The other night I dreamed that there was no more Southeastern Conference. Ridiculous? Well, maybe not so far-fetched, considering what happened to the Big 12, which almost went bye-bye. Scary.
Because of the current Power and the Glory of the SEC, that’s not going to happen anytime soon, if ever, because the SEC is a cash cow.
At the same time, recent events should teach all fans of college football about the rapidly evolving landscape of college football. The Gator Nation shouldn’t get too smug about America’s best football conference or how strongly Florida is currently ensconced as the preeminent team in a power league. Confident, maybe, but just not smug. Be thankful nearly all the changes since 1990 have been good ones. (Ron Zook haters – I said almost.)
Often change is for the better. New opportunities are presented to bright assistants for moving up. Schools upgrade coaches. But change can be painful. Just think back to last Dec. 26 when Urban Meyer shocked the world by announcing his retirement because of health problems. Remember how that felt?
There is a swirl of change around the SEC the likes of which I can’t ever remember, especially at the coaching level. Perhaps because the huge amounts of money have brought about all that pressure to win, win, win, coaches appear to be falling like dominoes.
When Bobby Johnson retired from Vanderbilt this week, it reverberated through the coaching ranks like an Internet rumor on Tiger Woods’ love interests. Not just because of Johnson’s decision, but because of its odd timing. Normally coaches are fairly optimistic in July and hit the wall in November or December. Why now?
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