No change forthcoming on SEC bylaw which may have prevented Hugh Freeze from landing at Alabama
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The SEC’s Spring Meetings came and went last week without much fanfare or headlines. Sure, a few rules were amended but in the end, nothing too substantial was changed this offseason.
Unfortunately, for the sake of recycled content, there was no talk of Auburn moving to the SEC East this year like there have been in year’s past. Another topic that reportedly did not come up was the relatively new bylaw that asks schools to check with the league office before hiring coaches with questionable backgrounds.
This rule came into effect recently, as Nick Saban expressed interest in hiring former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze over the offseason. In the past, schools have done the same with other potential coaching hires (Lane Kiffin’s hire as offensive coordinator at Alabama comes to mind) despite it not being technically a rule at that time.
According to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, no one issued any complaints with the rule during the latest Spring Meetings.
“It hasn’t come up,” Sankey said, according to John Talty of AL.com. “I think people understand the expectation. Feedback through the year has been appropriate. Our schools have met those expectations.”
If you are unfamiliar with the rule, it states a potential hire must be discussed with Sankey for any coach that “has engaged in unethical conduct as defined under NCAA bylaws or who has participated in activity that resulted, or may result, in a Level I, Level II or major infraction.”
With Ole Miss currently under postseason probation, Freeze obviously fits under these guidelines. For now, everyone seems to be on board with this provision. Considering the SEC did pass rules that further punish programs that receive postseason bans, allowing coaches back into the league so quickly could have appeared to be somewhat of a double standard from the league.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
