Coaching stability rare in SEC

For first time since 2006, no changes were made in offseason

The Southeastern Conference pays big money to its coaches, and that’s one reason patience is often in short supply when things go wrong.

But in a rare quirk, there were no new head coaches at the podium during SEC media days for the first time since 2006.

Fans should embrace the stability while they can, because if history is any indication, it won’t last long.

Auburn’s Gus Malzahn and Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason are among several coaches under varying amounts of pressure to show improvement. Malzahn, Mason and Kentucky’s Mark Stoops all took the podium Thursday during the final session of SEC media days.

If Malzahn is feeling any heat, he isn’t showing it.

“I’ve got a job that expects to win championships, and I knew that when I took this job,” Malzahn said. “I love the fact that that’s part of the job description here. And the years you don’t win championships, you hear stuff like this.

“I’ve been a head coach six years, and four of those years you hear, hot seat this, hot seat that. That’s just part of this job.”

Malzahn’s enters his seventh year at Auburn after an 8-5 season that included a 3-5 mark in the SEC.

Mason is in his sixth year with the Commodores and hasn’t had a winning season, though he has finished 6-7 twice, including last year.

The churn of coaching hires and fires is often cyclical, but SEC commissioner Greg Sankey believes programs realize that coaches must be given some time to build a program.

One recent example is Stoops, who had some mediocre years before breaking through with a 10-win season in 2018. It was the most wins for the Wildcats in 41 years.

“Patience as a virtue is real, and continuity is an asset, particularly when there’s progression, even if it’s incremental,” Sankey said. “Over time, in my experience, that’s how programs really improve.”

Other coaches under pressure to show improvement in 2019: Will Muschamp of South Carolina, Chad Morris of Arkansas, Joe Moorhead of Mississippi State, Matt Luke of Mississippi and Jeremy Pruitt of Tennessee.

ACC pushing hard for conference network

The Atlantic Coast Conference is roughly a month away from launching its new Espnpartnered TV channel, but is still awaiting key deals with several cable providers to carry it.

The league and its schools need help from fans on that front.

Schools are posting messages on social media asking fans to contact cable providers and request them to carry the ACC Network ahead of its Aug. 22 launch. Several even have put messages atop their official athletic webpages urging fans to “demand” the network. And it’s a frequent talking point for school officials.

In an interview with The Associated Press, league commissioner John Swofford said those are coordinated efforts in a strategy directed by Disney-owned ESPN.

“This is something where you reach a point in time where pros sort of take over,” Swofford said during the ACC media days. “And the pros in this instance are ESPN distribution and Disney distribution. I think we’ve done our part and will continue to do our part at the institutional level and the conference level, so we are a part of that. But you can only do so much, and that’s where we are at this point in time.”

ACC officials hope channel revenue closes a growing financial gap with its power-conference peers. The threshold for success remains unclear because the league hasn’t publicized financial projections for the network.

There are deals in place with several providers, including direct-tocustomer services such as Playstation Vue and Hulu. There are no deals in several key markets of the league’s footprint, though Swofford has previously noted that last-minute distribution deals are common in a process he called “stimulating” but also “stressful.”

“This network is a big deal, and it needs to work,” Swofford said. “And I’m very confident that it will.”

UNLV assistant needs transplant

UNLV offensive coordinator Barney Cotton is awaiting a heart transplant and will not coach on the field this season.

Rebels coach Tony Sanchez said in a news release by the Las Vegas school that Cotton, 62, is in Omaha, Nebraska, and on a waiting list to receive a heart.

Cotton is an Omaha native and former Nebraska assistant coach. He served as interim coach for the Cornhuskers in 2014 after Bo Pelini was fired.