SEC Media Days: Sixteen Teams, Six New Coaches, and One Brutal Nine-Game Schedule

SEC Media Days in Tampa Bay, Florida

Sixteen SEC teams rolled through Tampa with six new head coaches, ten familiar faces, and enough July confidence to fill Raymond James Stadium twice.

Did we learn Kentucky can win just because Will Stein said so? How long can Lane Kiffin keep his thumbs off social media before the man starts twittering again? And when Alabama landed sixth in the preseason poll, did Tuscaloosa hear a ranking, or a damn tornado siren?

Oklahoma: Hard to Kill, Apparently

Brent Venables is starting his fifth season at Oklahoma and third in the SEC. That feels much better than last year, when a 6–7 season put his job on the line hotter than the sidewalk outside the Tampa Marriott.

In 2025, he took back defensive play-calling, won ten games, led Oklahoma to the Playoff, and made the Sooners’ identity all about being “Hard to Kill.” Oklahoma established a commanding 17–0 lead against Alabama, but their advantage quickly dissipated as Alabama responded by outscoring the Sooners 34–7 for the remainder of the game. Following this loss, the phrase “Hard to Kill” lost its resonance as a motivational slogan and instead underscored the severity of the defeat. In effect, the game’s outcome highlighted the limitations of that motto.

Missouri: Somebody Might Want to Cut Eli’s Mic

Eliah Drinkwitz brought 54 new players to Missouri this year, damn near half the roster. That is not a football team yet, honey. That is a family reunion where half the people still need name tags.

However, y'all, Drinkwitz’s biggest Tampa problem was not remembering everybody’s name. Mizzou's star running back Ahmad Hardy was shot in the leg at a concert in Mississippi back in May and had surgery. Drinkwitz said the bone had healed and Hardy had been cleared to begin a return-to-play process that could take five to eight weeks.

Hardy is known for riding horses, and when reporters asked about his recovery, the coach joked that horseback riding was probably not included in Hardy’s medical plan. Nonetheless, Drinkwitz added that John Wayne once rode a horse after being shot, so perhaps Hardy could as well.

But y’all, that roster has to gel fast. Because Missouri’s 2026 slate includes four teams that made last year’s Playoff, that’s Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Georgia and Ole Miss, with the toughest road trips coming at Ole Miss and Georgia. Missouri’s real question is whether Drinkwitz can turn 54 newcomers into one team before the SEC schedule introduces everybody the hard way.

Kentucky: Because Will Stein Said So

Will Stein is one of the SEC’s six new head coaches, and this is his first college head-coaching job. He came to Kentucky after three seasons as Oregon’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Then he walked into his first SEC Media Days appearance and delivered the biggest-balls answer of the week. Asked why Kentucky could win big, Stein said, “I think because of me, to be honest.” Well, all right then, go on and show us.

Stein said he knows what winning at the highest level requires, and he refuses to sit around waiting for Kentucky to become relevant. Confidence, y’all, is not the problem in Lexington anymore. Now y'all, he has to prove that big-ass answer was a promise and not the opening statement at his future trial.

Tennessee: Fifth Time’s the Charm?

Josh Heupel is not one of the SEC’s new coaches. He is entering his sixth season at Tennessee and sixth as an SEC head coach, but Rocky Top is still hunting for its fifth different starting quarterback in five years. Heupel admitted, “At some point I’m going to have the opportunity to come back here with a returning starter.” The man is not asking for a dynasty, y’all. He just wants to bring the same damn quarterback to Media Days two Julys in a row. Colorado transfer Ryan Staub brings some college experience, while redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon bring plenty of promise and a whole lot less proof. Tennessee does not play Georgia this year, but honey, that blessing came with fine print. Whoever wins the job gets Texas, Auburn and Alabama before Halloween. That is not easing a quarterback into the SEC. That is lighting the damn fuse and handing him the football.

Georgia: Kirby Already Got His Own Damn Blog

Kirby Smart brought 68 percent of Georgia’s production back to Tampa, including Gunner Stockton, and said the Dawgs spent the offseason studying the Oklahoma City Thunder’s commitment to being “uncommon.” The media then picked Georgia to win the SEC, so apparently “uncommon” still looks a whole lot like everybody chasing my Dawgs.

Georgia brought back the players, the quarterback and the expectations. Now my Dawgs just have to finish the damn job.

Auburn: Did Golesh Move, or Relocate South Florida?

Alex Golesh is one of the SEC’s six new head coaches and is making his first Media Days appearance as the man in charge at Auburn.

This is his first season leading an SEC program, but it is not his first time holding the keys. Golesh spent three years rebuilding South Florida before Auburn backed up the moving truck and hauled him from Tampa to the Plains. And honey, Golesh damn near brought South Florida with him. Quarterback Byrum Brown and 12 of his former USF teammates followed their coach to Auburn. Brown led every FBS quarterback with 42 total touchdowns last season, so this looks less like a rebuild and more like Golesh ordered his entire offense in bulk at Costco. Golesh said, “I don’t set goals. I set standards,” and with that, a successful first season means Auburn finally knows exactly who it is. The Tigers have spent the last few years trying on new identities like dresses before Sunday church, y’all. The SEC is fixing to test those standards in Knoxville, Athens and Tuscaloosa, darlin’. By the time that schedule gets through with Auburn, Golesh’s identity will either have teeth—or be just another damn slogan taped to the locker-room wall.

Vanderbilt: The Underdog Has Expectations Now

Clark Lea is entering his sixth season as Vanderbilt's HC after leading the Commodores to ten wins for the first time in school history, including six alone in the SEC.

Now Vanderbilt has to prove Diego Pavia did more than loan the Commodores his swagger for one magical season before taking the whole damn personality with him.

Lea has not named Pavia’s replacement. Five-star freshman Jared Curtis is competing with veteran Blaze Berlowitz and the rest of the quarterback room. Lea left open the possibility of playing more than one quarterback. He also declared that Vanderbilt expects to win every game and reach the Playoff. That is a big-ass-balls comment from Lea, with Vandy’s schedule featuring Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee in Nashville. Surviving that shit is one thing, but the Commodores still have to win between the Hedges in Athens. Without Pavia, that feat, my friend, will be no easy accomplishment.

South Carolina: Same Players, Different Expectations

Shane Beamer is entering his sixth season at South Carolina and sixth as an SEC head coach. He did not walk into Tampa pretending last season was anything but a disaster.

Beamer admitted the Gamecocks fell “woefully short” in 2025 and added, “That’s on me.”

And honey, he was not exaggerating. South Carolina went 9–4 in 2024, carried LaNorris Sellers and all that Heisman talk into last July, then crashed to 4–8 with one SEC win against Kentucky. Beamer pointed out that six of those losses were still one-score games entering the fourth quarter. That does not make eight losses prettier, darlin’; it just means the Gamecocks spent an entire season finding new ways not to bring it home to Columbia. Now Beamer says many of the same players everybody loved last year are back, only older and more experienced. Netflix may have made him famous enough for a TSA worker in Turks and Caicos to remember him as the SEC coach from “Fantasia,” but Columbia does not need another memorable scene. It needs Beamer’s Gamecocks to remember how to close a damn football game.

Alabama: Sixth Place Is Not a Compliment in Tuscaloosa

Kalen DeBoer is entering his third season at Alabama and third as an SEC head coach.

Year Two brought 11 wins and a Playoff victory at Oklahoma, but it also brought a 28–7 loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship and a 38–3 Rose Bowl ass-whipping from Indiana. Alabama still extended DeBoer’s contract through January 2033, which is one hell of a vote of confidence after the Tide was outscored 66–10 with the biggest trophies on the table, and the boosters were frantically scrounging up enough cash actually to buy him out of his contract. DeBoer brought plenty of new faces to Tampa, but he did not bring a starting quarterback. Austin Mack is entering his fourth year in DeBoer’s system, while former five-star Keelon Russell is entering his second. DeBoer called them both high-level quarterbacks and admitted the competition will end with a “tough decision.” Honey, at Alabama, the decision can be tough. It just better not be wrong.

At Media Days, DeBoer was asked whether winning a national championship would define his Alabama legacy. He answered, “I wouldn’t doubt if that’s the case.”

Y’all, this man replaced Nick damn Saban and coaches his home games on Saban Field. If that ain’t pressure, tell me yours and let’s compare. Then the media picked Alabama sixth in the SEC, and DeBoer said all those new faces have to “go prove it.” Honey, Tuscaloosa did not hear a ranking. They heard the damn tornado siren.

Florida: Somebody Silence That Damn Phone

Jon Sumrall is one of the SEC’s six new head coaches, making his first Media Days appearance as the man in charge of the Florida Gators. This is his first SEC head-coaching job, but his third college head-coaching stop. He comes to Gainesville after two seasons at Tulane, following two more at Troy. Sumrall went 42–11, reached a conference championship game in all four seasons and won two Sun Belt titles before Florida handed him the keys to the Swamp. Then somebody’s cellphone started ringing while he was doing his thing. “You’re lucky I’m not going to throw this podium right now,” Sumrall said before later explaining that he was joking. The internet didn't care, y'all, and still carried on like the man had threatened to launch the whole damn Marriott into Tampa Bay. Behind all that “talk,” Sumrall brought 58 newcomers to Gainesville—34 transfers and 24 freshmen students and admitted he was “very underwhelmed” by the offensive line’s strength when he arrived. Florida definitely hired some fire, honey. Now we find out whether the Gators can block well enough to keep it burning.

Ole Miss: Pete Golding Skipped the Beginner’s Course

Pete Golding is one of the SEC’s six new head coaches, and this is his first college head-coaching job. By the time he made his first SEC Media Days appearance in Tampa as a head coach, he had already coached three Playoff games. When Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss before the postseason, Golding took over, beat Tulane, knocked off Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and came within one late Miami drive of coaching for a national championship.

Golding admitted the main reason he had avoided becoming a head coach was that he loved calling defense and did not want to deal with all the “head coach bullshit.”

So he hired people to keep that mess off his desk while he continues calling the defense. At least the man read the job description before accepting it. As for Kiffin, Golding said they still text, and he has no ill will. His argument was simple: had Ole Miss fans been offered an 11–1 season and a Playoff run in exchange for their coach leaving, they would have said, “Hell yeah.” That sounds mighty mature y'all for a man who gets to welcome his former boss back to Oxford on September 19.

Texas A&M: Eleven Wins, Still No Hardware

Mike Elko led Texas A&M to an 11–0 start and the program’s first College Football Playoff appearance, only for the Aggies to finish 11–2 after scoring only three damn points against Miami at home. Elko admitted Texas A&M still has not won the “hardware” it is chasing. Linebacker Daymion Sanford was even blunter, saying the Aggies did not win any “meaningful games.” Eleven wins without a single one anybody wants to frame makes you wonder if they need to ring up the 12th man for backup. Elko has clearly improved the program. Y'all, the Aggies have reached the expensive part of the rebuild where progress no longer counts unless somebody brings home a damn trophy.

LSU: Lane Kiffin Went Offline, Not Quiet

Lane Kiffin is one of the SEC's six new head coaches, but y'all, he ain't new to the conference. This is his third SEC head-coaching stop, and he's still carrying the same baggage from when Saban fired him at Alabama. Talent was never the question. Whether he can stay off social media and stop turning every press conference into a damn Netflix cliffhanger, that's the question. Kiffin made his first SEC Media Days appearance wearing LSU purple and opened with a 16-minute filibuster about Tampa, Hulk Hogan, Nike and damn near everything except the Ole Miss elephant sitting in the room. By the time he finished, reporters only squeezed in four questions.

And y’all, that ain't no coincidence. Lane Kiffin did not survive this long by accident.

Kiffin also announced that his son Knox dared him to quit social media, so he deleted every app from his phone. He called the break "refreshing" and said comparison steals your joy. We'll see if that holds up when LSU walks into Oxford on September 19. I can't wait, y'all! As for leaving Ole Miss before its Playoff run, Kiffin admitted he once believed he could make everybody understand his decision. Now he knows that was never going to happen. Oxford gets its first opportunity to explain exactly how well it understood him when he returns wearing LSU colors.

Arkansas: Apparently, Aura Wins Football Games

Ryan Silverfield is one of the SEC’s six new head coaches. This is his first SEC head-coaching job, but it is not his first time running a program. Silverfield spent six seasons at Memphis, went 50–25 and reached a bowl game every year before Arkansas brought him to Fayetteville. He made his SEC Media Days debut with nearly 80 new players, an almost entirely new staff and the internet claiming his official photo had all the “aura” of a tire salesman. Silverfield answered that he had a smart, hot wife, two beautiful daughters and an SEC head-coaching job, then added, “You know how you show aura? You win football games.” The first thing Silverfield changed at Arkansas was the lightbulbs because the football facility was too damn dark. Honey, when a program has gone 2–10, improving the lighting is at least an honest place to start. Silverfield also reminded everybody he is 5–1 against current SEC coaches and said, “Keep doubting me.” With 80 newcomers trying to learn each other’s names, he may need that confidence—and every bulb in Fayetteville burning bright.

Mississippi State: Fired, Rehired & Taking the Next Step

Jeff Lebby improved Mississippi State from two wins to five and a bowl game, but the Bulldogs still went 1–7 in the SEC. He said Year Three is about “taking the next step,” while his players said they are tired of losing games that came down to one play. At some point, that next step has to stop being a damn motivational poster and turn into SEC wins. Quarterback Kamario Taylor has enough promise that Nick Saban said, “This guy could be the truth.” But the wildest part of Mississippi State’s rebuild is Zach Arnett returning as defensive coordinator three years after the school fired him as head coach. Only in college football can you fire a man, replace him and then bring him back to fix the defense.

Texas: Three Swings, Three Misses at Georgia

Steve Sarkisian closed Media Days by admitting the problem Texas still has not solved: the Longhorns have played the Dawgs three times and lost all three meetings, including 1 SEC Championship run. Sark said, “If you want to be the champion, you got to beat the champion.” Well, Sark, Kirby has explained that lesson three damn times already.

Sark also made headlines discussing former Texas receiver Parker Livingstone transferring to Oklahoma. He said he still cared about him, but “I hope we kick his ass.”

Now that sounds more like SEC Media Days and less like a corporate retreat.

Texas has won at least ten games three straight years and has one of the most talented rosters in the country. But until Sark beats Georgia and brings home an SEC trophy, Texas is still arriving at the family reunion with money, confidence and no damn casserole.