Arkansas coach Sam Pittman addressed a potentially sensitive question about his job security during SEC Media Days with a straightforward and humorous response, which helped defuse what could have been a tense moment.
Instead, the most contentious moment came from Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin’s segment with SEC Network host Paul Finebaum. On air, Kiffin reminded Finebaum of his 2013 remark comparing Kiffin to “the Miley Cyrus of college football” and suggesting he should be fired. Kiffin, who is known for his sharp wit and sometimes controversial remarks, noted that despite Finebaum’s criticism, his career continued to flourish, including opportunities to work with Coach Nick Saban.
Kiffin’s retort didn’t stop there. He further pointed out Finebaum’s past predictions, including an incorrect one about Saban’s retirement and a disparaging comment about Cyrus’s career, highlighting that Finebaum’s forecasts had not always been accurate.
Paul Finebaum addressed the ongoing back-and-forth with Lane Kiffin during an appearance on *McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning*. He noted that their exchanges have been frequent and explained that Kiffin’s recent comments were consistent with what he had said in previous interviews, including those from last year in Oxford.
Finebaum expressed surprise that Kiffin’s remarks became a major story, especially considering the other significant events of the week. He attributed the attention to the contrast between real-life events and the viral nature of social media.
Despite the public banter, Finebaum assured the hosts, Cole Cubelic and Greg McElroy, that he and Kiffin maintain a friendly relationship off the air.
Tennessee offensive lineman Cooper Mays praised his former teammate Addison Nichols, who transferred to Arkansas and served as the starting center throughout the spring.
Mays described Nichols as a “great dude” and noted his hard work and effort to integrate into his new team. He expressed enthusiasm about Nichols’ progress and mentioned looking forward to their upcoming matchup, as Tennessee is set to play Arkansas at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on October 5.
Game changes
SEC coordinator of officials John McDaid went over the rules changes in effect for 2024, which includes major innovations for college football.
Schools will now have radio speakers in the helmets of one offensive player and one defensive player for every snap, which McDaid said was “exactly the same as used in the NFL.”
Additionally, there will be computer tablets on the sidelines that will allow players and coaches to access full-motion video from that particular game.
A two-minute timeout and the end of each half will also be in effect as McDaid mentioned that “TV sponsors wanted an automatic break” at that point, which does not add a media timeout to the broadcasts.
The helmet technology is a rapid response to the sign-stealing scandal at Michigan that captivated college football last season. Michigan staffer Connor Stalions, who emerged as the central figure in the controversy for buying tickets to games for future Michigan opponents, resigned during the Wolverines’ run to the national championship. Coach Jim Harbaugh, suspended the first three games of the season by Michigan after the NCAA alleged impermissible on- and off-campus recruiting, was also suspended for the final three games of the regular season by the Big Ten though he denied knowledge of the sign-stealing operation.
Harbaugh resigned after the season to take the head coaching job with the Los Angeles Chargers of the NFL.
Netflix has announced it will debut a documentary in its “Untold” series on Aug. 27 focusing on Stalions’ account of the events.
‘Early’ arrival
Brian Early, a Monticello native who has been on the coaching staffs at four colleges in Arkansas and was also a defensive coordinator at Fayetteville High School, is in his first season as an assistant coach at Missouri.
Early, the defensive line coach at the University of Houston the past five years, is the assistant coach for edge defenders for the Tigers.
The adoptive father of San Francisco 49ers and former Arkansas Razorbacks linebacker Dre Greenlaw, Early replaced Kevin Peoples, a former UA assistant coach who is now on the LSU staff.
Al Davis, a former Razorback who coaches defensive tackles for Missouri, will team with Early in coaching the linemen.
“Coach Davis works well with Coach Early,” Tigers defensive tackle Kristian Williams said. “They’re connected. The D-tackles work with the D-ends to build a good relationship, so during a game everything runs together smoothly.”
Davis is in his fourth season at Missouri.
“My relationship with Coach Davis is second to none,” said Williams, who transferred to Missouri last year from Oregon. “He’s like an older brother to me.”
Early’s previous coaching stops include Arkansas-Monticello, the University of Central Arkansas and Arkansas State University. He also was a quality control assistant on defense at Arkansas.
Blood red rivalry
Oklahoma Coach Brent Venables had the second-shortest opening statement at SEC media days but he dropped one of the most real quotes at the proceedings.
When asked if he saw Oklahoma’s Red River Rivalry with Texas changing in any way with the schools joining the SEC, Venables did not hold back.
“I don’t,” he said. “It’s as deep-seated and hate-filled and emotional of a rivalry as there is in all of college football. So I don’t see how the conference affiliation will make a big difference.”
Venables said the Texas game will be one of many in which the Sooners will have to be prepared for hostilities.
“I would say … that’s one of many games that you’re going to have to find a way to grind it out,” Venables said. “If you think that one is emotionally taxing, you’re going to go into a lot of venues that the pageantry is going to be real, the stadiums are going to be completely full and a lot of people are going to hate your guts for three hours or so.”
Pili years
Tennessee linebacker Keenan Pili turned 26 on May 29, making him among the oldest players in NCAA football this season.
Pili was granted a seventh season by the NCAA after suffering a triceps injury in the 2023 season opener. The 6-3, 240-pound BYU transfer was hurt in his first game as a Volunteer after being selected as a defensive captain.
All told, Pili has 194 tackles scattered across five seasons.
Not only did Pili have the injury year in 2023 to create more eligibility, he was also granted an extra year from covid-19 and a medical redshirt for a torn ACL after three games in 2021.
However, Pili’s college career started well before the pandemic, as he enrolled as a freshman at BYU and redshirted in 2016. He served the next two years on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Orlando, Fla., before rejoining the Cougars in 2019.
Pili was a defensive captain and ranked second on the team with 62 tackles at middle linebacker in 2022. He had five tackles during the Cougars’ 52-35 home loss to Arkansas on Oct. 15.
Pili will have a chance to play the Razorbacks a second time when the Volunteers visit Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Oct. 5.
Home states
Half of the 16 SEC coaches were born in states currently in the conference’s “footprint,” but only two league coaches work at schools in the state where they were born.
South Carolina Coach Shane Beamer, the son of long-time Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer, was born in Charleston, S.C., on March 31, 1977, while his dad was serving as an assistant coach at The Citadel.
Vanderbilt Coach Clark Lea was born in the city where he works, Nashville, on Nov. 11, 1981.
Lea and Florida Coach Billy Napier, who was born in Cookeville, Tenn., are both natives of Tennessee.
The only other home states of two SEC coaches: Oklahoma and South Dakota.
Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman was born in El Reno, Okla., and grew up in Grove, while Missouri Coach Eli Drinkwitz was born in Norman, Okla., before his family moved to Alma. Their teams will meet in a season finale on Nov. 30.
Tennessee Coach Josh Heupel was born in Aberdeen, S.D., and new Alabama Coach Kalen DeBoer is a native of Milbank, S.D. Their teams will meet on the third Saturday in October at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
“I’m not sure anybody pictured two South Dakotans being in the SEC a few years ago,” Heupel said. “Kalen is somebody that I’ve known for a long time. I was a little bit younger, watched him as an athlete and then through our coaching paths have crossed and stayed in contact at different times. Excited to have him in the league. Great person, great coach, and we’ll be ready for the third Saturday in October.”
Napier is one of six SEC head coaches who was born in one state in the league footprint and coaches in another. The others are Pittman, Drinkwitz, Auburn Coach Hugh Freeze (Oxford, Miss.), Georgia Coach Kirby Smart (Montgomery, Ala.), and Mississippi State Coach Jeff Lebby (McGregor, Texas).
Eight coaches were born outside the current map of the SEC: DeBoer, Heupel, Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops (Youngstown, Ohio), LSU Coach Brian Kelly (Everett, Mass.), Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin (Lincoln, Neb.), Oklahoma Coach Brent Venables (Salina, Kan.), Texas Coach Steve Sarkisian (Torrance, Calif.) and Texas A&M Coach Mike Elko (South Brunswick Township, N.J.).