It’s only SEC (but I like it…) : Week 5

Jerry World, Arlington, TX

The news of UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka electing to redshirt and sit out the rest of the season was fresh in everyones minds when the SEC  head coaches teleconference came around on Wednesday.

No surprise then that a theme emerged in questions directed at the coaches.

When Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze was asked about NIL and the transfer portal, Freeze elected to compliment the Ole Miss program in the way that they manage their NIL collective so effectively.

On the very next segment a media member relayed these compliments to Ole Miss head coach, Lane Kiffin. Kiffin is never short of words but, lets be clear, he absolutely knows how his words will land, said this

“That’s nice of him. I’m sure he’ll try to steal Walker Jones (head of the Grove Collective) like he did all our coaches.”

Which wasn’t said in a humorous fashion (although sometimes it is hard to tell with Lane). It also followed on from Kiffin’s comments made in the aftermath of Auburn’s defeat to Arkansas last weekend. Freeze heavily criticised both of his quarterbacks (both of whom he has benched over the last few weeks) leading to widespread criticism of the head coach’s lack of support. When asked about the pressure players and coaches find themselves under, Kiffin had this to say:

“I think it pays off when you have the relationships and the quarterbacks trust you too… I go back to Matt Corrall when he threw 6 interceptions & before he even got to the media and sitting down with him, “you know i’ve got to do a better job of calling plays, we’ve got to coach better and don’t worry we got your back” and so I think it goes a long ways & goes a long ways with kids in recruiting, knowing what they’re going to get. They get here with a relationship where they can trust us”.

Which, while not a direct attack on Freeze, was very much aimed in the Auburn coach’s direction. So where does this beef come from? If you listen to or read work from Auburn beat writers, they will say it comes from the point that previous Auburn head coach, Brian Harsin was fired. Per reports, Kiffin saw the Auburn job and the huge amounts of NIL money available as one that he could take to a National Championship. We know that the story of Kiffin’s attraction to the job was leaked before he accepted. As rumours go Kiffin had not had the chance to speak with his family about the move and they wanted to stay in Oxford. The deal collapsed and Freeze got the job. 

While this might sound like sour grapes, the beat writers are convinced that Kiffin still harbours a grudge. I’m not so sure but it’s for certain that Kiffin isn’t pulling any punches. 

Perhaps, with Auburn’s poor form and Freeze’s rambling at times, and some bizarre coaching decisions, Kiffin smells blood in the water. Perhaps.

Like all good mafia movies there is a point when all of the families meet for a “sit-down”.

Well this week, Yahoo Sports Ross Dellenger reported that the athletic directors of the SEC and BIG10 – the two biggest and financially strong – are expected to meet collectively in Nashville in an historic meeting of both conferences.

Meetings between only these two conferences have been few and far between but come as an extension of the SEC and BIG10 setting up a joint board earlier this year.

Per Dellenger, the Athletic directors are expected “to begin discussion about a range of topics that they have mostly, so far, kept within their individual leagues. Those topics include the House settlement case, a new third-party (not NCAA) enforcement model, the future of the College Football Playoff format and — most noteworthy of them all — a regular-season and postseason scheduling arrangement”.

This marks a thawing of the relationship between two conferences who historically have not seen eye-to-eye.

Conference commissioners, Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti, are both expected to join the AD meeting.

The meeting is expected to happen during October.