The SEC officially announced the new SEC Network this week and while there are many battles to be fought, expect one of them to be over time demands on football coaches.  When the network launches in August of 2014, it will mean even more media attention, constant television cameras and hours of programming to fill each and every day.  Regardless of the changes, Alabama coach Nick Saban says he doesn’t have any extra time to devote to media-related duties.

“I think the time that we have to spend on media-related promotion, whether it’s coaches, student-athletes or whomever it is, it can’t be increased because we have other things that are important to do.”

Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze tells Brandon Marcello at AL.com he expects to do less interviews with reporters and fewer last-minute requests because of the network. “It’s about managing.”

This wouldn’t be the first time a television network clashed with a coach’s schedule.  Texas coach Mack Brown famously complained about the Longhorn Network last year, saying ”I didn’t ask for it.” The network taped the first 30 minutes of each practice which led Brown to worry that opponents were picking up valuable tidbits about the Longhorns.

Brown estimated he was spending six hours a week planning or participating in shows that air on the Longhorn Network.

Randy Galloway of The Fort Wort Star-Telegram is the latest journalist to kick Texas AD DeLoss Dodds around for his latest comments regarding Texas A&M.  Earlier this week Dodds said that it was A&M that scuttled the Longhorns/Aggies rivalry, that it would only be re-started under Texas’ rules, and that Longhorn fans don’t even care about playing their most hated rival any longer.

That’s all nonsense, of course, and everyone outside of those in burnt orange knows it.

That’s why Galloway believes it’s time for Dodds to get over his Aggie-phobia:

“Well, first, not once as the Aggies were departing the Big 12 did anyone in College Station say the rivalry with UT was over. It was just the opposite. School officials repeatedly said, with the move to the SEC, A&M wanted to continue the game, and if it could no longer happen at Thanksgiving, pick another date.

Second, if DeLoss is actually listening to his fan base, I’d like to know what his poll says on Mack Brown continuing as head coach.

But these are tough times for Dodds. Shockingly, the Aggies became the national talk of college football in their first SEC season. The Longhorns, after the last couple of seasons, just hope they are still talked about in Austin.

Based on current conditions, DeLoss should have a wet finger in the air, and be playing the wind. If he doesn’t want to play A&M again, a much more diplomatic answer to the question would come across better.

DeLoss had the PR hammer as the Aggies departed. In a one-eighty, the Aggies now have the hammer.

The rivalry, at some point — probably after DeLoss retires — will continue. It should continue. Everyone knows that.”

Galloway also did a little recon on other Texas-based schools that used to play A&M to see who’d be interested in scheduling them again.  Texas Tech and TCU are both in favor of playing the Aggies.  Baylor — which threatened lawsuits in an attempt to block A&M’s move to the SEC — shows no interest.

But if given the opportunity to fire up some old rivalries, here’s guessing the Bears would rank behind the Longhorns, Red Raiders and Horned Frogs on most Aggie fans’ lists.

If you can’t beat them, join them. Or at least have them join you.  That seems to be the message coming from Texas football coach Mack Brown.  Two weeks after saying that, “Alabama is ahead of all of us with the number of personnel they’ve hired, and that’s something everybody’s looking very closely at,” the Longhorns coach has hired a director of player personnel.

Patrick Suddes is an Alabama grad, began his career as a recruiting intern for Nick Saban at LSU and was serving as Alabama’s associate director of football operations when Mack Brown announced the hire on Thursday.

“When I was growing up, The University of Texas was always one of the programs that I thought about as a great place to be because of its tradition and history as a winning program,” Suddes said. “This is the only job I would have left the Alabama program for. I think being able to grow within a system and building something new here is an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

Suddes also spent two years under Saban with the Miami Dolphins as an assistant responsible for scouting opponents and organizing game plans.

The director of player personnel role is expected to have a bigger role in recruiting thanks to proposed deregulation by the NCAA. However, an NCAA working group announced yesterday they are proposing that new rules be modified.

Everyone, it seems, has an opinion on looming deregulation in recruiting.  Georgia A.D. Greg McGarity, Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox and Tennessee football coach Butch Jones have all come out in recent days voicing concern on that proposals that would lift restrictions on communicating with recruits and allow schools to hire as many people to help with on-campus recruiting as they like.

And then there’s the 800-pound gorilla in the room – Alabama.  South Carolina recruiting coordinator Steve Spurrier, Jr. specifically mentioned the Crimson Tide when asked about recruiting changes earlier this month.  Nick Saban’s decision to bring in Kevin Steele as director of player personnel and bring in an army of experienced heavyweight recruiters has caught the attention of competitors – in and out of the conference.

Texas coach Mack Brown is the latest to take note.  The Longhorns football coach said Thursday he’ll create a director of player personnel that will oversee recruiting.  Like Spurrier, Jr., he specifically mentioned one SEC team in his decision-making process.

“Alabama is ahead of all of us with the number of personnel they’ve hired, and that’s something everybody’s looking very closely at…

“I can’t blame Alabama for doing what they need to do to be successful. The thing you’ve got to look at, if you’re looking at college football, is can everybody do that? And is that fair? It’s fair for Alabama because they’ve made it work for them. I would not be critical of them at all.”

Brown adds he expects that analyst/quality control positions will eventually be restricted by the NCAA.   ” I don’t think we’ll have unlimited numbers this time next year.”

1. The state of Georgia had approximately 190 seniors sign with FBS schools.  At least 55 of them flipped their commitment at least once before signing their paperwork.

2. Texas coach Mack Brown is taking a hardline approach with recruits – once committed, don’t take any more visits.  ”If you are committed to us, be committed. If you’re going to go look, we’re going to go look.”

3. Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee on 2013 quarterback signeee Jeremy Johnson: ”I’m telling you, Jeremy was the rock of our class.”

4. Kentucky tight ends coach Vince Marrow  is targeting Ohio in 2014.“I am already on the top 15 guys (in Ohio) for next year. Can’t say their names, but they’re some very highly recruited guys.”

On Sunday, CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora claimed Arkansas and Tennessee were both targeting ex-NFL coach and current ESPN analyst Jon Gruden for their coaching vacancies.  Two nights ago, KTHV -TV in Little Rock reported that Arkansas had officially offered Gruden its head coaching job.

Rumors of a Gruden hire have swirled at both schools for more than a month with various fans and friends of friends of friends claiming that both Gruden-to-Arkansas and Gruden-to-Tennessee were done deals, depending, of course, on which said of the Arkansas/Tennessee border you stood.

Numerous sources from the Natural State have indicated elsewhere — and specifically to MrSEC.com last night — that Gruden politely turned down the advance from the Razorbacks.  Ron Higgins of The Memphis Commercial-Appeal — a city that straddles said border — reported the following on Twitter last night:

With Tennessee in the on-deck circle at this point, MrSEC.com was told by an industry source this morning that it might not take a “mind-blowing” offer to land Gruden.

As everyone knows by now, the Super Bowl-winning coach began his career as a grad assistant at Tennessee in the mid-80s and married an ex-UT cheerleader who still has family in the Knoxville area.  Those ties could be causing Gruden — who’s spoken with Tennessee during previous searches — to lean more in the Vols’ direction this time around.

According to the source we spoke with today, Gruden and his agent are no longer asking for $50 million in guaranteed money over 10 years as had been widely speculated/reported in East Tennessee over the past few weeks.  If true, perhaps Gruden is willing to give UT a “hometown” discount on account of his wife and in-laws.  It’s also possible that the coach believes he could use his national celebrity to earn a good deal of cash over-and-above his Vol salary through national advertisements (he’s currently a pitch man for Hooters).

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Balanced on offense.  Faster on defense.  More physical in general.  According to The Houston Chronicle, that’s Mack Brown’s new blueprint for Texas.  And if it sounds familiar, SEC fans, it should.  That blueprint comes straight from last year’s BCS Championship Game featuring Alabama and LSU.

Mike Finger writes that Texas’ coach paid special attention to that matchup:

“Both teams owned dominant defenses built on speed, aggression and an unending array of looks.  Both teams employed diverse running games with multiple big-play threats.  Both teams were loaded with NFL talent on the lines of scrimmage, in the secondary and in the return game.  And neither asked its quarterback to be a superstar.”

Armed with that blueprint, Brown says the Longhorn program “is headed back in the right direction.”  Well, as numerous teams in the SEC and around the country can tell him, that blueprint is easier to write down on paper than it is to actually put into action on the field.

Trying to mimic the typical SEC style is certainly a wise move considering the SEC’s big-game success over the past six years.  But not everyone can make it work.  Plus, Urban Meyer at Florida and Bobby Petrino at Arkansas both showed that you can win in the SEC without following the traditional blueprint.  And Auburn’s superstar quarterback route worked pretty well with Cam Newton at the controls of Gus Malzahn’s up-tempo spread.

Run the football ball, have NFL-worthy linemen, be balanced on offense, have speed and aggression on defense, etc, etc.  How many teams out there don’t want to go in that direction?

What’s interesting is that while Texas wants to try the SEC approach in the Big XII, Texas A&M has hired a coach known for throwing the football more than he runs it (though the perception that Kevin Sumlin doesn’t run the ball at all is way, way off base).

We’ll see who has more success in the long run.  The Texas school trying to mimic the SEC.  Or the other Texas school that’s actually joined the SEC.

1. Georgia coach Mark Richt does an about-face over the recruitment of Penn State players. Georgia had previously given Penn State notification on 19 players they planned to contact – on the same day punishment against the Nittany Lions program was handed down.

2. Current Georgia roster – “fewer than 70 players recruited on scholarship, well below the NCAA limit of 85.”

3. 14-year old runs a 4.46 40-yard dash.  Gets scholarship offer from LSU.

4. Michigan safety Jordan Kovacs on the season opener against Alabama: “It’s a huge game for this conference.”

5. As recently as 2009, Nick Saban’s staff had zero “analysts.” Now Alabama has nine of them.

6. Alabama’s preseason camp opens in six days.

7. No SEC team will start practice sooner than Auburn – drills start on Wednesday.

8. With nine starters returning, Auburn will have an experienced defense.

9. A rundown of important preseason dates at Mississippi State and at Ole Miss.

10. What Denzel Nkemdiche means to the Rebels.

11. A plea from a choked-up Joker Phillips: ”These players don’t need everybody to believe in them. But they damn sure need somebody to.”

12. The reason for  a sharp dropoff in season ticket sales at Kentucky?” UK officials can talk about the economy and the vast number of games on television, but the main factor is performance on the field.”

13. Friday Night Lights at The Swamp.

14. Derek Dooley on Tennessee’s new $45 million practice facility: “This is going to be the gold standard for the next 15-20 years.”

15. New lights, new artificial turf ,  HD video screen and increased capacity at Vanderbilt will all be done by August 11th.

16. Kiero Small’s leadership abilities have Arkansas excited about a transition to the linebacker position.

17. Arkansas linebacker Alonzo Highsmith, Jr. is stepping out of the shadow of his father.

18. Arkansas – Missouri a neutral site game?  Arkansas AD Jeff Long: ”Just off the top of my head, I don’t see how that would be beneficial to Arkansas.”

19. Want to get tickets to the Arkansas – Alabama game?  They won’t come cheap.

20. “The kickoff will be much different in 2012.”

21. Mississippi State will meet North Carolina in the Maui Invitational in November.

Extras

22. Jon Solomon: “North Carolina’s academic scandal is a big deal. And it could be bigger if it becomes attached to Roy Williams’ basketball program.”

23. Knoxville businessman Jimmy Haslam wants to buy the Cleveland Browns?

24. Texas coach Mack Brown on his colleague at Kansas State: “Bill Snyder is the best coach in the country.”

25. Best remembered for an incident caught on camera – choked by his coach Bob Knight back in 1997.  Neil Reed is dead at the age of 36.

26. The Penn State scandal and big money donors – could have repercussions for decades.

Mark Richt is looking for two assistant coaches this evening. 

The offensive line coach position has been open since Stacy Searels left Georgia for Texas last month.  According to ESPN.com, four candidates have emerged as possible replacements for Searels:


* Greg Adkins — Syracuse’s offensive line coach, formerly of Marshall, Troy and Tennessee.

* Will Friend — UAB’s offensive line coach and a former Alabama player.

* Brent Key — UCF’s offensive line coach and a former Georgia Tech player.

* Mac McWhorter — Texas’ offensive line coach for the past nine seasons… before Mack Brown let him go in December which opened the door for Texas to hire Searels.  McWhorter has also coached at Memphis, Clemson, Duke, Alabama and at Georgia under Ray Goff.  McWhorter is a UGA alum.


And now the Dawgs have a vacancy at the inside linebackers position, too.  According to UGASports.com — the Rivals site covering Georgia — Warren Belin is leaving Athens to join the Carolina Panthers’ coaching staff.  Belin was on Richt’s staff for just one season, making the move from Vanderbilt to Georgia last offseason.

The new Longhorn Network — a partnership between ESPN and the University of Texas — will create a $300 million windfall for the Texas athletic department over the next 20 years.  You’d think that would be the worst of it for Texas’ Big 12 rivals.

You would be wrong.

When the deal for the network was announced, one small part of the press release caught the attention of the people at Texas A&M.  It seems the Longhorn Network plans to carry some high school games in addition to all those many hours of Texas’ football, basketball, baseball, tic-tac-toe, badminton, and cross-country ballroom dancing. 

Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne — no doubt speaking for every other person attached to a Big 12 school not located in Austin — believes the NCAA might want to take a look into those plans.

“I can’t speak for the NCAA, but I would imagine the governing body will look into the use of a collegiate television network airing games of prospective student-athletes,” Byrne said.  “I understand networks such as FSN and ESPN airing high school sports, but whether or not employees under contract with a university that may have additional contact would seem to be an issue.”

Yes.  A huge issue.

Let’s say Mack Brown spots a high school running back out of College Station that he likes.  He tells the folks with the Longhorn Network of his interest.  All of a sudden, said prospect’s high school games are picked up and aired by the official University of Texas sports channel.  A recruiting advantage for Texas?  You bet.

No one in the Big 12 trusts one another after the backdoor dealings, backstabs, and attempted double-crosses of last summer.  So launching Texas’ new network is akin to pouring gasoline on a fire.  Sooner or later — probably sooner — the Big 12 is going to go up in flames.

When it does, expect A&M and possibly Oklahoma to call Mike Slive in hopes of finding new living arrangements.