It's time for The Mailbag, Edition 252.
I asked for your questions. You delivered. So here we go...
Note: There will be no Mailbag next week. I'm still searching for a sponsor for this content item, but for now, the plan is to return in two weeks.
From larryjoe1979: If you were Ross Bjork(nice tricycle btw) or whoever is making the decision, who is your first call for the A&M job? Who is your next if they say no? and who is your Alamo guy(guy you are 99.999% sure you can get, but you want higher/better/bigger splash but he is still good and is a fallback)?
I'd make Dan Lanning at Oregon tell me no a dozen times. I'd make it very difficult for him to say no. If he did, I'd look at DeBoer at Washington and I'd kick the tires on Eliah Drinkwitz at Missouri. If all that failed, I'd go the Elko or Traylor route and hope for the best. Either of them would jump at the job.
From Jacksonbobo: Why doesn’t Bjork get more criticism nationally for extending Jimbo’s already absurd contract?
That's simple. Bjork is just the face. He didn't give out that deal on his own volition. He had a lot of approval from boosters and higher-ups. This disaster simply can't be completely pinned on Bjork.
From OM575: How much money from the SEC do we receive each year for the TV and bowl money? How does this compare to other conferences, particularly the Big 10?
From ESPN.com:
The Southeastern Conference says it distributed an average of $49.9 million to its 14 member schools for the fiscal year that ended last August.
Commissioner Greg Sankey said Thursday the league divided $721.8 million of total revenue among its members. That included $698.5 million distributed by the league office and $23.3 million retained by schools for travel and other bowl-related expenses. The amounts were from the 2021-22 fiscal year that ended Aug. 31.
In the previous fiscal year, the SEC had distributed $764.4 million of total revenue, or about $54.6 million to each school.
The total distribution amount includes revenue generated from television agreements, bowl games, the College Football Playoff, the SEC football championship game, the SEC men's basketball tournament, NCAA Championships and a supplemental surplus distribution.
It doesn't include an additional $8.1 million in grants from the NCAA and SEC divided among the 14 schools.
The Big Ten, meanwhile, distributed approximately $58.8 million to 11 of its 14 member institutions.
No one else is even close.
From North Tampa Rebel: If you were Jimmy Sexton, what would you advise Lane to say when he is asked about other jobs?
Nothing, really. It's a can't-win deal. I know why we ask the questions, but there is really no good answer. So I would advise him to just say whatever makes him comfortable unless he knows for an absolute fact that he's not leaving. At that point, I'd say that for recruiting purposes. And even then, he's giving away leverage at a time when he could use that leverage for an even sweeter deal.
I always laugh to myself when I think about media asking a middle manager in a Fortune 500 company about "rumors" that he/she is considering an offer from a competing corporation. How would media handle stories in which other media speculated about what a particular reporter/broadcaster might do?
If I have leverage, I want to use it. That said, if I got interviewed about it, I would either be uncomfortable or I would refuse comment.
Again, we in the media have to ask Kiffin about jobs in which his name pops up, but there's no way for him to really answer it that makes sense.
From chattreb: First of Saturday was a beat down of epic proportions, so this question is in no way related to that. Ole Miss has a very disproportionate amount of holding calls against them in SEC play compared to our competition. It is around 3 to 1 against us ranging from levels of competition from Vandy to UGA, so there is some decent data to make some statistical analysis. Now as I see it, it is one of three things. Our line is bad, or we are coached to hold, or as you mentioned our opponents fill the official ears that we are holding. Now if part of the answer is the third option, that raises a lot of questions. Your thoughts?
It's a combination of all of those things. My suspicion is Ole Miss holds a lot and the reputation is out there now. I'm never going to answer this question satisfactorily. I don't believe officials are out to get Ole Miss. I just don't. Do I think there's some inherent bias? Yes. Do I think there are some situations where reputations lead to calls? Yes. I just don't think it's sinister, not that you're implying that. I think there is an overwhelming amount of incompetence. There is also an officiating shortage that is beginning to trickle up, at least in my opinion. There might not be the pool of quality officials to replace some of the older guys who are simply missing things on the field because of their age and lack of mobility as compared to the big, fast, young guys flying around the field.
From baba yaga1: in regards of comparing Missouri and Ole Miss should a bowl decision come down to those two, why does it seem like that comparing a common loss (@UGA) is more important than comparing another common opponent? Both played LSU at home and as we all know, OM won a close one and Missouri lost a close one. Is it as simple as recency and the optics of the Georgia game?
I honestly don't know. Ole Miss, at 10-2, would have a slightly better resume than Missouri at 10-2. But it's close, and if you're doing an eye test, different people would have different opinions.
I'll also add this: There is nothing wrong with playing in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day against a quality Big Ten team. If that's where Ole Miss lands, it's a very successful season and something Lane Kiffin and Co. should be able to build on.
From randle4: We had 7 SEC Games last week, with LSU-Florida having the closest margin at 17 points. Ever remember a week with that many blowouts among SEC games?
I'm sure it's happened before, but no, I don't recall such a lopsided weekend across the board.
From sadkins11: I seem to remember hearing it said during the summer that this year was the year to rebuild a little, hence the 7-5, 8-4 predictions. The thought, if I remember correctly, was that next year is the year to be pointing towards. Not to get too far ahead, but do you think this is accurate? What do you think this year does to the expectations for next year?
Every year is different. As of this moment, Ole Miss has won two games in which the ball was in the air on the final play with the game on the line, one other game in which it trailed in the fourth quarter and another in which it was tied going into the fourth quarter. Its two losses are by 14 and 35 points, respectively. That's a decent amount of good fortune.
That said, there's a real chance most of this team returns for next season, and if it does, it will be a very mature, experienced, veteran team with a lot of wins under its belt. It would have a real chance to do real damage in 2024.
From Loblolly7: Is banning a head coach from coaching on gameday really that big of a punishment? I assume Harbaugh gets to go about his week as usual and is able to get every possible detail teed up for his staff to run on gameday. Also, are there any measures taken to ensure Harbaugh doesn’t just call or text his coaches during the game or at halftime, or does the NCAA just operate on the honor system?
In short, no. Saturday isn't a big deal for a coach if he can have all week to get his team ready. As for the rest of your question, I simply don't know.
From Judkins4Heisman: What’s the profile of a coach State and Arkansas could hire, realistically.
I don't know what the specific NIL situations are at either place. Based on potential alone, I think Arkansas is a better job. There's a lot of money there, and it's a vibrant, growing area. I don't know that anyone can say the same for Starkville. I think Mississippi State either has to go retread or youngish coordinator/G5 coach who can't turn the money down. I think Arkansas could do much better but only if it embraces NIL. I also think Arkansas has a bit of a divided booster/fan base. They've got to get that figured out. Their situation sort of reminds me of where Ole Miss was in 2018 and 2019 -- very divided, lots of internal conflict, an overall stale product/brand, etc.
From robert90: I did not follow Kiffin before he got to Ole Miss. My question is when he had elite athletes at the WR and OL positions, was his offensive style the same as it is now at Ole Miss? To me his offense at Ole Miss is gimmicky and fast because he knows with the lack of elite OL and WR talent, he can't line up and beat the great defensive teams. When he was at USC and Alabama did his offenses look like what we see at Ole Miss? Thanks in advance.
He's always been able to play to his strengths. He can mold his offense around what his guys do well. At Alabama, he didn't have to be gimmicky, as you said. At Ole Miss, he has to be more creative. At USC, he was immensely talented with guys like Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush and Lendale White. At Alabama, he had elite talent. At Ole Miss, he's had to be more creative, and he's done remarkably well in that department.
From TX via TN Rebel: Saturday's beatdown proved once again that bigger, stronger, and faster talent wins the day... As good as CLK is at the portal, it became obvious again that more 4* & 5* recruits over time still brings wins. What can change to help OM in this recruiting department?
Money.
NIL.
Money.
That's it.
Sure, recruiting work ethic matters, but it invariably comes down to money on the top-ranked guys.
From Rebel Conductor: I know you guys touched on Saturday about Judkins and IF Ole Miss should have paid a Running Back that much money, when they had other positions of need. However, I viewed it a little differently. I think Ole Miss needed to pay whatever necessary to keep him, to prove a point that they won’t be a stepping stone program for the “elites” after the huge year he had. We couldn’t set a precedent that others can come poach our talent. Thoughts?
I guess I understand that point, but I just never really thought about it that way. To me, it's about roster management. At the end of the day, Judkins is very good, and he's likely worth the expense. I think the Spencer Sanders deal turned out to be fairly wasteful, and they obviously had a couple of high-profile misses at wide receiver. That said, when you're as active in the portal as Ole Miss was, you're not going to bat 1.000.
From wamfom: Can you explain to me how this 30 day transfer portal window works for players on the rosters of A&M or State or Michigan St? I understand they get 30 days to enter because their coach got fired. Is this an exception transfer that doesn’t count against a normal 1 time transfer? I guess my question is what’s the point of the 30 day window after a coach leaves if they still have the normal transfer window and this still counts as their 1 time free transfer?
I can't. Your explanation is my understanding. I don't think this impacts two-time transfers. Those still have to file appeals, and coaching changes don't impact those, per the way I understand it.
From hays3: My Wolves are 7-2 and your Thunder are 6-4 as of today. Both have a couple of nice wins. The season isn't even to the quarter pole so it's WAY too early to decipher much. With that said and in the name of fun a) what's surprised you most about OKC, b) surprised you most about the young season (for me it's the Wolves being #1 in D after years of sucking) and c) one bold prediction just for the heck of it (a 10th of the way in) for the remainder of the season?
I haven't had a chance to watch as much as I'd like. That will change late next week when the Ole Miss regular season concludes. I'm excited to have some nights of NBA binge-watching. The football season is a grind for me with all of the extra podcasts and the fairly daily writing load, so I haven't seen a lot of non-Thunder action. The Wolves look terrific so far, which isn't surprising. Towns and Edwards are stars, and that's a talented, veteran team that likely was somewhat embarrassed by how last season ended.
The Thunder are young and fun. They're bad on the boards, but this is a see-what-you've-got year, and they're really fun to watch.The young core is really, really good. Jalen Williams is special. So is Josh Giddey. I really like Cason Wallace and Lu Dort is one of the more underrated players in the league. Throw in all of the assets at Sam Presti's disposal and the future is incredibly bright.
A. Chet Holmgren is better than what I thought he'd be this early. He's very impactful on both ends. He's going to be an All-NBA player in short order.
B. Dallas has been very good, and I thought the Mavericks might really struggle. Houston is 6-3, which is shocking. I figured they'd have a difficult time shaking years of dysfunction.
C. The Clippers are forced to tear it down near the trading deadline. It just doesn't work, and as a fan of the team that owns their future draft picks, I love it.
From OSWarped: Disclaimer: it would never happen. With the debate of Mizzou or Ole Miss in an access bowl, how awesome would a Peach Bowl game between the two of them be? I would pay to see that match up.
It would be so fun, but you're right; it's not going to happen. I'm hoping they both go 10-2 and get access bowl bids. I suspect, as of this writing, Ole Miss is Orlando-bound, and that's not a bad fate.
From cctrey5: If one of your best friends has an ugly baby, it’s your duty as a friend to tell them the truth, right?
No. He/she loves that baby with his/her whole heart. Say something nice. Babies are beautiful. I promise that baby's mother believes that child is beautiful. I know guys joke with guys and stuff but I kind of think that's out of bounds.
From MilneW: @Neal McCready - You and Chase both do such an amazing job at sports journalism. If you had to make a change and sports were not an option for you, what other area of the world would you like to cover as a journalist?
Thank you for the kind words. I'd love to cover politics. I'd also love to cover courts/legal issues. I wish I had gone to law school sometimes. I find politics far more interesting than most of the people in my life. I get that sports are entertainment and sports are fun and a distraction from reality, but if I'm honest, I sometimes struggle with the concept of covering events that really don't matter in any substantive way. I mean, it's my job and I do it and I try really hard and I'm pretty damned competitive, but nothing about my job matters at the end of the day. I know that, and sometimes, it kind of nags at me. I meet people who do meaningful things in the real world and I feel kind of inferior. What I do for a living is so frivolous. I'm not sure that even makes sense.
I once met Jeb Bush. He asked what I do for a living. I told him. He said something along the lines of, "That's all?" He was incredulous. I knew right then he'd never be president. I also knew he'd just articulated something that has always bothered me.
From MilneW: @Neal McCready 2 Quick Sports Questions1) If Arkansas moves on from Sam Pittman, does Lane call Sam about being Ole Miss offensive line coach?2) With higher expectations to win in less time from Universities now, do the large coaches buyouts get reduced or transitioned to performance based incentives? The buyouts are just absurd and it would appear the coaching pool is thinning to keep this up.
1. I doubt it. I suspect Pittman takes his money and heads to the proverbial house -- in his case, a lake house near Hot Springs, Ark. I suspect if he returned to an assistant's role, he'd go back to Georgia.
2. One would think athletic departments wouldn't sign off on all of these crazy buyouts, but they keep doing it. It's incredible, really.
From Jasper AL Rebel: Hey Neal. First, hope you and your family are doing well. Thanks for all you do. Second, do you think Dart comes back next year? If he does, what happens with Walker Howard?
First, thank you. The family is good. I'm excited to have a few of those precious nights next week when all three of our children are under the same roof. I'm looking forward to building a fire and just enjoying hearing their voices.
Second, I do think it's likely Dart returns next season. As for Howard, he's already used his transfer, so my guess is he'd stay and compete with Austin Simmons for the backup job. If he transfers, he has to sit a year unless he goes down a level. My guess is he'd stay and try to take that next step to be the starter in 2025, but I don't know that.
