By: Ryan Lavoie
The third day of SEC Media Days 2022 got kicked off with the head hog, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman. Pittman has been one of the best stories over the last couple of seasons in the SEC and for the first time in his tenure, his team has some palpable hopes and expectations coming into the season. However, the ever-likable Pittman is not worried or focused on public opinion or expectations, “I said when I got the head coaching job that the only decisions that I’d make, they would not concern public opinion. That way, if we win, we win as a group. If we lose, I get fired, I get fired because I did it like I wanted to.”
When asked if Arkansas had arrived after a 9-4 campaign last season, Pittman responded with laughter “Oh, no, no, no, no. Arkansas is just trying to compete. We’re trying to get better. We’re trying to fight hard. We’re trying to work hard. We’re the underdog. We like it that way.” It’s a refreshingly honest changeup from what was heard on Tuesday in Atlanta, and it’s one of the many reason Sam Pittman is the most likable coach in the SEC.
The headlining team of day three of media days were the reigning National Champion Georgia Bulldogs, and head coach Kirby Smart. After a lot of coach speak about continuing an elite program, and a plethora of questions about starting quarterback Stetson Bennett, Kirby was finally asked about NIL, and gave some common sense thoughts.
“I don’t think what’s going on in college football right now at some places is sustainable, meaning, can you do that year in year out and repeat that? Can you honor the commitment that some people are trying to make to kids to get them to go to their school? It’s not good for college football, what’s out there.”
Kirby continued “What’s good is NIL is good on the basis of what NIL is based on. For Dan Jackson to be a walk-on from Gainesville, Georgia, come in and get an opportunity to earn money for his education, that is good. For a young man that has a father on dialysis in south Georgia and he can’t support his father unless he goes back and works or he gets NIL, that is good…It’s the guardrails. It’s the parameters that we need to protect our game. Not only protect our game, guys, protect young men.”
That is a long quote from Smart but I think it’s important to remember at its basis, as Smart said, NIL is not a bad thing. The chaos and lack of control is what has caused this to be such a mess.
Billy Napier’s first trip to SEC Media Days can be described as high character. Napier got emotional when talking about his time at Louisiana and his late father who battled ALS, as well as being very complimentary of those who have helped him get to this point. Napier could also be described as calm and reserved, something Florida is not very used to in its head coach.
When Napier was asked about his impact on the program, he made it about the players “I think the big thing here is that the game is about the players. We want to create an organization that has life-changing impact on the players, right? We’ve put together a great infrastructure that’s all about serving the players. We’re trying to improve the player experience. We firmly believe that better people make better football players. We’re committed to improving their character. We’re going to prioritize their education. We’re going to teach football at a high level.” Clearly, Florida has a different kind of head coach personality wise than it has in a long time.
Last up on the day was Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops, who is the second longest tenured head coach in the Southeastern Conference. Along those lines, that’s really the main takeaway from Stoops. He is the model for how you build a respectable, consistent program. Of course Alabama exists, but the programs capable of doing what Alabama does are very few in number. But everyone can attempt to achieve a steady progression like Kentucky has, and Stoops has about mastered it at a program that hadn’t mastered much success at all in its history.
“I think all of us, you’re going to be accused of being hardheaded at times. You have to stay to your core beliefs is the only advice I can give anybody…For the longevity, you have to. You have to adapt and overcome any situation,” Stoops said.
Stoops will pass Bear Bryant’s wins record at Kentucky with two wins this season. While, Stoops isn’t too interested in looking into the past as he wants to focus on the future of Kentucky, he should give himself a pat on the back for making it this far.
