With almost as many dollar signs as the national debt, it may seem Southeastern Conference football coaches are vastly overpaid.

Or not.

Therapy is expensive, you know. The dozen head football coaches occupying SEC sidelines could just as easily occupy psychiatrists’ couches.

Perhaps they should.

Who wouldn’t need professional help upon weekly fluctuating from revered to seared ?

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That’s always been the norm of college coaching, but the current SEC is way above the norm in extremes of revered to seared — particularly the seared.

Last Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn., some likely wished Arkansas’ Houston Nutt and Tennessee’s Phil Fulmer could have met over a barbecue pit instead of Neyland Stadium.

Not barbecuing over the pit, but on the spit if some fans of both teams had their way.

Must admit it was kind of refreshing to see “ The Defend Fort Neyland” banner trailing an airplane circling pregame in Knoxville contrasting the “ Hogs Should Be 9-0, Thanks A Lot, Nutt” trailing the rear of a plane also circling pregame.

Give Vols’ fans the nod for classier use of airspace.

While probably less personal than what Nutt has endured — and that’s just an assumption for not hanging around Knoxville weeks on end to know for sure — it’s well documented Fulmer has taken more than his share of heat. Seems not all that long ago in 1998 when Fulmer coached the Vols to the national championship. That same year, firstyear Razorback coach Nutt took the State of Arkansas by storm, igniting a program with one winning season from 1990-97 into a 9-3 SEC West co-champion that came within a fumble away of topping Tennessee in Knoxville. Nutt’s energy inspired Arkansas to turn the tin can of Razorback Stadium into a mega showplace as good or better than the other mega SEC showplaces. That’s no small feat in a league that lavishes football palaces like Las Vegas lavishes casinos. But in Internet years, 1998 is as bygone as the dinosaurs. Nutt was briefly feted, kind of, a week ago when Darren McFadden and Felix Jones comboed a NCAA r ushing re cord romping over South Carolina. He’s back to Ground Zero now. The Hogs (6-4, 2-4 SEC West ) were lackluster and Jones was injured in the 34-13 loss to Tennessee. They host a suddenly hot Mississippi State Saturday in Little Rock followed by the day-after-Thanksgiving closer with nationally No. 1 ranked LSU in Baton Rouge.

Most Tennessee fans, with the Vols in the SEC East driver’s seat, probably sit in Fulmer’s corner — for now. Let the Vols stumble in remaining games against Vanderbilt and / or Kentucky, and the fed-upwith-Fulmer crowd will call for his head. So Nutt and Fulmer compared notes pregame at Neyland. “ We had a real good conversation about it, ” Nutt said when asked at his Sunday press conference. “ I really don’t want to talk about what we talked about. But it was good. ” Couldn’t ever y SEC coach have that same conversation ?

“ Absolutely, ” Nutt replied.

Top to bottom, this league’s balance unbalances emotions all over.

Look around.

At Florida you’ll find a FireCoachMeyer. com website. All coach Urban Meyer did last year was pilot the Gators to a national championship.

From his Florida coaching days, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier seems forever established among alltime college coaching greats. But his Gamecocks have lost four straight with a defense the last two weeks personally reviving the Heisman campaigns of Darren McFadden and Florida’s Tim Tebow.

At Alabama, Crimson Tide fans greeted ultra high-priced new coach Nick Saban with the reverence of a Bear Bryant second coming. Bet some Tide fans are saying ungodly things now after Mississippi State beat Alabama again last Saturday.

“ Mike Shula did that and did it cheaper, ” will be heard.

If Aubur n wins the Iron Bowl, Alabama fans won’t think so jolly of St. Nick this Christmas.

Les Miles may seem all smiles with LSU nationally No. 1 and already the SEC West champ. But let LSU misstep at Ole Miss or against Arkansas or at the SEC Championship game. Any loss would cost the Tigers the national championship shot no doubt some of their fans now think they are entitled. So you likely would see a fire. com there, too.

Probably some place, maybe places, a SEC coaching change will occur temporarily appeasing the disgruntled.

To any exiting we wish this parting gift: A coaching job in a lesser conference. Your wallet might shrink, but any need for a shrink would shrink, too.

Nate Allen covers the Razorbacks for the Northwest Arkansas Times.