Not in this lifetime: The most unlikely reunions in SEC football
By Andrew Olson
Published:
If hearing “Welcome to the Jungle” blasted over the public address system in your favorite SEC football stadium on fall Saturdays just doesn’t do it for you in terms of a musical experience, you’re in luck.
Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose has buried the hatchet with guitarist Slash and agreed to share the stage for the first time in 23 years, including seven shows in the SEC footprint, on the “Not In This Lifetime” tour, a play on Rose’s previous comments to paparazzi about the chances of ever reuniting with Slash.
In some cases, time – and money, lots of money – can heal all wounds.
Three coaches, however, prove that some potential reunions won’t happen in this lifetime after all, no matter how long it’s been or how much money is involved:
NICK SABAN AND LSU
It’s one thing to see your team’s coach leave for the NFL, it’s another to have to see him every year as a bitter rival.
Despite all the good feelings Saban brought to the Tigers during the rapid rebuild from 2000-2004, he’s delivered even more pain since his return to the SEC in 2007. LSU has dropped seven games to Alabama, including the 2011 BCS Championship, with Saban as the Crimson Tide head coach.
While it’s not unprecedented to hire a coach who beat your team for a national championship, Saban’s age (64) and lack of connection to LSU ensure that the SEC headline to end all headlines will never be printed.
URBAN MEYER AND FLORIDA
In most cases, a team’s most successful coach is forever a fan favorite, but the man who brought two national championships to UF is persona non grata in Gainesville.
While nobody was pushing Meyer out the door, it’s no secret that Florida administrators did not mind seeing him leave. Athletics director Jeremy Foley made it known that Meyer’s successor, Will Muschamp, was hired to “clean up the locker room” at UF.
And the former Gators coach who went 65-15 shows no love lost for the orange and blue. Meyer’s wife Shelley made headlines in 2014 for her lengthy criticisms of the Florida faithful, calling out Gators fans for fair-weather tendencies during Meyer’s tenure and for their bitterness over the circumstances of Meyer’s departure from UF and return to Ohio State.
While many objective college football observers don’t hold it against Meyer for taking the Buckeyes job, it will always be a sore subject at Florida. When Meyer retired at the end of the 2010 season, the reasons he publicly offered were to spend more time with his family and lead a less stressful life for health reasons. His decision to join ESPN months later and then Ohio State indicate that the publicly stated reasons were his way of sugarcoating a desire to get away from the situation at UF.
It will be interesting to watch how Meyer handles the 10-year anniversary of his team’s 2006 national championship and if it leads to an appearance in Gainesville similar to Steve Spurrier’s visit to recognize the 1996 team.
If Florida ever pursues Meyer for a second stint in Gainesville, it would likely mean the football program has fallen on hard times and Foley’s influence is gone from the athletics department.
LANE KIFFIN AND TENNESSEE
One would expect any coach who named his son Knox would forever be in the good graces of Tennessee fans, but that’s not the case. The Lane Kiffin era may have lasted only one season in Knoxville, but the bitterness directed at the former coach is eternal.
The rioting by Tennessee students on the night Kiffin abruptly resigned to take the USC job might seem out of place for a coach who went 7-6, but in retrospect considering that Kiffin’s resignation brought on the Derek Dooley era, it’s hard not to feel sympathetic for the UT students. The oral history of the night compiled by Outkick the Coverage is a fascinating read for any SEC football fan.
Volunteers fans see Kiffin sporting crimson every Third Saturday in October. With two victories as an Alabama assistant, Kiffin is now personally 2-1 in the rivalry. Ironically, the closest Tennessee came to defeating UA in the last nine years was in 2009 under Kiffin, but Alabama’s Terrence “Mount” Cody spoiled the potential upset with a blocked field goal, allowing the Crimson Tide to escape with a 12-10 win.
Kiffin’s successful stint as an offensive coordinator at Alabama has revived debate about when he’ll get another head coaching job — despite his firings at Oakland and USC as well as his controversial tenure in Knoxville. There’s always a chance the UT job could come open, but the idea of Kiffin sporting the orange again would be more shocking than him landing a promotion with his current employer.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaign of Fred Taylor.
