It’s incredible how quickly the hot-seat conversation in the SEC can move off one coach and be affixed to another one.

Before the 2017 season started, no question about it, Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin seemed to be in the most trouble. His own athletic director, Scott Woodward, went on the Paul Finebaum Show and told a live radio/TV audience that his coach had essentially been put on notice.

But the Aggies are 4-1 right now, and they could very well be 5-0 if not for a historic collapse against UCLA in the opener. Tennessee’s Butch Jones, whose seat was warm at best a month ago, is now having a hard time sitting down after struggling with UMass and then getting smoked by Georgia — both were at home, by the way.

That’s nothing compared to what’s happening in Baton Rouge, though. LSU’s Ed Orgeron enjoyed a sensational offseason and had everything pointed in the right direction. Then the Tigers actually started playing games and were no different than before.

Here are some of my favorite reader comments from this past week. I’m flabbergasted at how quickly the temperature of the room has changed for the Bayou Bengals.

"Les could beat everyone but 'Bama, who we couldn't block. Now we’re doing things like blocking for multiple options on runs and trying to trick a Sun Belt team instead of running them over. No scheme is going to work until we keep our QB upright and open holes." -- therarereasonabletgr.

I’m not playing a convenient game of “I told you so.” At no point was I on board with LSU giving Orgeron the job full-time.

As I’ve said and written countless times, there are sergeants in life and there are generals. I’d have Orgeron as my second-in-command on any team in the country. But leading my guys out of the tunnel? I don’t think that’s his ideal role.

I’ve compared Orgeron to Rod Marinelli, who has been one of the elite assistant coaches in the NFL for decades now. The Detroit Lions gave him an opportunity to be a head coach for the first time in his career, yet his tenure was an unmitigated disaster — including the only 0-16 campaign in league history. What a mess it was, too.

After he left the Motor City, Marinelli once again became a respected assistant for a few organizations. Still, you don’t want him wearing a suit and addressing the media. You want him putting his hand in the dirt alongside defensive linemen.

I feel the same way about Orgeron. Most of the top-tier head coaches in college operate like the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Of course, surrounding himself with the best coordinators money can buy was a terrific start. Dave Aranda had been hired the year before for the defense, then Orgeron brought in Matt Canada from Pittsburgh to handle the offense.

However, what we’ve heard already is that Orgeron has ordered Canada to simplify his system and dial back some of the add-ons — quarterback Danny Etling and Co. didn’t do a lot of shifting or motion in their upset loss to Troy — that earned him a pristine reputation in the first place. Canada, who has been known to butt heads here and there, most likely didn’t appreciate that.

On the one hand, I see your point here. The Tigers shouldn’t need to get overly creative to handle a non-Power 5 program like Troy. But Orgeron hired Canada because he was impressed with his scheme, so asking him to tweak it feels like meddling.

Orgeron assured everyone that he’d let his coaches coach and not be a control freak, which he didn’t always do in his failed stop at Ole Miss. History may be repeating itself.

"UGA has every advantage that any program could hope for. If this team finishes strong it should bring in another Top 5 class, and that would further close the gap on 'Bama and further separate the Dawgs from the rest." -- Tim Rupert

After this comment was made, Justin Fields, the No. 1 quarterback in the country for the class of 2018, committed to Georgia.

It’s another monster win for coach Kirby Smart on the recruiting trail. Since coming back to his alma mater, he’s secured the commitment of Jacob Eason, added to his signal caller stockpile with Jake Fromm and will soon throw Fields into the mix.

Is there space for Eason, Fromm and Fields in the same QB room next fall? Probably not. Eason had more valleys than peaks as a true freshman in 2016, so it’s not a shock that he can’t get his job back from Fromm after suffering an injury in Week 1. With Fields arriving soon, speculation on Eason’s future is already running rampant.

Regardless, Smart has quickly solidified himself as a relentless recruiter in the mold of his dark lord, Alabama’s Nick Saban. Even before Fields announced his intentions, Smart had reeled in the nation’s No. 1 running back, Zamir White.

Don’t get me wrong, former coach Mark Richt was a fine recruiter in his own right. Still, Smart has really put the pedal to the metal.

Not to mention the fact that the on-field product at UGA has been quite impressive this season. After consecutive beatdowns in conference play, first 31-3 vs. Mississippi State and then 41-0 at Tennessee, the Dawgs are for real.

What has hurt the overall perception of this league is that it’s become the Crimson Tide and everybody else — the other 13 member institutions simply can’t keep up with Saban. What the SEC truly needs more than anything is not just balance between East and West, but a sister school in the East that can actually make the conference championship game competitive again.

The last thing we want to see is ‘Bama destroying Florida for the third consecutive time in Atlanta this December. The first one was 29-15 and not that close. The second one was 54-16 and, once again, not that close. Enough already.

It was a risk dumping Richt, who could be penciled in for 10 wins. But so far, Smart is indeed on his way to building Tuscaloosa East.

"I doubt he plays. He can’t stretch the field like Franks, and he is even more limited in his playbook knowledge. It’d make the Gators even more anemic. They just need to focus on the run game and go deep every so often. " -- Blep

On the weekly SEC conference call a few days ago, I asked Florida coach Jim McElwain about quarterback Malik Zaire.

While the transfer from Notre Dame made a lengthy appearance in the opener against Michigan when Feleipe Franks couldn’t get the job done, Zaire has done nothing more than patrol the sideline for the Gators ever since.

But it’s worth noting that one of the high points of his career in South Bend was a 31-28 win over LSU in the Music City Bowl, where he threw for 96 yards, ran for an additional 96 and was responsible for 2 total touchdowns off the bench. Sure, it was 2014. I’m well aware of the fact that it’s 2017. A lot has changed since then.

Still, when I referenced Zaire’s history against the Tigers, McElwain was clearly well aware of it and had surely watched that tape at some point. With the Bayou Bengals coming to Gainesville in Week 6, it was worth a mention.

It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Zaire has a package of plays Saturday and relieves Franks for a series or two.

First of all, the Gators are becoming more of a run-based offense as the season progresses. We probably wouldn’t have said that a month ago, not with leading rusher Jordan Scarlett suspended indefinitely, but Lamical Perine and Malik Davis have played well recently.

With Luke Del Rio done for the rest of the season — will we ever see him in orange and blue again? — due to another shoulder injury, Franks has reclaimed the starting gig. Only by default, though. He has been yanked twice, once for Zaire and once for Del Rio. It’s safe to say that McElwain hasn’t fully bought in to what Franks can do.

Even if McElwain doesn’t bring out the hook for Franks a third time, it’s reality that Zaire is now the only experienced backup on the roster. It’s not like Zaire will be passed over for Kyle Trask. Do you remember how poorly Trask played in the spring game?

Zaire is a flawed passer, absolutely. But Franks has holes in his game, as well. Combining them into one multi-dimensional field general? Admit it: It’s not a ridiculous idea.