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The Southeastern Conference welcomes two new teams this season due to conference realignment. Nick Saban hung up his whistle. Three head coaches have reduced their offices to smoke-filled cigar bars because their coaching chairs are engulfed in flames. And, another team has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, with its depth chart looking like a police blotter.
These and other storylines from the mad, mad, mad world of SEC football will occupy the attention of media and fans as we head into the 2024 season.
Life After Saban
For the first time since the 2006 season, the Alabama Crimson Tide will not have Saban roaming the sidelines. After being defeated by Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines in the College Football Playoff semifinals, Saban issued a doozy of an announcement—his retirement.
That announcement set off a frenzy of activity related to a coaching search and players deciding to enter the transfer portal. Former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer, fresh off an appearance in the CFP National Championship, was hired to replace Saban. This is not your daddy’s Alabama team nor Saban’s.
Longhorns, Sooners in the SEC
Three years in the making, two of college football’s storied programs accepted invitations to join one of the toughest leagues in the country, beginning play in the SEC this season. That began a seismic shift in the tectonic plates of college football, with conference realignment becoming the hot topic of the day. The realignment destroyed the venerable Pac-12 Conference.
Texas and Oklahoma add cachet to the already powerful SEC. Who is more ready for the rigors of SEC football, the Longhorns or the Sooners?
The Hot Seat
Reporters covering football-related activities in Fayetteville, Ark., Gainesville, Fla. or Nashville, Tenn. ought to carry fire extinguishers or have fire hoses at the ready, as some SEC head coaching seats have spontaneously combusted. When it comes to winning football games regularly, these coaches' teams have not gotten it done.
2024 will be a make-or-break year for Arkansas’s Sam Pittman, Florida’s Billy Napier, and Vandy coach Clark Lea. The situation is so bleak that bookies in Las Vegas are taking bets on which one of the three gets fired first.
Peach State Dragnet
The Georgia Bulldogs football operations have moved into new digs, located in the headquarters building of the Athens Police Department. The Bulldogs football team has been on the police radar dozens of times, with players arrested for many offenses, including charges stemming from a 2023 fatal car crash.
Most recently, one of the best receivers on the team, Rara Thomas, was dismissed by coach Kirby Smart after an arrest on child cruelty charges. This was not Thomas' first run-in with the law.
It has been said before that the best ability should be availability. Soon, all will see how Thomas' unavailability affects the Bulldogs on the football field.
No Divisions
For the first time since 1991, the SEC will play with no divisions. Each of the 17 teams will play eight conference games, and the top two teams will meet in Atlanta in the conference championship game.
Alabama
DeBoer takes over at Alabama. He brought Ryan Grubb with him from Washington as his offensive coordinator. But before they could unpack their belongings, Grubb announced that he accepted an OC position with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. That changes things significantly for the Crimson Tide going into this season. Under Grubb at Washington, the Huskies were a top-15 offense in the FBS:
No. 12 in total offense, 462 yards per game
No. 2 in passing offense, 343 yards per game
No. 13 in scoring offense, 36 points per game
In addition, a ton of talent on Alabama's offense was lost to the transfer portal, including running back Roydell Williams (to Florida State) and wide receiver Isaiah Bond (to Texas).
One key component remains steady: DeBoer and his staff welcome back starting quarterback Jalen Milroe.
Texas A&M
Mike Elko takes over at Texas A&M after Jimbo Fisher was shown the door and given the keys to a Brinks truck containing a multi-million-dollar severance package. Elko welcomes back 18 starters from last year’s team. Nine talented players return on defense, including defensive lineman Shemar Turner and linebacker Taurean York. The Aggies host Notre Dame to kick off the season.
Mississippi State
Jeff Lebby moves from Oklahoma to take over as head coach at Mississippi State. Lebby is known for his offensive schemes, but he is in rebuilding mode for sure in Starkville, Miss. The task of rebuilding would have been a little easier had 2023 starting quarterback Will Rogers not transferred out of the program. Rogers hit the portal and landed at Washington and will play for new head coach Jedd Fisch this season.
Ironically, Rogers was close to breaking the SEC career record for passing yards, currently held by Georgia’s Aaron Murray with 13,166 passing yards. Rogers stood at 12,315 passing yards coming into this season and was just 852 yards shy of the SEC record. In Lebby’s offense, Rogers could have thrived and probably would have broken the record. Alas, it was not meant to be. The portal giveth and the portal taketh away.
There you have it, SEC storylines to watch this season. Are you ready?
The SEC kicks off the 2024 season on Thursday, Aug. 29. Arkansas hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Missouri hosts Murray State.
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