The season is still six months away, but as spring practice kicks off across the SEC, there are a handful of coaches already feeling the heat. In a three-part series running Wednesday, we will examine three of those coaches and what it would take for each to get the axe after next season.

We begin with Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.

The skinny: It’s been just a little over two years since Malzahn had Auburn playing in the BCS national championship game. If not for a last-minute touchdown drive by Jameis Winston, the Tigers would’ve won and claimed their second title in four years. The crazy part? That was Malzahn’s first season as head coach on the Plains.

Since then, however, his teams have regressed and fallen well short of expectations. Take this past year for example. Auburn was a preseason top-10 team and a popular pick to win the SEC. Not only did the Tigers not win the SEC. They barely made a bowl game.

To make matters worse, fans watched as in-state rival Alabama won the conference and rolled through the College Football Playoff on its way to another national championship. The last time the Crimson Tide won it all, Auburn fired its coach the same season.

Malzahn’s job is safe, though, at least for now. And he doesn’t seem too concerned seeing as how he’s taking recruits for a spin in his new $140,000 sports car. But how safe will his job be come November? Auburn easily could right the ship and get back in the race to win the SEC West, but what if the season goes the other way?

Auburn will fire Malzahn if: Eight wins should be enough for Malzahn to keep his job, right? It wasn’t enough for Mark Richt, but Richt had been at Georgia for over a decade and things had grown stagnant. This is only Malzahn’s fourth season at Auburn.

But what happens if the Tigers get blown out by Alabama in the Iron Bowl? Would eight wins be enough then? Or would fans grow tired of getting beat up by their rival and turn on Malzahn? More important, would the administration turn on him? And you can tell yourself that one game won’t make or break a coach, but Gene Chizik and Ellis Johnson might have a different viewpoint.

Regardless of wins, losses or the Iron Bowl, Auburn needs to show progress this season. That’s more important than anything.

Unlike last year, nobody is expecting this team to win the SEC or reach the College Football Playoff. But if the quarterback issues aren’t fixed and the defense continues to struggle, the Tigers could end up back in the Birmingham Bowl and looking for a new coach.