SEC Media Days 2024: Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer debuts, Oklahoma and Texas joining league lead storylines to watch

SEC Media Days begins Monday on a new frontier, as the freshly expanded conference gathers in Dallas to usher in a new era for a league that now includes Oklahoma and Texas. The arrival of the Sooners and Longhorns makes the SEC a 16-team super conference replete with an even greater share of college football’s top brands.

That’s only the beginning of the changes for the league entering the 2024 season. Gone from the sidelines — and from the speaking podium — is Nick Saban. The absence of Alabama’s retired legend and his annual headline-grabbing address to the college football world will leave a void that no single coach can fill. 

But as Saban departs, fresh blood enters. In addition to the arrivals of OU’s Brent Venables and Texas’ Steve Sarkisian to the league’s coaching vanguard, three schools are welcoming new head coaches. Among them is Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, who will take the podium on Wednesday during the event’s third day. 

The other new coaches are Mike Elko of Texas A&M and Jeff Lebby of Mississippi State. While both are familiar with the SEC from their time as coordinators in the conference, they’ll be making their SEC Media Days debuts and establishing the narratives surrounding their teams for the upcoming season.

It’s a new day in college football and in the SEC. Here’s a deeper dive into what to watch for at SEC Media Days which begins Monday and concludes Thursday.

A new frontier

Oklahoma and Texas grew accustomed to being the top attractions at Big 12 Media Days. They were the standard-bearers of their old league, combining to win seven of the last nine Big 12 championships. Now, the Sooners and Longhorns have something to prove as they embark on Year 1 in the SEC.

OU won 10 or more games 19 times in the first 24 seasons of the millennium while members of the Big 12. Will they be able to maintain that elite standard in the SEC? The Sooners took a big step forward last season in Venables’ second season by finishing 10-3. But Venables is replacing both coordinators and his starting quarterback while preparing to face a daunting schedule. Will he try to moderate expectations?

Texas is entering the SEC fresh off its first Big 12 title since 2009. The Longhorns reached the College Football Playoff and return a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback in Quinn Ewers. The Longhorns have also drawn a favorable conference slate for their first season in the league, and it will be interesting to see how much bravado they project as SEC Media Days rolls through their home state.

DeBoer’s debut

Three years ago, DeBoer was heading to Mountain West media days as Fresno State’s head coach. The lights are a bit brighter now as DeBoer’s rapid rise through the coaching ranks reaches its zenith at Alabama. DeBoer just led Washington to a 25-3 mark over a remarkable two-year stint and has amassed a 104-12 record across nine seasons as a head coach at the NAIA, Group of Five and power conference levels.

But DeBoer has never worked in the SEC in any capacity, and following Saban places him under a level of scrutiny unlike anything he’s experienced. His first SEC Media Days appearance is a meaningful milestone that offers DeBoer a chance to steer the national conversation around his tenure and Alabama’s 2024 team.

Stars in the making

A handful of SEC quarterbacks who have bided their time as backups in the conference will get the chance to shine in 2024. Among them are Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, who will be on hand for SEC Media Days.

Arnold, a sophomore, is a former five-star prospect who started OU’s Alamo Bowl loss to Arizona in December after playing sparingly in mop-up duty behind Dillon Gabriel as a freshman. With Gabriel gone to Oregon, the job is his. Venables’ decision to bring Arnold as the lone player representative from Oklahoma’s offense illustrates how important he’ll be to the Sooners’ hopes of early success in the SEC.

Nussmeier, a redshirt junior, brings more experience to the table but has even bigger shoes to fill than Arnold. His job is to replace Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, who accounted for 50 touchdowns and nearly 5,000 total yards in 12 games last season. He’s waited his turn. Now, before he faces the onslaught of pass rushers, he’ll face an onslaught of questions as one of LSU’s three player representatives at media days.

Redemption narrative?

Georgia completed a third consecutive unbeaten regular season in league play last season but was denied the opportunity at a national title three-peat because of a loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. Are the Bulldogs using the frustration of that missed opportunity as fuel? Or have they put it behind them to focus exclusively on what’s ahead in 2024?

Georgia coach Kirby Smart is a master motivator and is clearly sitting atop college football’s coaching pyramid now amid the departures of Saban and Jim Harbaugh from Michigan. It will be interesting to learn what tactics he’s using to fuel a program that is 42-2 over the past three seasons.

Back for more

Ole Miss and Missouri each enjoyed banner years in 2023, finishing 11-2 with New Year’s Six bowl victories. It was the best win total in program history for the Rebels and the best season in a decade for the Tigers. Coaches Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss) and Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri) are among the league’s more entertaining characters. Now, they have some significant success to tout as they prepare for College Football Playoff runs in the season ahead.

Both teams have enough continuity in key spots to realistically compete at the highest level in the SEC and for CFP access. Will Kiffin and Drinkwitz play it cool? Or are they going to put their cards on the table and declare their grand ambitions for the 2024 season?

Feeling the pressure 

A handful of SEC coaches are feeling the pressure entering the season, perhaps none more than Arkansas’ Sam Pittman. On the heels of a 4-8 campaign, Pittman registered as the only “5” in Dennis Dodd’s 2024 hot seat rankings. Category 5 is for those in the position of “win or be fired.” Winning won’t be easy for the Razorbacks, who travel to Oklahoma State in Week 2, in addition to facing the usual SEC gauntlet. Expect one of the top talking points during Pittman’s appearance on Thursday to be his hiring of former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Pittman isn’t alone on the hot seat. Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea and Florida’s Billy Napier each registered at “4” in Dodd’s hot seat rankings, meaning they need to “start improving now.”