Greg Sankey has apparently burned a bridge that may be impossible for him to rebuild. According to Florida coach Jon Sumrall, SEC coaches feel they were misled in the move to the league's 9-game schedule.
Apparently, Greg Sankey miscalculated. His mistake was believing that if the SEC removed the Big Ten's complaint about the SEC's eight-game league schedule, the two conferences could mandate a 16-team playoff that would mutually benefit both conferences. That sweet music abruptly stopped when Sankey and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti moved in oppositional directions.
SEC football coaches are not calling out Sankey for misrepresentation, but Sankey's miscalculation wrankles them nonetheless. The SEC has gone from the toughest schedules in college football to even tougher schedules with a ninth conference game.
The result for most SEC football coaches is less job security than before. The main reason is that the College Football Selection Committee has yet to prove it is inclined or even knows how to fairly measure schedule strength when selecting teams.
Kirby Smart remembers Nick Saban being in favor of more SEC games
As reported by On3, Kirby Smart said, "I felt like a nine-game schedule would be helpful and beneficial. Now you can say there may be regret in there, going to nine because I don’t know – I’m not blaming the (selection) committee, I’m blaming the system – that they can recognize and acknowledge truly (how) strength of schedule matters." Smart is careful not to attack the Selection Committee directly, but they are the 'system' that is flawed.
Greg Sankey is not on shaky ground because some coaches and ADs are disgruntled. He does not work for them. Sankey's bosses are the SEC's presidents and chancellors. Tougher schedules have a downside, but they also bring more games with higher viewer interest that can bring in added dollars. Sankey has been successful in growing SEC revenues, and that matters most to his bosses.
The Big Ten might ease some of the pressure on Sankey. As reported last week by Ross Dellenger, the B1G is considering moving to a 10-game conference schedule.
Add us as a preferred source on Google