Bret Bielema jabs Alabama, Lane Kiffin on ESPN
Like him or not, the one thing you can appreciate about Bret Bielema: he speaks his mind, and he’s not afraid to point the finger.
Alabama and Lane Kiffin were the subject of his latest jabs, a team the Hogs lost to 52-0 in Bielema’s first season. On an ESPN roundtable setting with Kevin Sumlin, Dan Mullen and Butch Jones, Bielema was asked about college football becoming more year-round.
“For the first time in NCAA history, they gave us a two-week dead period,” Bielema said on ESPN. “And I don’t know about you guys, but it wasn’t dead. Alabama got a way that they got to have a camp, everybody else had to abide by the rules. And for 14 days, we couldn’t have anybody on campus.”
College football’s dead period ran from June 30 through July 13. Alabama’s camp flyer said the Tide’s camp was during July 13-16. The NCAA granted the Tide a waiver to start the camp on the last day of the dead period on July 13.
New offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin was also the subject of another jab earlier in the day, referring to his time as Tennessee’s head coach in 2009, as ESPN’s Chris Low indicates in the tweet below. As AL.com points out, an Arkansas spokesman said Bielema was referring to Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby’s cheating comments.
Bielema on cheating: “It’s not like it was when Lane basically said, ‘I’m gonna do some things, gonna get caught, but it’s worth exposure.”
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) July 22, 2014
Although it’s not directly pointed at the topic, you can read between the lines of Bielema’s tweet as he was flying home yesterday.
Flying home from #espn car wash & had a complete day. Ready to play ball, have some fun along the way. Not trying to make friends! #WoooPig — Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) July 22, 2014
The SEC needs some villains this season. Does Bielema fit that role?