SEC Network analysts Alyssa Lang and Chris Doering have named their top candidates for SEC Coach of the Year ahead of the regular season’s end with just one game remaining.

Lang went with Clark Lea of Vanderbilt, while Doering stuck with Billy Napier of Florida. Here’s a look at the top 10 for both analysts.

Chris Doering:

  1. Billy Napier, Florida
  2. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
  3. Shane Beamer, South Carolina
  4. Kirby Smart, Georgia
  5. Steve Sarkisian, Texas

Alyssa Lang:

  1. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
  2. Mike Elko, Texas A&M
  3. Billy Napier, Florida
  4. Shane Beamer, South Carolina
  5. Kirby Smart, Georgia

These lists are solid and make sense overall, but Doering’s pick on Napier is somewhat polarizing. Many thought he would be fired ahead of the season’s end based on the way he was severely failing to meet the expectations despite signing a top-15 recruiting class.

But he completely turned things around and now has Florida on a positive trajectory, with the Gators on a two-game winning streak with big wins over formerly No. 9-ranked Ole Miss and the LSU Tigers.

Having Lea toward the top of both lists was plenty to be expected, and well deserved, for a coach that has changed the narrative of the Vanderbilt program and recorded one of the biggest upsets in history with the victory over formerly No. 1-ranked Alabama.

It will be interesting to see who comes in first with the season officially winding down this week.