SEC MEDIA DAYS, DAY 1: Jimbo’s Makeover, Orgeron’s Delusional Ramblings, and Stoops’ Kid Brother

Commissioner Greg Sankey got the 2018 version of SEC Media Days under way with his two cents. A few nuggets:

• Going to a 9-game SEC schedule will not happen any time soon. “Our success as a league should not be attributed simply to our scheduling philosophy,” Sankey said. “But year after year, our best teams have produced the best team in the country. The facts candidly speak for themselves.” And so do the balance sheets! (ch-ching sound effect)
• Sankey sees injury reports as an inevitability. With the legalization of sports betting, this has suddenly become a hot topic issue. But again, don’t expect it this season and maybe not next.
• The commissioner also announced the addition of SEC channel 374 on Sirius XM, noting that the SEC is the first to announce a conference-dedicated channel with the company.
• Having Media Days is Atlanta has long been on Sankey’s mind. [To be honest, it is a great atmosphere to be at the College Football Hall of Fame, hanging out at Centennial Park in the shadow Merecedes-Benz Stadium in the heart of downtown ATL.] Next season, SEC Media Days returns to Hoover, Alabama but will likely return to Atlanta and other cities around the south in the future.

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher was next.

• Whether he foresaw a return to the SEC :“No, I really didn’t. As I said, I had no intentions OF leaving Florida State. I was very happy and very content there. As you know, life takes changes and decisions are made. I was very happy and at a great university there.”
• “The timeline is now,” he said of bringing a title to College Station. “You want to win immediately. Is that realistic? I don’t know. Could it be? Yes.”
• Everyone gets at least one Alabama question it seems. “It doesn’t matter, because when you play those two (Alabama and Clemson), it doesn’t matter, when you go play LSU, you go play Auburn, you go play Mississippi State, you go play Georgia, you go play Florida, you go play Ole Miss, you go play Arkansas, whoever you’re going to play in this league, it’s going to be that way, the venues and the competition level.” Yeah. Exactly the same, Jimbo.
• One writer reported that Fisher mentioned the words “physical” or “tough” 35 times during his 30-minute address.
• TAMU will be getting back to more of a pro-style set, as opposed to Kevin Sumlin’s hurry-up spread scheme that failed to ever really click [my words, not Jimbo’s]. “As a pro-style, you’ve got to establish the run. This year it’s going to be more important.” The Aggies will be employing more fullbacks, H-backs, and tight ends. Now is the time to finally welcome Texas A&M to the SEC.

Next, Bob Stoops’ kid brother took the podium while everyone ran out to the Varsity.

For the grand finale, it was the comedy stylings of LSU coach Ed Orgeron.

• Coach O threw his former OC Matt Canada under he bus stating that he erred in hiring Canada following the 2016 season, outright calling it a “mistake”. He believes that new coordinator Steve Ensminger, elevated from tight ends coach, was the right choice all along.
• Regarding former LSU QB Ensminger, Orgeron mumbled “he runs more of the offense that I’m used to, an offense that we won championships with in the past.” YES, let’s get back to Charlie McClendon football, O!
• Orgeron said Ensminger will spread the ball around out of three-, four-, sometimes five-receiver sets. More LOLs!
• The Alabama question: “I understand as the coach at LSU, you have to beat Alabama. That’s the benchmark.”
• O “spoke” with Paul Finebaum about Alabama.

Finebaum: What is the path to beating Alabama in Tiger Stadium?

O: (inaudible)(inaudible) you gotta win da line uh scrimmage, you gotta be physical with them, and you gotta be (inaudible) and the last two years we went toe-to-toe with them (inaudible)(inaudible)(inaudible).

Watch the clip here. Sorry, no subtitles.

More hilarity. For the record, Alabama won those two games 10-0 in 2016 and 24-10 last season.

DAY 2

Day 2 is composed of National Championship runner-up Kirby Smart, Ole Miss’ Matt Luke, Chad Morris of Arkansas, and Florida’s Dan Mullen.