Jim McElwain was voted SEC Coach of the Year — in his first year in the league.

Kirk Ferentz won another Big Ten Coach of the Year award.

How good are the head coaches in these two leagues? Neither is the highest-ranked in our SDS SEC-Big Ten power rankings:

T28. Chris Ash, Rutgers: Could be great, could be a mistake, but as a first-time head coach, we won’t know for at least two years.

T28. D.J. Durkin, Maryland: Former defensive coordinator (including at Florida) moves over to the big chair for the first time. See: Ash, Chris.

T28. Barry Odom, Missouri: See: Durkin, D.J.

T28. Kirby Smart, Georgia: See: Odom, Barry. As impressive as his coordinator credentials were — quite — he’s another first-time head coach with no track record.

24. Darrell Hazel, Purdue: Hazell is 6-30 in three seasons — three of the wins are against FCS teams. He’s 0-3 against Indiana. He’ll be back for his fourth.

23. Bill Cubit, Illinois: Went 5-7 in a tricky transition period before being the interim tag was removed.
22. Mike Riley, Nebraska: Long-time Oregon State head coach took over a Cornhuskers program that couldn’t wait to part ways with Bo Pelini. Riley went 5-7 this year. Pelini won 9 or more each of his seven seasons.

21. Tracy Claeys, Minnesota: He took over for Jerry Kill this season — after filling in for Kill and going 4-3 in 2013. So as new head coaches go, he has more experience.

20. Mark Stoops, Kentucky: Consecutive season-ending collapses speak to a staff that can’t solve sticky situations.

19. Will Muschamp, South Carolina: Muschamp 2.0 better be better than Muschamp 1.0 or there won’t be a Muschamp 3.0. The guess here is he will apply lessons learned and take advantage of his recruiting ability.

18. Gus Malzahn, Auburn: When a team falls as far as Auburn, questions usually start at the top.

17. Derek Mason, Vanderbilt: Maybe the toughest to judge because the talent pool is so shallow, but give him credit for building a beast on defense.

16. Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M: How different would this list have looked, say, three years ago? Coaching is a rough business. The clock is ticking on Sumlin’s time in College Station.

15. James Franklin, Penn State: Hard to believe, but Franklin won more games each of his final two seasons at Vanderbilt than he has in both of his first two seasons in Happy Valley. This year’s 7-5 regular season —  was particularly puzzling, given the fact he had an NFL-caliber QB in Christian Hackenberg to build around.

14. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin: Would say his return to Madison went swimmingly, except the lakes are frozen by November. Former Badgers QB and long-time offensive coordinator lost two close Big Ten games.

13. Kevin Wilson, Indiana: If this seems high, Google “Indiana football history.” We’ll save you the trouble: In 117 years of playing football, the Hoosiers are nearly 200 games under .500. Wilson has the Hoosiers in a bowl game — just the second time in 22 seasons that’s happened. His offense is prolific — Big Ten-best 36.2 points per game. IU scored 4 TDs against Michigan State, which is more than Ohio State and Iowa scored on Sparty — combined. If the Hoosiers ever figure out how to stop anybody … dare anybody dream of the program’s first 10-win season?

12. Dan Mullen, Mississippi State: He accomplished the almost unthinkable in Starkville, but has struggled to win the biggest games. And that was with Dak Prescott. You get the sense the Bulldogs jumped as high as they could before crashing into their glass ceiling.

11. Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss: He revitalized the Rebels, essentially in one magical recruiting class. How he handles next season will go a long way in determining whether the Rebels have peaked.

10. Les Miles, LSU: You can argue the offense is outdated, but he’s a master recruiter and coach of the likely 2016 Heisman Trophy winner. He’s done more than many in the top 10, even though there’s a sense those ahead of him are moving forward.

9. Bret Bielema, Arkansas: He brought that Big Ten physicality south — and with the wealth of big, physical offensive line recruits at his disposal, it’ll be tough to slow down the momentum he’s building in Fayetteville.

8. Butch Jones, Tennessee: In relatively quick order, Jones has restored the Volunteers to Fulmer-eque quality. Which will make them an SEC East contender for years.

7. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern: Northwestern has won 9 or more games five times in its history: Fitzgerald has been the coach on three of them and played linebacker on the other two.

6. Jim McElwain, Florida: Quite the SEC debut. Imagine how good his system will be when he has a true QB running it.

5. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa: He’s done it longer, with less notoriety, than just about any Power 5 coach.

4. Urban Meyer, Ohio State: It’s difficult to argue with the numbers, but as Gators fans know, controversy follows his programs, and some of that dissension played itself out in the key loss to Michigan State.

3. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan: It’s only a matter of time before Harbaugh reclaims the state — and then the Big Ten.

2. Nick Saban, Alabama: Saban has created an empire at Alabama. He’s the Coach K of college football, winning on signing day, opening day and (more often than any peer) on championship day. He does more with more than anybody in college football.

1. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State: Dantonio is the Brad Stevens of college football, doing more with less than any coach in America. Rivals.com ranked his past four recruiting classes No. 41 in 2012, No. 40 in 2013, No. 22 in 2014 and No. 22 in 2015. Alabama went 1-1-1-2 in that stretch.