re: 2-14 SEC squads: Which one was better?

Possibly. People have the mistaken belief that coaches are either bad or good. They are human and change over time. I think DiNardo had the potential to be a great coach, as did Brady. They both made decisions as coaches that didn't work out and dug holes they couldn't get out of.

A few small changes, or lucky breaks, could have taken both in drastically different directions.