Last week’s Alabama-LSU game held all sorts of implications in the SEC and nationally.

One of the less talked-about: how it clarified the current coaching picture within the conference. Watching the Tide’s 30-16 victory — which wasn’t a great indication of the performance margin between the two sides — made it apparent which coaching staff was more effective.

There are a few more games that could drastically change our coaching rankings, including Mississippi State-Alabama, LSU-Ole Miss and the SEC Championship. But our top 10 coaches of 2015 are crystalizing fast.

For first-time readers, we set out to monitor and rank the most effective SEC coaches this year, regardless of position or title. Here are our top 10 SEC coaches as we enter the final three weeks of the regular season:

1. Jim McElwain, Florida head coach (last: No. 2)

Now that LSU no longer is a top 5 team, coach Jim McElwain has become the undisputed frontrunner for SEC Coach of the Year. One has to figure that, at worst, he’s coaching a 10-2 team in Atlanta on Dec. 5. Consider that when he arrived, the Gators were 11-13 in the last two seasons. The offensive line was among the least-experienced units in the SEC entering the season. The quarterback position has been split between a true freshman (now suspended) and a true sophomore. The team lost eight NFL draft picks the season before. There have been too many new offensive coordinators and receivers coaches the last seven years for even the most ardent Florida fans to name them all. Georgia entered the season as a heavy favorite, Missouri and Tennessee as top 25 teams and Steve Spurrier vowed South Carolina would be competitive again. What McElwain has done in his first season deserves national Coach of the Year consideration.

2. Kirby Smart, Alabama defensive coordinator (last: unranked)

At one time the hottest assistant coach in the country, Smart’s name has faded from the national scene in recent seasons. Alabama’s defense struggled against dual-threat quarterbacks (Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton). Last year, the secondary fell off the map and allowed way too many big plays. The unit as a whole looked tired against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff. Flash forward to 2015 and Alabama’s defense is as good as any team in the country. The front seven has helped the Tide rank second in the nation in rushing defense. The secondary leads the SEC in interceptions. What Alabama did against a previously-great LSU running game was spectacular, a coaching clinic. Smart once again is a targeted name in these coaching rumor stories.

3. Nick Saban, Alabama head coach (last: No. 7)

When the pretenders fall off near the end of the season, Alabama remains. It’s been the best bet in college football since 2008, the year after Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa. The degree of difficulty has increased exponentially as the Tide became the hunted, the game evolved and revenue to every SEC school exploded. But here he is, once again. Last year, Saban hired Lane Kiffin, which was a huge reason the team won a conference title. This year he hired Mel Tucker, with a similar impact on the secondary. He’s owned Les Miles for several years now, and is back to winning with defense and a running game.

4. Geoff Collins, Florida defensive coordinator (last: No. 6)

If not for the Gators defense, Florida would be 7-2 right now, saddled with a loss to Vanderbilt and still needing to win in order to wrap up the SEC East. Thankfully, though, this team proved capable of winning a game in which it only scored 9 points. Will Muschamp was partially correct when he pronounced to the media that he left some very good players in Gainesville for the next coach, and most of those preside on the defensive side of the football. But for Collins to come in and create a flawless transition among the unit — and if anything, turn it more aggressive — is a testament to his ability as one of the SEC’s top coordinators.

5. Dan Mullen, Mississippi State head coach (last: unranked)

Texas A&M demolished this team earlier in the season. That game gets more puzzling by the week. Still, one year after what was essentially a dream season for the Bulldogs — replete with a multi-week stay at No. 1 in the country — has given way to a more-than-respectable encore. Even if Mississippi State loses Saturday, it can finish the regular season at 9-3. A top 25 finish, after being picked last in the SEC West by the media, would prove that Mullen has constructed some semblance of sustainability. It’s easy to attribute that success to Dak Prescott, but this team is more than a one-man show, and Mullen deserves props.

6. Les Miles, LSU head coach (last: no. 1)

The way LSU lost to Alabama — not necessarily the result — has to make Miles and the Tigers coaches a bit nervous. The team still faces a tough slate of games the last three weeks, all within the SEC West. Finishing 9-2 would be the equivalent of double-digit regular-season wins, considering the opening-week cancelation. But, in the context of the team’s tremendous September and October, two or even three losses would feel like disaster to some in Baton Rouge. For the first time in quite a while, Saturday’s Tide-Tigers matchup didn’t appear razor-thin. It felt like Miles and his staff got outcoached.

7. Mel Tucker, Alabama defensive backs (last: No. 4)

It’s probably unfair to Tucker to rank him this low, but we had to find spots for Kirby Smart and Dan Mullen. Alabama didn’t dare LSU QB Brandon Harris to beat the team deep, though it shifted to a 5-2 look against Leonard Fournette and the running game pretty often. Playing straight up against some talented Tigers receivers, the Tide secondary limited Harris to 6-of-19 for 128 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Dillon Lee’s pick ensured that Alabama still leads the SEC in interceptions at 13. The Tide also leads the SEC in sacks at 29, a rare occurrence for a Nick Saban-coached defense. Tucker and the secondary are major influencers for that stat as well.

8. Barry Odom, Missouri defensive coordinator (last: No. 3)

The Tigers still rank at or near the top in the SEC’s major statistical defensive rankings. But some of the mystique behind this Mizzou defense washed away with the rain last Thursday in a 31-13 home loss to Mississippi State. Dak Prescott and the Bulldogs put up 430 total yards and scored four touchdowns despite incremental progress by the Missouri offense. Still, look at what Odom has achieved in nine games. The overall body of work remains impressive if this unit can regroup in time for BYU this week. There’s no reason the Tigers defense should allow the Cougars to win at the line of scrimmage.

9. Frank Wilson, LSU running backs (last: No. 5)

Wilson gets docked big-time for LSU’s performance against Alabama: 26 carries for 54 yards. Still, the Tigers have rushed for almost 80 yards per game more than the SEC’s No. 2 in Georgia. And Leonard Fournette, the erstwhile Heisman Trophy frontrunner, isn’t the only effective runner in the rebuilt LSU backfield, which is excelling despite extreme youth. The last three games will help define the narrative of the entire year for LSU as we re-assess the initial 7-0 start. If the Tigers play more like they did throughout that magical run, we can downplay the Alabama performance as a bit of a fluke against the SEC’s best run defense.

10. Manny Diaz, Mississippi State defensive coordinator (last: No. 10)

The Bulldogs have allowed 17.2 points per game on defense, 10th in the nation and just behind Clemson. That’s tremendous considering Mississippi State’s defense lost almost all of its starters from last season as well as its coordinator. The defensive line has been stout, but the secondary has gotten much better under Diaz — fourth in the SEC in opponent quarterback rating. If Mississippi State finds a way to beat Alabama, more than likely it will be because of this stingy defense, not Dak Prescott.

Dropped out: Craig Kuligowski, Missouri defensive line; Ed Orgeron, LSU defensive line.