Coaches ready to talk football

Optimism flows, hot seats stoke

Arkansas Coach John L. Smith, who enters the 2012 season with a 10-month contract, was ranked No. 2 on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s informal poll of SEC coaches most likely to be fired.

Arkansas Coach John L. Smith, who enters the 2012 season with a 10-month contract, was ranked No. 2 on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s informal poll of SEC coaches most likely to be fired.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

— HOOVER, Ala. - The SEC likes its front-runner status on the football field and off.

So it should be no surprise that the conference that has claimed the past six BCS national championships is getting an early start on getting out its story lines for the 2012 season.

Approximately 1,000 credential requests have been received for SEC media days, which begins its three-day run today before any of the other BCS conferences hold their media enclaves. The event will feature all 14 head coaches and selected players.

“With the coverage from attending media, our contractual television partners and our website and social media, SEC football will get maximum exposure around the nation this week,” said Charles Bloom, the SEC’s associate commissioner for media relations.

Missouri and Texas A&M, which become official SEC members July 1, make their debuts on the opening day, with coaches Gary Pinkel and Kevin Sumlin and three players from each team interviewing with the media masses. South Carolina and Vanderbilt will follow.

Arkansas is a part of Wednesday’s six-team marathon, joining Florida, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Auburn and LSU. Defending national champion Alabama will be the featured attraction Thursday, accompanied by Tennessee,Georgia and Ole Miss.

Coach John L. Smith, tailback Knile Davis, quarterback Tyler Wilson and linebacker Tenarius Wright will represent Arkansas.

Smith’s unique situation - a first-year coach of a highly ranked team who is operating on a 10-month contract - landed him as the second most likely coach to be fired based on an informal Arkansas Democrat-Gazette survey of 10 beat writers and analysts from around the league.

But Smith, three months into his contract after taking over after Bobby Petrino’s April 10 firing, is not the coach considered to be on the hottest seat in the league.

That position, according to the Democrat-Gazette poll, belongs to Tenneesse Coach Derek Dooley, who enters his third season with an 11-14 record. Dooley failed to lead Tennessee to a bowl game last season as the injury-plagued Volunteers didn’t get the six victories needed because they dropped their season finale to Kentucky, ending a 26-year winning streak over the Wildcats.

Tennessee has had back-to back losing seasons for the first time since 1910-1911.

Smith’s hot-seat status is based more on circumstance than past performance.

“In coaching, you have to do well enough that they want you back another year,” Smith said. “That’s why I said this contract is no different than any other contract. You have to win. You have to put a good product on the field.”

Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long has had candid conversations with Smith about what might be in store for next season.

“He knows that I’m looking for the next football coach, and he knows that I’m looking at him,” Long said. “I continue to run my process, and it’s an extended process because I have the luxury of extending it. But I’m doing my research, preparing for after the season. As John L. has said, he’s auditioning for the job every day with every game, and that’s true.”

Poll respondents unanimously selected Alabama’s Nick Saban (14th) as being the furthest from the hot seat.

The next-safest were considered to be first-year coaches Hugh Freeze of Ole Miss (13th) and Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M (12th), preceded by South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier (11th).

LSU Coach Les Miles, whose teams won the 2007 BCS national championship and lost to Alabama in last year’s national title game, came in 10th.

Coaches on the hot seat

Tennessee’s Derek Dooley (left) enters the 2012 season with the highest likelihood of losing his job, based on an informal poll of 10 SEC writers (6 who cover Western Division teams, 4 who cover Eastern Division teams) by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Polling was done with 14 points representing the hottest seat in the SEC, 1 point for the safest job in the conference.

COACH, SCHOOL PTS

1.Derek Dooley, Tennnessee (5) 134

2.John L. Smith, Arkansas (5) 128

3.Joker Phillips, Kentucky 123

4.Will Muschamp, Florida 99

4.Gary Pinkel, Missouri 99

6.Gene Chizik, Auburn 85

6.Dan Mullen, Miss. State 85

8.Mark Richt, Georgia 81

9.James Franklin, Vanderbilt 54

10.Les Miles, LSU 51

11.Steve Spurrier, South Carolina 42

12.Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M 30

13.Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss 29

14.Nick Saban, Alabama 10

Sports, Pages 13 on 07/17/2012