Football has started, which means that it’s officially time to start speculating about which SEC job Chip Kelly will take.

Kelly or a real candidate could have their pick of multiple openings. After Texas A&M’s opening night debacle, the hot seat discussion is alive and well.

With that in mind, let’s discuss which SEC coach will be fired first in 2017:

Making the case for … Jim McElwain

Ok, it was only an awful opener. Two consecutive division titles should get any coach off the hot seat for at least a year, right?

Well, McElwain is certainly not trending in the right direction. He spent all offseason talking about how Florida’s offense would look “completely different” than it did last year. We heard about the improved passing game and the improved offensive line. If there was any improvement, we didn’t see it against a Michigan defense that returned one starter.

Florida fans seem fed up with McElwain, an offensive coach, having no offense. Continuously getting smacked by ranked foes (2-8) that have quality defenses won’t make anyone last long in Gainesville, division titles or not. The problem for McElwain is that in his third year, he appears likely to take a step back after two, somewhat hollow 9-win seasons.

There’s also Florida’s growing list of off-the-field issues, which was evident in the opener. Florida isn’t about to let its coach become a national punchline. He might be doing better than Will Muschamp, but McElwain’s future won’t be determined by whether he can leapfrog that low bar.

Without a marquee victory in the near future, things could spiral quickly for McElwain.

Making the case for … Butch Jones

No, the thrilling victory against Georgia Tech didn’t make or break Jones’ future.

To be honest, Jones’ résumé is probably better than most people think. Back-to-back 9-win seasons is nothing to scoff at, especially considering Jones took over a 5-7 squad. Couple that with three consecutive bowl victories and it’s bizarre that Jones could show up on anyone’s hot seat.

But perspective — fair or not — could be what costs Jones his job. He has yet to beat a top-10 team in 11 attempts, his teams have been awful against the run and the Vols still haven’t been to Atlanta with Jones in a very manageable SEC East.

On top of that, everybody talks about the goofy “champions of life” mantras that Jones has become associated with. He has a reputation for not admitting fault, which is a dangerous approach to take for a coach in a high-profile program.

If that 14-18 mark in SEC play doesn’t improve and it looks like Tennessee takes a noticeable step back, nobody would be surprised to see one of the nation’s premiere programs have an opening. Jones could get the axe if the Vols are all but eliminated from East contention with a loss to Kentucky.

Making the case for … Kevin Sumlin

Sumlin is the obvious choice, and for the sake of argument, he’s my pick to get canned. There were plenty who felt Sumlin should’ve coached his last game at Texas A&M on Sunday night. It’s one game, but for a guy whose hot seat was more apparent than anyone in the country, it was a brutal start.

The Aggies could easily stumble in three of their first four SEC games with matchups against Arkansas, South Carolina, Alabama and Florida. If Sumlin loses the first three of those games, he’ll be out of a job before his first SEC road game.

Speaking of that, isn’t it odd that Texas A&M only has one true SEC road game until Nov. 18? Could that be the difference in the Aggies surpassing falling expectations?

There’s also another interesting thing to think about. Sumlin’s buyout is massive. Like, $11.25 million in 60 days massive. That’s a lot of coin to fork over for someone not to be a coach. Will the Aggies be willing to bite the bullet if things go south sooner than usual in College Station?

One wild card that nobody is talking about … Gus Malzahn

I know, I know. Malzahn is signed through the 2020 season. All signs point to Auburn having a huge year and finishing as a top-15 team.

But what if that doesn’t happen?

What if Auburn has yet another 8-win season and Malzahn is looking at his fourth consecutive year with a loss to Alabama and without a top-20 finish? Given how high expectations were heading into this season, it won’t take much for Malzahn to underachieve with this team.

Let’s not forget that the LSU game in 2016 was essentially the hot-seat game between he and Les Miles. Malzahn and the Tigers won on a last-second reversal, and Miles was subsequently fired.

Hot seat talk is fired up when we’re talking about an unproven coach with an uncertain team. Everybody seems sold on Auburn, and while Malzahn gets credit for the national championship appearance, those were Gene Chizik’s players. Would another year like last be the end of Malzahn?

Nobody is putting him on the hot seat yet, but if the Tigers stumble against Clemson and drop a couple early ones in SEC play, don’t be surprised if the conversation shifts in a hurry.

So when could we see an SEC coach fired?

I mean, last year the SEC couldn’t make it out of September without a coach firing. Could that happen again? Given Sumlin’s track record in September games, that’s still not likely.

But if Sunday night’s collapse were any indication, there could be some rough times ahead in College Station. As mentioned, there’s no guarantee that Sumlin makes it to the Florida game if the Aggies play defense like they did in the fourth quarter against UCLA.

It would be surprising if there were any non-Sumlin firings before Nov. 1. Jones still has a longer leash than Sumlin. Barring a complete meltdown, Jones won’t be going anywhere before Tennessee is officially eliminated from East contention.

Having said that, who really knows? Les Miles led the No. 5 team in the country to start the 2016 season, yet he was gone in late September.

Memories in the SEC are short. Expectations are great. Jones and Sumlin know that all too well.

They’ll get painful reminders if they fall apart in 2017.