SEC Coverage

It looks like we have our man.

Stay tuned to Team Speed Kills and A Sea of Blue, SB Nation's blog for Kentucky fans.

Some say he's already agreed. Memphis boosters are meeting or have met with Calipari today, but the reason for the meeting is unclear.

Busy day in SEC basketball -- agreement in principle, Grant texts The Birmingham News. This is a great relief to Mal Moore, who will in this case not be rejected a half dozen times before getting his man. Full wrap-up on all today's action later.

He could be more explicit, but it's not really a non-denial denial, either.

Well, Nick Saban didn't have to go far to find his new linebackers coach. In fact, he needed only go down the road to Auburn-Opelika, it appears. The cruelest cut? Not only was James Willis the only Tuberville holdover in the Chizik Junta -- Auburn is his alma mater. Terms being used at Track Em Tigers include "Benedict Arnold" and a comparison to "Robert Gates becoming Iraq's Secretary of Defense." And that's from the first two comments. I'm tempted to say this could get interesting -- but it already has.

Having fired spread-minded offense coordinator Tony Franklin, Auburn has now decided to bring in spread-minded offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. What's troubling here is not necessarily the firing of Franklin or the hiring of Malzahn, whose Tulsa offenses have certainly been dynamic; it's that whoever is in charge in Auburn seems to have no overarching idea on where the Tigers should go. It might help if we knew who was in charge at Auburn, but we really don't.

Paul Rhoads has been hired to be head coach at Iowa State. Imagine the outcry on the Plains if he does a better job than Chizik.

And the Valley Shook, SB Nation's LSU blog, does an expert job of breaking down in detail something I touched on in my post on the role of race in Auburn's decision to hire Gene Chizik: How "racially neutral" hiring practices can still put black candidates at a disadvantage.

We can assume this hire was not made with an eye on helping beat Ole Miss. Most immediately important part of news: "It is unclear whether Mullen will stay with Florida through the FedEx BCS National Championship Game against Oklahoma, a source said."