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With Summer in full effect, and the NBA Finals over, that means it's time for Major League Baseball and dreaming about the days until football returns. Every July the SEC hosts its Media Days in Hoover, Alabama. It's an opportunity for coaches to reflect on the previous season, and look ahead to the upcoming football schedule. It's also an opportunity for fans to see their favorite coaches and players, and year in and year out these people do not disappoint. It is Comic-Con for SEC Football fans, and a serious round of applause goes out to these individuals who have clearly gone all in on their fanaticism. Let's take a quick look at some of the more unique displays of fandom.
Courtesy of collegespun.com
Oh it's Ring Hat guy. I wish I could say this was overly unique, but I've seen multiple people wearing this type of gear, so clearly there's some place you can buy this. Kudos to the Beats By Dre crimson headphones with the flowing hair cascading out of the back of the hat. I'm also impressed with the sleeve tats and the custom made world champions wrestling belt, because otherwise, we'd never have been able to deduce that this guy also watches wrestling.
Courtesy of pbs.twimg.com
This is some next level trolling right here. The gentleman in these two pictures, who is clearly an Auburn fan, dressed up as an Ohio State fan last year to troll Alabama's loss to the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff. The Iron Bowl rivalry hate is savage. I only hope he took a day off from work to do this.
Courtesy of goodbullhunting.com
On to the actual media days, here's the schedule for the week and the top questions for each SEC Head Coach.
MONDAY
Courtesy of sportstalksc.com
AUBURN - Gus Malzahn
How many games do you think you have to win to keep your job?
That's the big question on War Eagle Nation's mind this year. I don't think many people expect Auburn to compete for a National Title the way they did last year, but with Bama consistently competing for those same National Titles it's hard to allow Malzahn to keep his job if his Tigers are simply middle of the road in the SEC West. Last year Auburn struggled mightily to even make a bowl game, and if they don't see some vast improvement this year, the Tigers could be in the market for a new coach.
Courtesy of palmbeachpost.com
FLORIDA - Jim McElwain
Is your team going to score points this year?
Florida started out great last year, winning it's first 6 games. Then the issue with Will Grier arose where he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and was disqualified for the remainder of the season. In their final 4 games of the season, Florida was trounced by Florida State, Alabama, and Michigan managing only 24 total points in those last 3 games, and they needed overtime to beat Florida Atlantic at home. With Grier having transferred, there's a big concern that the Gators aren't going to be able to muster enough offense to get back to Atlanta.
Courtesy of foxsports.com
VANDERBILT - Derek Mason
Does Vanderbilt go to a bowl in 2016?
The Commodores have seen signs of progression in the 2 years that Mason has been at the helm. They've struggled on offense, but their defense has quietly become pretty solid. Vandy won 3 games in Mason's first year, and 4 games in 2015. With Georgia, South Carolina, and Mizzou breaking in new coaches, and Florida having questions as well on offense, Vandy could make a run at a bowl bid, as 6 wins doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility. They start off with South Carolina, Middle Tennessee State, Georgia Tech, and Western Kentucky, all winnable games, and in mid October they play Tennessee State. If they can start out hot, they only have to win 1 more game to make it to a bowl.
TUESDAY
Courtesy of wctv.tv
GEORGIA - Kirby Smart
Are you going to make Georgia the Alabama of the East?
Make Georgia Great Again Kirby! Smart is replacing a highly well respected coach in Mark Richt, but the big knock on Richt was that while he won games on a consistent basis, he couldn't win the big one. He got Georgia to the gates of college football's biggest game in 2012, but couldn't break through against Alabama. Georgia has the potential to get back to Atlanta this year, something they haven't done since 2012, but there are major questions at QB. Alabama has overcome their questionable QB play in recent years, by being extremely efficient at nearly every other position, and Georgia fans hope Smart brings the same type of pedigree to the Bulldogs that he was able to bring to Tuscaloosa.
Courtesy of fansided.com
MISSISSIPPI STATE - Dan Mullen
How are you going to replace Dak Prescott?
Unquestionably, Mullen and the Bulldogs lost their best player in school history this off season to the Dallas Cowboys. Prescott broke almost every record you could think of at Mississippi State for a QB. Dan Mullen knows his team has some high expectations after going to the Orange Bowl in 2014 and winning 9 games last year, but there is a major concern that those wins were largely because of Dak Prescott and not because the overall talent around him. While Mississippi State hasn't historically been a haven for 5 star talent, Dan Mullen has been able to get the most out of his players year in and year out, and that's a big reason for his success in Starkville.
Courtesy of knoxnews.com
TENNESSEE - Butch Jones
Is this the year Tennessee gets back to Atlanta?
If it's not, then I don't know when Tennessee is going to have a better chance. As I mentioned earlier, Georgia, SC, and Mizzou are all breaking in new coaches, while the Vols return not just their head coach but a significant number of starters from 2015. Florida has several concerns on the offensive side of the ball, and Vandy and Kentucky are going to be on the edge of making a bowl, but they aren't serious SEC East contenders. The stars appear to have aligned for Tennessee to win the SEC East, but the Vols have stumbled in recent years, and they haven't beaten Florida since 2004.
Courtesy of espn.grantland.com
TEXAS A&M - Kevin Sumlin
Is Trevor Knight going to put Texas A&M back into the SEC West race?
I don't know if I've seen a program with more hype around it in recent memory that ended with such lackluster results. Texas A&M has been good since they came into the SEC West, but outside of Johnny Manziel's 2012 Heisman season, the Aggies haven't won more than 8 regular season games. That's a respectable number of wins, but in College Station, a fan base full of big money donors want to see the Aggies compete for championships. Trevor Knight comes over to Texas A&M as a graduate transfer, after multiple QBs bolted for other schools. Knight played exceptionally well in the Sugar Bowl in 2013, but was pushed out of the starting job at Oklahoma by Baker Mayfield. Kevin Sumlin is hoping he sees a resurgence out of Knight in 2016, or he could be transferring jobs as well.
WEDNESDAY
Courtesy of waff.com
ALABAMA - Nick Saban
How many more years are you going to coach?
This question comes up nearly every year, and with Saban turning 65 on Halloween (how is that not mentioned at every press conference?) there is a legitimate decision to be made on when to retire. While he doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon, as the Crimson Tide just won their 4th National Title under Saban, when the pressure is National Championship or bust, how long do you want to put up with that mentality before you've had enough? Saban is likely going to go down as the greatest college football coach of all time. He's won 5 National Titles in total, which is one shy of Bear Bryant, but it's clear that winning now comes with a lot more pressure than it did 50 years ago. Saban could leave whenever he wants for a number of jobs, both in football and media relations, as he's built an extremely marketable brand for himself. The big question is when will that day come?
Courtesy of gamedayr.com
ARKANSAS - Bret Bielema
How do you replace your star QB, top 2 RBs, and TE?
Arkansas ended up with 8 wins last year after clobbering Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl, and a big reason was their talent at QB, their two RBs, and TE, all who currently sit on NFL rosters. Arkansas's strength has been it's offensive line, specifically it's size, which famously was the largest in all of football last year. The ground and pound strategy, along with a QB who could move the chains, and Tight End with circus-catching ability help to propel the Razorbacks to another bowl appearance in 2015. They should still have their massive offensive line, but there are some real worries about whether they'll be able to continue to produce at the same level they did last season.
Courtesy of fansdided.com
KENTUCKY - Mark Stoops
Is it bowl or bust for the Wildcats?
I feel pretty comfortable saying if Kentucky doesn't make a bowl this year, Mark Stoops will not be the football coach come January. The Wildcats have gone 5-7 the last two seasons with epic collapses. In 2014, they started out 5-1 only to lose their last 6 games and miss out on a bowl. In 2015, they started out 4-1, only to lose 6 of their last 7 games. It's really hard to justify keeping a coach when you finish seasons that poorly. The SEC East had some turn around this year on the coaching circuit, and Kentucky does have the benefit of a returning head coach, but it's readily apparent he needs to get them to a bowl.
Courtesy of stltoday.com
MISSOURI - Barry Odom
How is your program going to be different from Gary Pinkel's?
Pinkel did a phenomenal job over the course of his career at Missouri, but it was obvious that the non-football related issues that the university dealt with last year unfortunately overshadowed a lot of those accomplishments and health concerns forced him to retire. The 2015 Missouri season was not a successful one, but there's belief that Odom can build on what Gary Pinkel put in place for the last decade and a half in Columbia. If Odom can continue putting defensive lineman into the NFL the way Mizzou has been doing for the last few years, the Tigers should be just fine moving forward.
THURSDAY
Courtesy of thestate.com
SOUTH CAROLINA - Will Muschamp
How will this job be different from what happened at Florida?
Sometimes, a little change of scenery is all someone needs to renew their success, and sometimes it's an effort in futility. South Carolina had unprecedented success under Steve Spurrier, and they go back to a former Florida coach to hope to capture some of that magic. Florida's defenses played very well under Muschamp, but his offenses struggled, so much so that it ultimately cost him his job after the 2014 season. Muschamp spent last year as the DC at Auburn before accepting the head coaching gig in Columbia. Reasonable people don't expect 10 win seasons overnight at South Carolina, but it's intriguing to see how much rope Muschamp is going to have with the Gamecock faithful before their patience runs out.
Courtesy of waaytv.com
OLE MISS - Hugh Freeze
How did you not know about the situation with Laremy Tunsil?
Everyone who isn't living in complete denial knows nearly all star college athletes get some extra form of compensation. It happens at every major school, and mostly it goes unnoticed, unless there's something blatant about it. Here, Laremy Tunsil's soon to be former stepfather was all too happy to hand over information regarding Laremy and Ole Miss to the NCAA, after his relationship with Tunsil's mother deteriorated. Did Hugh Freeze know about the extra benefits? Possibly, possibly not. But if he didn't, it's likely the reason a lot of coaches don't, and that's by design. Any reasonable compliance department isn't going to put the head football coach, especially one winning games, at risk with this type of information. Freeze will have to address that question along with whether or not his program thinks they'll be hit harder by the NCAA after having already self imposed multiple scholarship reductions, and with a decision not likely until 2017, these are questions that are going to linger all season.
Courtesy of fansided.com
LSU - Les Miles
Did you feel betrayed by LSU and the boosters?
Les Miles is always extremely entertaining, but this is going to be television gold. How can he not feel betrayed? The guy has won a National Championship at LSU and played for another; he wins 9-10 games nearly every season, has top recruiting classes, puts half his team into the NFL, and LSU wanted to fire him because they thought they found someone better. Then they found out halfway through the Texas A&M game that Jimbo Fisher wasn't coming and they decided not to fire Les; it's completely ridiculous. Go look at LSU's record before Nick Saban got there. They won 10 games 3 times from 1960-2000. Since 2001, they've won 10 games or more 7 times and 5 of those were under The Mad Hatter's regime. Watching him get asked this question 15 different ways this week, and answering in ways that leaves everyone scratching their heads is going to be epic.
Courtesy of saturdaydownsouth.com
It looks to be an interesting week as we get ready for the upcoming 2016 SEC Football Season. As the season gets closer, I'll make my predictions for the outcomes this year, (hint: Alabama is probably going to be pretty good again). Football can't get here fast enough. Cheers!
