SEC Media Days kick off Monday, and I am betting a lot of college football fans aren’t even that interested in it.
After all, very little, if any, hard-hitting news will come out of Hoover, Alabama, this week.
The lack of interest from typical college football fans, the way I see it, is two-fold. First, it is not much more than press conferences in which coaches say very little while being televised during the day while most normal people are working. Coaches are prepared, on point, and close to the vest. Media members dependent on coaches for access don’t come in with flame-throwing questions.
When a coach says something newsworthy and interesting, it’s most often after a game or when caught off guard on a radio show.
Second, fans these days get everything they need to quinch their thirst for preseason information via social media. They don’t need the hype machine known as SEC Media Days.
Perhaps this event exists solely for the media. I know it comes at a great time for me — a time when noting else is going on in major sports. MLB is grinding to a halt for the All-Star break. Consequential NBA free agency moves have occurred. NFL players don’t show up to training camp for a couple more weeks. The calendar is bleak.
Live sports don’t go year round, but the media cycle does. So, we’ve seen the advent of non-event events to help us get through the dull times. The NFL Draft has become its own ancillary season. Signing Day has blown up too.
Stories will be filed. Column inches will be filled. But, there’s seldom anything organic or unexpected that will start up a water cooler conversation.
Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to seeing addressed this week? The biggest intrigue has to be around Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze and his team’s battle with the NCAA.
Freeze will be asked about 100 different ways. His answer will remain the same.
Move along, nothing to see here.
Another thing that takes the fun out of this event is that SEC coaches are simply boring.
That sort of says something about the SEC right now. The most recent changes has made the cast of coaches more boring.
Steve Spurrier has left us. And this will be the first year without Les Miles and his unique brand of diction. He wasn’t always interesting. But, there was a reasonable chance you were in for a protracted monologue about an obscure holiday.
The rest of the coaching crew looks pretty somber. A lot of coaches will be coming in with the headlights blaring on them after poor seasons. The SEC no longer has a Mike Leach or a Jim Harbaugh. If Bret Bielema can’t bail us out with one of his patented erotic rants, it could be a dull week.
Gus Malzahn of Auburn won’t bring much to the table. He might have an exciting offense, but his personality is as vanilla as it gets.
Don’t expect much out of Butch Jones at Tennessee, Kirby Smart at Georgia or Mark Stoops at Kentucky either.
One of the biggest topics each year is coaches on the hot seat. That means a lot of attention will be paid to Jones and Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin.
All the stars were aligned for the Volunteers to win the East last year, but they stumbled to 8-4. Now Jones has to pick up the pieces, but he’ll have to do it without quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who’s out of eligibility.
Anything short of an SEC Eastern Division title may not be enough for Jones this season.
The last four Novembers, the Aggies are 7-9 under Sumlin. They once again stumbled late in 2016 going from No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings to a date in the lowly Texas Bowl.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
