And… a pony

I have no clue how accurate any of this is.

3-Tony says 'sobering weekend' in that he shot high at big names & there's no interest from big names (my guess is Stoops was among those).
4-Steele as interim HC isn't happening.
5-the uncertainty of NCAA sanctions makes this enormous challenge.
6-UT wants new HC by Thursday.

— Brian Edwards Sports (@vegasbedwards) January 25, 2021

But the leap from #1 to #6, especially considering the steps in between, is quintessential Vol.  Hilarious, in other words.

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A COVID diagnosis here, a COVID diagnosis there…

… and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.  A shit ton, as a matter of fact.

The NCAA’s cancelation of last season’s Division I basketball tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a $600 million annual decline in the association’s total revenue for its 2020 fiscal year, its new audited financial statement shows.

That’s a decrease of more than 50% compared to 2019.

The document, a copy of which was obtained by USA TODAY Sports, showed a $700 million decline in television and marketing rights revenue, nearly all of which came from the NCAA’s multimedia and marketing rights contract with CBS and Turner. In the association’s 2019 fiscal year, it reported nearly $868 million in such revenue

The NCAA received $270 million from event cancelation insurance, the statement said, but that covered only a small portion.

I’m guessing there won’t be a repeat of that in 2021.

Although I can’t help but wonder what Emmert would do if players collectively decided to sit out March Madness unless the NCAA dropped its opposition to their NIL rights.  Besides shit his pants, I mean.

Observations from the Senior Bowl

Perhaps one day Jamie Newman will let us know what he was thinking when he bailed on Georgia’s 2020 season, because based on this ($$), if he followed an agent’s advice, that dude must have one smooth sales pitch.

… Newman is a sturdy, mobile passer, but his 2019 film showed shaky pocket presence and undeveloped passing reads. With improvements as a senior in SEC play, some around the league thought he could turn himself into a top-100 draft pick.

Now he’s hoping for a hot week at the Senior Bowl to get the attention of NFL teams.  Good luck with that, Jamie.

Meanwhile, here’s an observation that will blow you away (at least it did me):

Seeing Jones removed from the Alabama offense will be helpful for evaluators. The fact that an NFL prospect all-star game is a slight step down in talent compared to what he had in Tuscaloosa says a lot about that Crimson Tide offense.

I’m not sure when I’ll get over my double take every time I reflect upon the fact that Georgia led Alabama late in the third quarter at Tuscaloosa last season.  With Stetson Bennett at quarterback…

**************************************************************************

UPDATE:  Stay classy, my brothers and sisters.

Newman will be wearing a Demon Deacons’ helmet as he looks to take the next step with an impressive week in front of NFL general managers and head coaches this week, Senior Bowl officials confirmed.

“We had to put him in Wake Forest stuff,” Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy said. “If we put him in Georgia stuff ….  the vitriol among DawgNation on Twitter has been unbelievable.”

Haven’t y’all got bigger things to fret about?

Don’t bogart that popcorn, my friend.

From the standpoint of entertainment value, I’m sad to say this is probably an accurate assessment of Pruitt v. Tennessee.

With about four times the money at stake for Pruitt, Lyons isn’t going to cave easily.

Neither, it appears, is Tennessee. Not after Monday’s press conference, during which Chancellor Donde Plowman lamented the seriousness of the NCAA violations on Pruitt’s watch.

This could get ugly – even uglier than it already appears to be.

That’s why I’d expect a settlement at some point.

Legal disputes between a famous coach and a famous institution seldom make it to a courtroom. Neither side benefits from dirty laundry being aired in a public trial.

Neither side?  Pffft.  Will no one think of the fans from other programs?

One complicating factor is that Pruitt appears to face a serious handicap.

College sports, actually, is rife with examples of universities backing coaches through all kinds of scandals. Those coaches are usually winning, though.

Pruitt was not.

Having said that, the facts do appear to be on the university’s side.

Lyons’ statement questioned the existence of evidence to prove Pruitt could have prevented the alleged violations, but it didn’t dispute that they happened. The language in Pruitt’s contract is clear that NCAA infractions by his staff would allow UT to fire him for cause.

Well, you know what they say when the facts aren’t on your side.  The thing is, Tennessee probably doesn’t want to hear that table being pounded.  More accurately, Tennessee doesn’t want the rest of us hearing that table being pounded.  As Estes wrote, “The optics of having to try this case in court could be horrendous.”

Shit, man, that’s what we’re counting on!

Out in front for 2021

Looking at Matt Hinton’s first preseason projection of the likely crop of conference starters in 2021, it’s striking how sizeable the gap appears to be between Ole Miss and Georgia on one side, and the rest of the conference on the other.

First of all, here’s the list of returning starters (2020 passer ratings in parenthesis):  Matt Corral (177.61); JT Daniels (178.50); Miles Brennan (154.75); Bo Nix (123.94); Will Rogers (123.49); Connor Bazelak (132.05); and Ken Seals (127.62).

That’s half the league.  The other half will see some variation of quarterbacks in waiting, like Florida’s Emory Jones, and a bunch of somewhat to fully blank slates.

Now, certainly there’s upside with several of these QBs.  Young will be Alabama’s starter, enough said.  Brennan is surrounded with talent and should benefit from a better coaching staff, assuming that’s the case.  Bazelak showed promise in spots during the 2020 season.  (Jones, for that matter, is a better fit for what Mullen traditionally wants from his quarterbacks.)

But, for now, in terms of established 2020 performance, staff stability and surrounding cast, Georgia and Ole Miss start with a leg up on the rest of the SEC.  In a quarterback-centric world, that’s a big deal.

TFW you thought you had your staff settled

LOL.

Sources: The Philadelphia Eagles have targeted Auburn's Tracy Rocker to be the new defensive line coach. He's expected to join Jonathan Gannon's defensive staff in Philadelphia.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 24, 2021

Rodney Garner now gets to play UT and Auburn against each other?  Never one to miss an opportunity, I bet that man be smiling today.

Musical palate cleanser, something old, something new edition

For me, a Bob Dylan concert is like Ms. Gump’s proverbial box of chocolates — you really never know what you’ll get.  That’s because Dylan has been prone to rework his songs, sometimes to brilliant effect and sometimes to virtually unlistenable dreck (that disastrous show I saw in the old Omni 25 years ago still makes me shake my head).

This version of “Highway 61”, with Mick Taylor on guitar, definitely belongs in the former group.  Although the sound quality isn’t the greatest, it really kicks some righteous ass.

As a bonus, that’s Ian McLagan on keyboards.  Rockin’!