A tough schedule can make or break a college football coach.

Though most schools preach patience and stability at leadership positions, there’s only so much mediocrity an administration can withstand before they make a change, regardless of how impressive their school’s strength of schedule is.

This year will be an important one for a few SEC coaches, all of whom have a date against Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide on their schedules.

According to FOXSports.com, three SEC coaches should watch their backs this fall, as another underwhelming performance could leave them looking for new jobs. The full top-five ranking can be seen here, with Auburn’s Gus Malzahn coming in at No. 1 on the list.

At No. 2 is Tennessee’s Butch Jones and down at No. 5 is Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin.

Those names should come as no surprise, as they were all on the hot seat this past season. However, since Malzahn just led the Tigers to an unlikely Sugar Bowl appearance, seeing him at No. 1 is odd.

Many college football fans may argue that Arkansas’s Bret Bielema and Ole Miss’s Hugh Freeze should also be on this list, but having a top-five list with all SEC coaches wouldn’t be fair.

How would you structure a top-five hot-seat list of SEC coaches? Let us know in the comments below.