HOOVER, Ala. -- Alabama Coach Nick Saban had a testy interview with television and radio talk show host Paul Finebaum on Wednesday at SEC media days.
Saban got defensive when Finebaum asked him about being criticized for not suspending starting offensive tackle Cam Robinson -- a projected first-round NFL Draft pick -- and reserve defensive back Hootie Jones for the season opener against Southern California after they were arrested in their hometown of Monroe, La., on May 17.
Robinson and Jones were charged with possession of marijuana. Robinson also was charged with possession of a stolen firearm.
The charges later were dropped, according to the Ouachita Parish district attorney's office, because of insufficient evidence.
Finebaum asked Saban about how he'll answer critics for not suspending the players.
"I don't really care to answer the critics because I'm going to do what's right for the players," Saban responded on air to Finebaum. "And if the players really did anything that wrong, they would've got charged with something."
Finebaum told Saban that it was "debatable" whether or not the players deserved to be charged.
"Do we condone the behavior? No," Saban said. "But you're innocent until you're proven guilty in this country regardless if you get convicted in the media or not, which is what you're doing."
Finebaum asked Saban why either player hasn't been suspended for the opener.
"Because I'm not going to convict him in public," Saban said. "I was going to get criticized by you and the public and the media because I'm not going to suspend him and I don't really care about that. That's the end of the conversation."
According to an AL.com report, off the air Saban "launched into a four-letter tirade directed at Finebaum" and "he used his fingers to note the small amount of marijuana found in the car and insinuated the arresting officers were disgruntled LSU fans."
Saban said on the air that there were four people in the car when the players were arrested and wondered aloud why only the two Alabama players were arrested.
Earlier in a media days interview session, Saban said the facts of the case "are a little different than sort of what was advertised" in media reports.
"Both players have done a significant amount of things to change their behavior internally, whether it was police ride-around, whether it was community service, or juvenile groups that need positive role models and influence to make better choices and decisions," Saban said. "So we have viewed this as these guys do these changes to change their behavior and help these other people, and that is ongoing.
"If they continue to do that, that will be how this matter is handled internally."
Missouri turmoil
During Barry Odom's debut at SEC media days, the new Missouri coach found himself talking a lot about the Baylor athletic director.
That's because Baylor's new athletic director is Mack Rhoades, who announced his resignation as Missouri's athletic director Wednesday a few minutes before Odom spoke to reporters.
Rhoades promoted Odom from Missouri's defensive coordinator to coach after last season to replace the retiring Gary Pinkel.
Odom said he had a long talk with Rhoades on Tuesday night and learned he was taking the Baylor job.
"He's got an opportunity that he thought was best for him," Odom said. "I know that I'm very, very excited about the University of Missouri. I'm excited about what I've got in place [from] my staff from a football program perspective.
"I absolutely know that we'll get a great director of athletics in there, and the things that we've done in the last eight months are going to set us up for the next 20 years."
Odom said he's not worried about the future.
"The University of Missouri's been around since 1839, and it's going to be around for a long, long time," he said. "I'm really excited about the direction our football program is going and really look forward to getting 2016 started."
No happy camper
Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said he doesn't have much use for satellite camps, in which coaching staffs get to work with players in off-campus settings.
"We haven't gotten a lot out of them," Stoops said. "We want to see players on our campus.
"Satellite camps are recruiting. Let's not call them anything else. You want to evaluate and recruit. So we want those players on our campus."
Experience down
The average head coaching experience for SEC head coaches is 6.6 years, according to research by CBSSports.com, the lowest number for the conference since 1964, when the average was 5.8 years per head coach.
Only three SEC coaches have been at their respective schools for more than four years: LSU's Les Miles (11 years), Alabama's Nick Saban (9) and Mississippi State's Dan Mullen (7). SEC coaches have served a combined 50 years as head coach at their current schools, an average of 3.6 years.
Sports on 07/14/2016