. Smart’s defense led the league last season with 52 sacks and 27 takeaways. With all four starters back in the secondary and some talented players in the front seven, the pieces are in place in Athens for a run at similar numbers.

KENTUCKY

Offense: Spread

Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw come over from Cincinnati to be the co-offensive coordinators, so it’s reasonable to expect a similar looking offense a little farther south on I-75.

Since Cincinnati led the American Athletic in passing and total yardage last year, we can assume that Drew Barker (or Hinshaw’s personal choice of a JUCO transfer, Stephen Johnson II) will be rather busy this fall. The Bearcats did finish fourth in the AAC in rushing, so the Wildcats’ returning talent at running back, notably Stanley Williams, shouldn’t go to waste either.

Defense: Transitional?

The idea for coordinator D.J. Eliot is to run multiple formations with players equally adept at rushing the passer and playing in coverage, but the results in his three seasons in Lexington have been pretty dour.

The Wildcats have finished tied for 12th, 13th and 13th in total defense in his three seasons, and barring some dramatic improvement, Kentucky may have a new man in charge of this unit next season.

MISSOURI

Offense: Spread

Former Utah State and Oklahoma offensive coordinator Josh Heupel takes the reins this fall, and it’s safe to say that he will want to throw the ball around a bit.

But it will take some time to build this identity, since Heupel will be busy coaching up Drew Lock and finding four new offensive linemen this spring.

Defense: Multiple

Last year’s coordinator Barry Odom, now the new head coach, started working in some 3-4 looks last season. New coordinator DeMontie Cross, also a former Tiger and ex-teammate of Odom, has more of a 4-3 background with a little 4-2-5 experience that he picked up from Gary Patterson at TCU. We may see a little bit of everything in 2016.

With gifted pass rushers like Charles Harris and Walter Brady, run stuffers like Terry Beckner Jr. and Josh Augusta and a couple of experienced returning linebackers, there are plenty of pieces in place for Cross’ first unit back at his alma mater.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Offense: Spread-option

For an idea of what new Gamecock co-offensive coordinator Kurt Roper likes to do on offense, you have to go back to his 2013 Duke team. Lots of shotgun and plenty of different formations designed to create one-on-one match-ups for his receivers.

He also likes mobile quarterbacks who can run the read-option. His signal callers that season were Anthony Boone and Brandon Connette, and the pair combined to rush the ball 167 times for 561 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Somewhere, Brandon McIlwain and Lorenzo Nunez — the most mobile of the Gamecocks’ five options at the position — are smiling.

Defense: Versatile and attacking

Will Muschamp tabbed Travaris Robinson as his defensive coordinator, and since the two have worked together so often, it’s safe to assume that Robinson’s philosophy is similar to that of his head coach.

Aside from Skai Moore, there aren’t a lot of difference-makers returning from what was the league’s worst defense in 2015, but with a heavy dose of newcomers for the defensive line, it’s clear that getting after opposing quarterbacks is going to be a high priority in 2016. The Gamecocks had just 20 sacks last season — 32 fewer than Alabama, 20 fewer than SEC East champion Florida.

TENNESSEE

Offense: Spread, then run

Under coordinator Mike DeBord, the Volunteers line up like they want to pass you out of the stadium, then feed the ball to Jalen Hurd or Alvin Kamara. Even on passing plays, quarterback Joshua Dobbs can turn a broken play into a big gain on the ground with his athleticism.

The goal for this season? Get a little more from the passing game. A little more production through the air could help Tennessee take that next step in the SEC East under Butch Jones.

Defense: Rugged front seven

Former five-star recruit Kahlil McKenzie will be the only new starter in the front seven from last season’s 9-4 team. Derek Barnett, Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Darrin Kirkland Jr. are the headliners for a tough, aggressive unit for first-year coordinator Bob Shoop.

Shoop has an economics degree from Yale, where he pitched, so he’s a sharp guy. Don’t be surprised if he takes the wealth of talent available to him in Knoxville and crafts one of the better defenses in the league this season.

VANDERBILT

Offense: Poor man’s Stanford

Our editor-in-chief described the Commodores that way last season, and it’s an apt description. Running back Ralph Webb is the team’s best offensive player, and coordinator Andy Ludwig will want to hand the ball to him as often as possible.

Like at Stanford, having good tight ends is a must in this offense. That means finding a suitable replacement for Steven Scheu in the lineup.

Defense: Poor man’s Penn State

We can argue about what school is really “Linebacker U,” but there’s little doubt that Vanderbilt is following the model under coach Derek Mason. Even with Stephen Weatherly’s unexpected departure for the NFL Draft, the unit is poised for another strong season.

Zach Cunningham led the team with 103 tackles as a sophomore, and with 2014’s leading tackler, Nigel Bowden, returning from injury, the linebackers will be the heart and soul of the Vanderbilt defense.