| | By Pat Forde
Special to ESPN.com
Time was, the SEC stood for Simply Eats Coaches. The league used to
change 'em like underwear.
For years on end in the Southeastern Conference, if your name wasn't
Steve Spurrier, you were a candidate to be fired. The only guy with
comparable job security was Tennessee's Phil Fulmer -- who still had to
endure annual broadsides until he finally beat Florida on the way to a
national championship.
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Mon, August 14
Media days are like class reunions. Coaches experience a rare combination of heady anticipation mixed with a chance to pontificate and make predictions they don't quite believe. All the while fixing a crooked smile in greeting people they would rather strangle, and trying to determine who has gained weight. The body language of a coach speaks volumes, and one can predict season outcomes by the way the coaches carry themselves.
LSU' s Nick Saban's presence seemed to say, "What have I gotten myself into? And where are all my assistant coaches? Nine are in East Lansing, and one is in Arkansas. The Tigers will struggle.
Auburn's Tommy Tuberville is still working on the "who's in charge" issues down at the fairest village on the plain. He visibly stiffens at the mention of such issues and goes positively rigid at the thought of going back to Oxford with his team on September 9. He even referred to that date as "December 9"; perhaps a slip of the tongue, but more likely a bit of a wish. His team will pick up on his inner turmoil....teams always do.
Ole Miss' David Cutcliffe is a man at peace with himself. He is warm, relaxed and careful in his assessments. He is firm about his quarterback and doesn't want the fans to cause problems for Romaro or Eli. Romaro is the QB. He also has Deuce McAllister and Joe Gunn, perhaps the best RB twosome in the conference. Ole Miss will win the West.
Florida's Steve Spurrier hitched up his shoulders and adjusted his Nehru shirt at the mention of his wide receivers. Not a good sign for the fun n' gun team. Don't expect huge offensive numbers, nor dominance.
Georgia's Jim Donnan has the aura of a man with secret knowledge. His puckish grin speaks volumes. He likes his team, is confident of his staff and his players will respond. Georgia will win the East and beat Ole Miss for the title in a great football game in Atlanta. There is a changing of the guard in the SEC.
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Only the Gators had the same coach for the entirety of the 1990s. Five
SEC schools had four coaches in the decade (that includes interims who put in
at least half a season as the head man). The revolving door spun an average
of 2.3 times per season, as contracts were signed and broken with
breathtaking frequency.
But suddenly the carousel has slowed down. It might be coincidence. It
might be the law of averages evening things out after a turbulent decade. It
might be the trend of teams softening up their non-conference schedules to
reach six wins, combined with the league's bazillion bowl bids (who's going
to fire their coach after going to a bowl?).
Or it might be a new burst of patience and understanding by alumni and
presidents. (Probably not.) Whatever the cause, the SEC has stopped devouring
its head men so quickly.
LSU's Nick Saban is the lone new head coach for 2000. And if you look
around the league for coaches under serious pressure, you have to stretch to
find two.
Lou Holtz is likely to beat the posse and fire himself if he repeats last
year's 0-11 horror show at South Carolina. Jim Donnan has been a dramatic
upgrade from Ray Goff at Georgia but needs to finally break the orange
ceiling in the East to find serenity in Athens. (Of course, Donnan has the
talent to do so this year, and a failure to do so would by no means
automatically result in a move to dismiss.)
There is relative satisfaction everywhere else.
Fulmer, Spurrier and Mississippi State's Jackie Sherrill might as well be
wearing Coach For Life name tags (although fifty-something Sherrill could be
nearing retirement). Kentucky's Hal Mumme and Arkansas' Houston Nutt have
quickly made everyone forget how bad their predecessors were. Vanderbilt's
Woody Widenhofer had what could be a breakthough season a year ago, narrowly
missing a bowl bid. Auburn's Tommy Tuberville and Mississippi's David
Cutcliffe had successful inaugural seasons at their respective schools. And
no coach in America has gone from scandalous to celebrated faster than Mike
DuBose at Alabama.
Nevertheless, this remains the SEC. Every coach remains an upset loss or
an NCAA investigation away from the proverbial hot seat. In that order.
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