John Clay's Sidelines

SEC links for Tuesday:

• Stewart Mandel of SI.com writes that taking Jeremiah Masoli proves that Houston Nutt is a dirty coach.
• John Pennington of Mr. SEC writes that Dan Mullen faces a Lane Kiffin litmus test on Nutt.
• Bruce Feldman of espn.com looks at all angles of the Jeremiah Masoli case.
• Vanderbilt drops the interim tag on coach Robbie Caldwell, reports Bryan Mullen of the Tennessean.
• Warren Norman is a bright spot for the Commodores, writes David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
• Mark Bradley of the AJC writes that Mark Richt is already taking out the trash at Georgia.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Writer says Houston Nutt a “dirty” coach’

Bart Starr

SEC links for Sunday:

• George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel asks what has Tim Tebow done to deserve all this hate?
• Bryce Brown and Jeremiah Masoli show the system needs changing, writes Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun.
• Heisman winner Mark Ingram being pushed by Trent Richardson at Alabama, writes Michael Casagrande of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
• Some fall camp story lines for South Carolina, presented by Joseph Person of The State.
• Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald presents five questions for Georgia pre-season.
• Glenn Guilbeau of the Shreveport Times has five questions for LSU’s fall camp.
• Bart Starr returns to his old high school, reports Wesley Lyle of the Montgomery Advertiser.
• Houston Nutt has to roll the dice with Jeremiah Masoli, writes Mike Herndon of the Mobile Press-Register.
• Quarterback situation is the big issue for Ole Miss, reports David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Dan Mullen hopes big Egg Bowl win will carry over for Mississippi State, reports Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Why all the hate for Tim Tebow?’

SEC links for Thursday:

• LSU coach Les Miles claims to be feeling no heat, reports Randy Rosetta of The Advocate.
• Houston Nutt says he hopes Jeremiah Masoli situation is resolved by weekend at Ole Miss, reports Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Austin Rivers still open to Florida, reports Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.
• College football has an agent problem, but what can it do about it? asks Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel.
• No days at the beach for South Carolina defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson, writes Joseph Person of The State.
• Joe Medley of the Anniston Star on just who the 2004 national champ should be.
• Depth is on its way to Auburn football, writes Charles Goldberg of the Birmingham News.
• Tommy Deas of the Tuscaloosa News looks at the Dennis Franchione Era at Alabama.
• Rumor of a Georgia-Southern Cal football game is merely that, reports Tim Tucker of the AJC.
• LSU running back Richard Murphy is looking for a big year, writes Krysten Oliphant of the Shreveport Times.

Derek Dooley at SEC Media Days. (AP photo)

SEC links for Saturday:

• Kenny Kadji asks to be released from his scholarship at Florida, reports Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.
• Derek Dooley is the anti-Lane Kiffin, writes Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• Bill Bryant of the Huntsville Times writes that Derek Dooley is looking to take Tennessee in a new direction.
• Tennessee should have kept Phil Fulmer, writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.
• Les Miles disagrees with media assessment of his program, writes Scott Hotard of The Advocate.
• Derek Dooley calmly moving from one fire to another at Tennessee, writes Jeff Schultz of the AJC.
• Gene Chizik hopes Cameron Newton can lead Tigers to success, reports Chase Goodbread of the Tuscaloosa News.
• Houston Nutt wants to prove the prognosticators wrong, writes Rick Cleveland of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Dooley received a warm welcome at the SEC Media Days, writes Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Trendy picks must still live up to the hype, says Tommy Hicks of the Mobile Press-Register.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Kadji leaving Florida; Dooley on spot at Media Days’

(AP photo/Butch Dill)

Full-time radio host and part-time author Paul Finebaum of the Mobile Press-Register is out with his annual rankings of the SEC football coaches. In my book, Paul has some hits, but several misses, especially after the top three.

Here are my rankings, with Finebaum’s rankings in parenthesis:

• 1. Nick Saban, Alabama (1): Has passed Florida’s Urban Meyer as the conference and national king. Saban has won two national titles at two different schools. There is not a better coach in the nation at coming up with defensive schemes that stop opposing passing quarterbacks. Look at the passing numbers of Alabama’s opponents last year. They are ridiculous.

• 2. Urban Meyer, Florida (2): The Urbinator came off as a bit wacky during his retired/not retired fiasco last winter. He’s supposedly rested, ready and back to attack the Crimson Tide. He doesn’t have Tim Tebow this time around. It will be interesting to see how the Gators perform.

• 3. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas (3): At first glance, thought Finebaum had the ex-Louisville coach too high. But upon further review, this is probably about right. After going 13-12 his first two seasons in Fayetteville, Petrino should be ready for a breakout campaign.

• 4. Mark Richt, Georgia (5): Richt is supposedly on the hot seat at Georgia after his pre-season No. 1 Bulldogs failed to win the title in 2008, then slipped considerably last year. Still think Richt is a good coach, who has yet to make the leap to greatness. He’s still in rebuilding mode this year.

• 5. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina (4): The shine is off Coach Superior, but I’d still hate to face him in on any given Saturday. The question this year is whether Spurrier can get the most out of quarterback Stephen Garcia and take advantage of Tennessee and Georgia both appearing to be down a bit.

Continue reading ‘My own rankings of SEC football coaches 1-12′

SEC links for Tuesday:

• Ron Morris of The State doesn’t think that Steve Spurrier is washed up.
• Mr. College Football, Tony Barnhart, thinks it will be Alabama and Texas in the BCS title game.
• Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun reports on Florida basketball winning its season tune-up.
• Don Kausler of the Birmingham News reports that Nick Saban thinks we should give the refs a break.
• David Climer of the Tennessean writes that criticizing refs is an easy call for some.
• Kevin Scarbinsky of the News writes on Bama quarterback Greg McElroy.
• David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger writes on Ed Orgeron’s return to Oxford.
• John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that Ole Miss is a tough Nutt to crack.
• Randy Rosetta of The Advocate reports that LSU looks to regroup after loss to Alabama.
• Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald writes on Georgia running back Washaun Ealey.

SEC links for Thursday:

• Dave Hooker of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that Tennessee football has gone Lil Wayne.
• Wes Rucker of the Chattanooga Times Free Press writes about Tennessee and Lil Wayne.
• Mike Griffith of the News-Sentinel reports that Vols’ basketball player Josh Tabb has withdrawn from school.
• Ray Melick of the Birmingham News writes that Mike Slive needs to step up control of the SEC family.
• Evan Woodbery of the Mobile Press-Register reports on the Gus Malzahn-Houston Nutt reunion.
• Joe Person of The State revisits David Reaves’ switch from South Carolina to Tennessee.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Tennessee goes Lil Wayne’

(AP Photo/Wade Payne)

SEC links for Monday:

• Mark Bradley of the AJC writes that maybe Mark Richt should follow Paul Johnson’s example.
• Roger Clarkson of the Athens Banner-Herald asks how low can these Dogs go?
• Don Klauser of the Birmingham News writes that it’s the intense internal competition that has made Alabama unbeatable.
• John Patton of the Gainesville Sun reports that Urban Meyer relied on advice before playing Tim Tebow.
• David Jones of Florida Today reports that Tebow confessed to being worried before the LSU game.
• Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel writes that Florida’s defense is nearing its goal of greatness.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Is Mark Richt on the hot seat at Georgia?’

SEC links for Monday:

• Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun writes that playing Florida means more than money to Charleston Southern.
• David Jones of Florida Today writes on Gators linebacker Brandon Spikes.
• Chris Low of ESPN talks to Auburn starting quarterback, and Elizabethtown native, Chris Todd.
• Jeff Lockridge of the Tennessean writes that Vanderbilt is pinning its hopes on its defense.
• Jeff Schultz of the AJC writes that if the ACC wants to get noticed, it better step up against the SEC.
• Doug Segrest of the Birmingham News writes that Phil Fulmer could be a coach in waiting.
• Charles Goldberg of the News writes that since Gus Malzahn has been given leeway to succeed, Auburn could have a better offense.
• Kevin Scarbinsky of the News writes on Nick Saban’s new contract at Alabama.
• Joe Person of The State writes on the South Carolina running game.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Charleston Southern sees more than a payday’

SEC links for Monday:

• Randy Rosetta of The Advocate writes on LSU coordinators Gary Crowton and John Chavis, once foes, now on the same side.
• Charles Goldberg of the Birmingham News reports that Gene Chizik decided to wait a day to put Auburn in full pads.
• Ray Melick of the News writes that we should not expect Alabama to confirm expectations.
• David Climer of the Tennessean writes that Lane Kiffin is looking for his freshmen to turn Vols around.
• Mike Strange of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that UT’s coaching staff as an NFL flavor.
• Joe Biddle of the Tennessean reports that ex-basketball coach Eddie Fogler is following his son on the golf tour.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: LSU coordinators now on same side’