In a bold attempt to handicap the SEC West, a notoriously difficult division to predict heading into the 2015 season, we’ve decided to rank the division across several categories.

On Friday, we’ll compile the rankings to project the 2015 standings. Here are the previous installments:

Today we’ve ranked the SEC West coaches. Here we’re taking into account the entire staff, though the head men count for a large chunk of our rankings.

1. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

Most Important Assistant: Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin

Non-Coordinator: Defensive backs coach Mel Tucker

As Nick Saban has agitated toward the media and fans, purportedly “in defense” of his players, the Crimson Tide coaching staff faces enormous pressure and almost impossible expectations. Alabama has played with a giant target on its back essentially since the ’09 national championship. Yet with the exception of 2010, Bama has entered the Iron Bowl with national championship hopes every season since then.

As one of my colleagues put it recently, moaning about South Carolina, “Steve Spurrier coaches five months out of the year. Saban coaches his backside off for 12.” I’m not sure if there are any head coaches in the division who could grind as much year-round as Saban does, and “The Process” has paid off in terms of recruiting, strength and conditioning and, yes, the coaching staff.

Adding Kiffin prior to last season was a controversial move that turned out to be tremendous. Saban somehow has convinced defensive coordinator Kirby Smart to remain underneath him — not an easy thing to do — since ’04, with the exception of one season.

The Tucker hire was much-needed, as the Tide couldn’t go another season without a coach solely dedicated to the defensive backs. The team also survived Lance Thompson’s defection from Auburn by promoting Tosh Lupoi, a fantastic recruiter with West Coast ties, from the bench. And Mario Cristobal, a man with South Florida ties, won recruiter of the year in February according to 247Sports.

Alabama spares no expense with coaching resources, from the nation’s richest head coach to an extensive support staff.

2. AUBURN TIGERS

Most Important Assistant: Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp

Non-Coordinator: Defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson

Gus Malzahn is one of the most respected offensive minds in the country at any level of football. That was good enough, in 2013, to get the team to a BCS National Championship appearance against Florida State — thanks to a lot of luck, which ran out late in the game.

But last season proved that without the defense to match, Auburn’s margin for error is razor thin. One or two key injuries derailed the entire season.

In response, Malzahn went out and secured Muschamp, the erstwhile Florida Gators head coach, the hottest name on the assistant coaching market this offseason and now the richest coordinator in college football history. Adding Thompson, a strong recruiter, helped, but the biggest score outside of Muschamp may have been Robinson.

He gives the Tigers a coach with South Florida ties, great for recruiting. He also has a strong track record as a teacher, and Auburn’s secondary is paper thin after a pair of starting corners and a pair of starting safeties. Robinson will be busy on the field this season.

3. LSU TIGERS

Most Important Assistant: Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron

Non-Coordinator: Defensive line coach Ed Orgeron

Les Miles’ stock is down after a disappointing five-loss season, but there haven’t been many of those in Baton Rouge since before Saban arrived. Quirky both in personality and in game management, Miles is one of the country’s best recruiters. The Tigers also have managed to develop all that talent, turning touted high school players into coveted NFL draft picks.

Outside of Saban, as a head coach, Miles has the SEC West’s most impressive track record. He’s won three division titles, two SEC titles and a national title.

Failing to make things work with John Chavis is a disappointment. The transition to Kevin Steele can only be seen as a downgrade. And for all he’s done in the game of football at the NFL level, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron has yet to find a way to teach College QB 101 to an underdeveloped athlete in Brandon Harris.

Snagging Orgeron, who probably deserves a coordinator job somewhere, was a nice addition.

4. ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

Most Important Assistant: Defensive coordinator Robb Smith

Non-Coordinator: Linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves

It will be interesting to gauge the reaction of Hogs fans in the next two or three years if Arkansas hits an eight- or nine-win ceiling, which I suspect the Razorbacks may do. But the fact that Arkansas, ranked in several preseason Top 25 polls, is getting these pockets of love (Sporting News ranked the Hogs No. 4 — in the nation — in January) is a direct vote of confidence in Bret Bielema.

For as much as SEC fans claim to hate Big Ten football, which is essentially what Bielema brought with him from Wisconsin, the Arkansas program is imminently more likable than it was under Bobby Petrino. He’s no-nonsense, he’s relatable and he isn’t trying to be a poor man’s version of the SEC’s top dogs. It’s a smart, sellable approach thus far.

If the defense plays as well as I think it will without Trey Flowers, Martrell Spaight or Darius Philon, coordinator Robb Smith is going to start getting a lot more love nationally, or at least around the SEC. The only thing holding him back right now is a short resume as a coordinator.

New offensive coordinator Dan Enos will be fine. He’s a somewhat surprising get, given that he spent the last five seasons as a head coach in the MAC and left voluntarily, as far as we know. But the news was the departure of Randy Shannon, a well-respected recruiter with — notice a pattern here? — ties to South Florida. Bielema and the Hogs moved fast and replaced him with Vernon Hargreaves, which should prove to be a nice save.

5. TEXAS A&M AGGIES

Most Important Assistant: Defensive coordinator John Chavis

Non-Coordinator: Offensive line coach Dave Christensen

The Aggies are flush with cash and can compete with Alabama, Auburn and LSU in terms of staff beyond the head coach. This offseason, Texas A&M made two acclaimed additions and suffered one significant loss.

But let’s start with Kevin Sumlin first. A terrific recruiter, he’s managed to lift the Aggies brand to places it has never been before. The move to the SEC and the dance with Johnny Football played a part in that, but Sumlin’s personality and charisma have a lot to do with it as well.

That said, he’s getting paid $5 million per season to do more than create excitement in the form of a high-scoring offense or singular talents like Myles Garrett. That’s why the move to steal John Chavis from the closest SEC West rival, geographically, in LSU was and is a huge deal. Muschamp may be the sexiest defensive coordinator in the conference, but Chavis has done it for the longest time and can stack up more successful years on his resume than maybe any coordinator in the country.

Losing receivers coach and recruiting coordinator David Beaty was a significant blow, as far as non-coordinators go. But the Aggies countered by hiring Dave Christensen, the former Wyoming head coach and Utah defensive coordinator. He’s coached offensive systems similar to A&M’s and represents the ideal candidate to a) get the offensive line back to top-notch form and b) help the team squeeze more production out of the running game.

6. OLE MISS REBELS

Most Important Assistant: Defensive coordinator Dave Wommack

Non-Coordinator: Recruiting coordinator/defensive line coach Chris Kiffin

Hugh Freeze has recruited very well for the Rebels, and not just that monstrous 2013 class. He doesn’t get as much credit as Gus Malzahn, but what a meteoric rise from high school head coach to the head man at Ole Miss. He’s got this program in a sustainable position — not to compete for an SEC West title every year, but to stay in the middle class of the overall SEC pecking order. Which  is strong.

As for the rest of the staff, Kiffin has a few nice pieces — especially Wommack, Jason Jones and Kiffin — but there’s not as much ammo here as some of the other SEC West head coaches are able to enjoy.

Personally, I’d slot Freeze ahead of Sumlin on this list if it only included head coaches, but I think the Aggies have a decent advantage with the rest of the overall staff.

It’s not that the Rebels assistants are sub-par. But this is a ranking, and in the SEC West, you have to have two or more of the best, hottest and sexiest assistants in the country for a chance at the top three, in addition to a head coach with some championships on his resume.

7. MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS

Most Important Assistant: Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz

Non-Coordinator: Assistant head coach/safeties coach/recruiting coordinator Tony Hughes

The SEC West is a tough business environment, isn’t it?

Dan Mullen led the Bulldogs to a No. 1 overall ranking for weeks on end last season as a legitimate College Football Playoff contender. Despite “contending” with relatively modest resources, facilities and location. And yet here he is, ranked with his staff as the seventh-best group of coaches in the SEC West entering 2015.

Last hardly is an appropriate label for this group. But here we are.

Replacing outgoing defensive coordinator Geoff Collins with Manny Diaz was a strong move. Diaz has coached in Starkville, Miss., before, and is an undervalued commodity after wading through a mess at Texas (2011-13). Beyond that, there aren’t many sexy household names. Alabama’s total number of assistant coaches and off-field support staff dwarfs that of the Bulldogs, both in size and salary, which is a big reason why Mississippi State is the choice to get slotted at No. 7.

It’s a reality of coaching SEC football in the state of Mississippi: there almost always is going to be a resources disadvantage.