Early on in their tenure's the big name hires in the SEC haven't really made a mark yet - though maybe they will in the future.
At Miss St, Howland took over a program that was 13-19 the year before and has gone 14-17 and 16-15 (with a game today against AL) in his 2 yrs with a best conference finish of 11th. No postseason
At Auburn Pearl took over a program that had just gone 14-16 and has gone 15-20, 11-20 and 18-14 in 3 years with a high conference finish of 11th. Might get to the NIT this season, no postseason 1st 2 yrs. Next year is a big year for Pearl.
At TN, Barnes took over a program that had gone 16-16 the year before he arrived and has gone 15-19 and 16-16 (after the UGA loss today) with a high finish of 9th and no postseason.
Avery Johnson at AL has probably been the best so far with season of 18-15 with an NIT appearance last season and so far 17-13 this season. Finished tied for 5th this season in the SEC.
Note that Anthony Grant was 19-15 his last season at AL, so you can't really say Johnson has done any better.