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- [00:01]
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Paul Feinbaum
the pride, passion and pageantry of college football lives here. This is the Paul Feinbaum Show. Our three podcasts this might be college
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Chris Marler
football
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Paul Feinbaum
and welcome back second half the show as day two starts to wind down. Just talk to coach Shane Beamer a few minutes ago. We've also had a number of Vanderbilt players and we are thrilled to say hello as we welcome all of you back. And welcome Bark Lee. I was just telling you about we talked to three of your players that you chose well, bringing them here today.
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Shane Beamer
Yeah, you know, there's a ton of guys back in Nashville that would represent this program very well. The three that we brought, I mean two have been here since 23, one since 22. These guys have a lot of experience in our program. They wear some of the battle scars and that's a cool thing for me. Obviously we have a ton of transfers are going to have a great impact, but to have guys that have kind of been with us from the beginning, that's pretty meaningful.
- [01:34]
Paul Feinbaum
I asked Cedric Alexander about an hour ago, I said, where was the turning point, the inflection point? Because you've been preaching this for a long time and it was fairly difficult to believe. I think you knew the skepticism was out there, but nobody's doubting anymore.
- [01:57]
Shane Beamer
Yeah, I think we say belief is a practice, you know, and it never was about something happening overnight. It was always about the time it's going to take. But you don't lose the vision because if we turned away at the first sign of disappointment, what would ever get done? We believe in Vanderbilt. We believe we haven't arrived. We believe that there's more for us out ahead of us. And I got a special group of people. The ones that have changed the program aren't the ones that have taken the time to be convinced. It's the ones that believed before there was evidence. And I'm inspired by the work that they've come in and done alongside me. And in so many ways this story becomes way bigger than any one person. And so we're in a good place. But we certainly look for more.
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Paul Feinbaum
And some of it is being around the SEC for many, many years where there was a built in bias that Vanderbilt's never going to be good. Even though I've seen it for short periods in trying to con. Is it? Is it? I don't. Nothing's easy about this. But you kept building and there were moments and then there were ebbs and flows. What kept you going and believing? Because frankly, the. It would have been easy to say, I've done about all I can do.
- [03:16]
Shane Beamer
It's the people. It's the people who signed up to do it with you. And I think this is what we talk about as a team all the time. We'll go only so far in sacrificing for our own interests, but when we connect to something bigger than any one of us, it becomes our responsibility. So when I took the program over, I became responsible for, obviously this is personal to me, hometown and alma mater, but beyond that, it was about the people that signed up alongside me that had a belief in where we were headed. And that includes Candice Lee and that includes Chancellor Diermeier. I mean, these guys have become such great partners. And so I'm not going to say there weren't moments where it was hard to figure out where's up, where's down, where's left, where's right. But, you know, we always reconnected with this idea that we believed in the pathway. We knew we had to adjust and adapt, but that there was a way through and that all the things we experienced were important points of learning that we were able to apply and find that way through. And again, it's not about me. It's about all the people that actually did the important work alongside me. And we can be really proud of the ground we covered, but what we can't do is spend time protecting that ground. We have to really be willing to risk what we are for what we could become.
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Grainger Sponsor Voice
Yeah.
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Paul Feinbaum
And you go from 24, where you have the, you know, the shocker that's still resonating to 25, where it even got better. And I know the predictions will not be kind to you probably this year, but how do you now prepare yourself? Maybe the team's a different element to, you know, maybe it will be the same, maybe it won't. But you, you also know you've got to continue this momentum because you don't want to lose it after. After working so hard to get it.
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Shane Beamer
Yeah. So I think first of all, the team, the team inevitably is different. You know, different players, different coaches, different leaders, different personalities, different Strengths, different challenges. And so we, we.
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Greg Sankey
We.
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Shane Beamer
We have to own the differences and understand that those are actually opportunities. I think go back to what you said about the vision we had and how it was easy to kind of to see it another way because it's the only way that Vanderbilt had been experienced. You know, when you start to see your challenges as your opportunities rather than your limitations, I think you have a chance to really find out what your potential looks like. That's true of this team. So we don't spend a lot of time comparing because comparison can be limiting. That way, this will be different. What I hope shows up is the standards and behaviors and relationships that we've inherited. What we haven't inherited is a single win. And so we have to go earn those, and we're gonna have to do it in ways that look different than 25. But as a coach, that's kind of the exciting part. I'm about to go through something really challenging with people I care about. I don't know that there's anything more meaningful in life, come what may. Right now, we have a design to win every game we play, and I know that each one of them is going to be hard in its own right. But I love what I do because I get to take on the challenges with people I love.
- [06:37]
Paul Feinbaum
Coach, in many ways, you've answered the next question, but I remember being in Nashville last year in November, and your name was everywhere. And sometimes that's just. May not mean anything, but at some point it does. You very easily could have taken a number of jobs, and I understand the backstory with Nashville, with Vanderbilt, but you could have just said, listen, I just won the lottery here. I'm getting out of here and cashing in.
- [07:10]
Shane Beamer
Why didn't you come back to the people you know? I think there's a real connection. And you've met with guys that are a part of this story, an important part. I think sometimes we make the mistake of isolating one or two people. I mean, there's been a lot of guys, some of whom never experienced the breakthrough moments that gave to this, that believe in it, and the overwhelming feeling I had as I experienced the craziness of the season and all the distractions that come. The feeling was that we're not finished yet and that this has never been about one season or one game. It's about how do we elevate Vanderbilt football? And the hope would be that when my time is done and all things come to an end. So when my time's done, that wherever the program is that it can be elevated further by whoever comes next. And there's important work for us to do. That work is both internal and identity based, but it's also physical. We have a football operations building that we've actually started planning on, which is so exciting. And this is, this is a legacy, a legacy not for me, but for the players that have worked so hard to position the program where it is. And so that'll be a really important thing to steward over the next few years. And even beyond that, how do we, how do we then take the program from where it ends up and elevate it from there? So none of it had to do with the fact that Vanderbilt's my alma mater or the fact that Nashville is my hometown. It had to do with the people that I partner with every day that I believe in that believe in me, and the deep feeling I had that our work wasn't done yet. And so I'm really interested in seeing this through to completion.
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Paul Feinbaum
And I know this probably goes against who you are, but there's also, I wonder if you look at it and other coaches have left places for varying reasons, but a lot of times they will leave even though they have a good situation. But they say over here nothing's easy, but it's a lot smoother. The hill's not quite as steep and even though you've had enormous success, you're still trying to get certain things in play that other schools already have. Did you ever think for a moment like, I've really done my best here and I have nothing to hang my hat on, but that one over there is going to be a little more seamless.
- [09:48]
Shane Beamer
You know, it's very easy to assume that other places don't have issues. And there's never, there was never a point where I, where I felt like I'd done everything I could do. You know, I'm not going to say that I was in a situation to challenge everything. And I think it's important that we challenge our beliefs. Even though that can be, that can be hard in and of itself. It's how we come back into contact with again that feeling of belief. And for me, the thing that we have at Vanderbilt that I think is undervalued is alignment. There's top down alignment. I mean, when you talk to our chancellor about his vision for Vanderbilt University, that is not a small vision, it is a big one and he is executing, that's an inspiration to me. When you talk to Candice Lee about her vision for the department and football's place within that vision. That is inspiring to me, too. Here's someone who, when I was at my worst, she was at her best and chose, rather than blame me, to partner with me and to help these points of pivot and redirection that have allowed us to experience success. So I'm not running away from that. And sure, some places have bigger stadiums and fancier facilities, but this is still a human endeavor and particularly in the way I operate those relationships and those partnerships are far more meaningful than anything else that looks easy because most of the most meaningful things that I've experienced have been challenging.
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Paul Feinbaum
Well, I mean, I'm not supposed to sit here and analyze your words as you speak, but it is refreshing to hear because we see too often the mercenary of coaches. And I know that it's a brotherhood, but there are a lot of different aspects of a brotherhood, and you seem to be on what it's supposed to be about, not often what it is.
- [11:43]
Shane Beamer
You know, everyone has different motivations and different things that are important to them. For me, there needs to be integrity in what I do. And again, I'm talking about, for me, integrity is words and actions and alignment. And so, you know, for me personally, the messages I share with the team and how I how they allow me to challenge them in ways that bring the best out of them that are really hard, but also creating environments where we really create connection, again, that's not an easy thing just to turn and walk away from. And so I had this feeling that I don't think that I can just pull the program as it is out of the earth that we are planted in and plant it somewhere else and have it grow the same. So let me not be quick to do that. Actually really interested in how we can deepen our roots and grow this program further. And to do it again with people that have been with me and have endured through the hard parts, there just isn't anything more meaningful than that. So those are the things that motivate me. And at the end of the day, I need to be able to look at myself and saying, hey, I'm not only speaking the right way, but I'm modeling it in behavior. And that's as a husband, that's as a father. But certainly that's in my role as coach.
- [13:08]
Paul Feinbaum
Extraordinary. Especially in 2026 in college football. Coach, always great to see you.
- [13:14]
Shane Beamer
Thank you so much for having me.
- [13:15]
Paul Feinbaum
Fantastic conversation. We will head to the break. A lot more to do from the tail end of day two of SEC media days.
- [13:28]
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- [13:59]
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- [14:34]
Paul Feinbaum
You're listening to the Paul Feinbaum Show Podcast.
- [14:40]
Big day Tomorrow starts early 7am sec this morning now goes on all day and then we wrap it up. It's a big day tomorrow. We have seen noteworthy coach dropping by here that garners a lot of attention, as do our next guests, Benjamin Watson and Dusty Dvor. Check. And I don't know, I know this will be a segment that will be done often later in the year, but I know both of you are really excited about that early season game in Athens as Oklahoma and Georgia finally get to meet in the regular season. They were supposed to meet a couple of years ago. Didn't happen. They have met before in the postseason as every Oklahoma fan remembers.
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Chris Marler
Dusty, that Rose Bowl, I don't want to bring up that Rose Bowl, Paul.
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Benjamin Watson
That was a tough set, a fantastic game. I thought it was, I mean, one for the ages. The Sony Michelle run, you know, I mean, it was great to be a dog that day.
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Chris Marler
I'm sure it was. I do think Georgia, to me, they're the team. They are the team to beat. They're the top dog in the sec. Like I, I look at this Georgia team and Kirby Smart, he's the best coach I think, in college football. And I just, I look at this team coming back, I think they're the most well put together. They got to rush the passer. I do Isaiah Canyon coming in at wide receiver. But I don't have a lot of question marks about George. I think they're back in Atlanta for the ninth time in 10 years under Kirby Smart. But I will say this. I don't think it's crazy to say that Oklahoma is definitely in the conversation as a team that could be there to play against them. So maybe Athens won't be the only time the Sooners and the Dogs meet.
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Benjamin Watson
Yeah, I think. I think Oklahoma was in that conversation last year. And you look at what happened with Oklahoma, tremendous on defense. I thought John Matteo last year played well in the first part of the season. He has the injury goes down. He came back, showed some leadership and moxie and coming back, even though I know he wasn't fully healed, then struggled. But Oklahoma was a team that I watched and said, man, if this offense ever gets going, this offense can stay healthy. They've got a defense that is better than anybody. Interesting talking about Georgia. Georgia's like the one team we were talking about teams that aren't making a lot of noise here or we're not talking about a whole lot. And considering the fact that Georgia is the defending SEC champions, we're not talking about them a whole lot. But you look at the team, they're built to win. I mean, they got a strong run game, Nate Frazier, they got a returning quarterback. Anytime you've got a returning quarterback, I think in this league and really any league of football.
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Paul Feinbaum
What do you make of their tight end room? I know you paid a little attention to it.
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Benjamin Watson
The tight end room is okay. You know, they just got some six, seven guys walking around there. Elias Williams, I think is going to be. He's going to be not only a weapon in the red zone, which we always say, oh, Titans, a weapon in the red zone. He can be a weapon throughout the field.
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Chris Marler
He can.
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Benjamin Watson
He can line up outside, he can line up in the slot, he can block. He's really strong at the point of attack. He's got that technique to him, too. Lawson Lucky proved that he could play every down in this league. He made a lot of plays for Georgia last year. Georgia did a good job in the passing game of spreading the ball around a lot. And so they've got some versatile players in that tight end room that I think are going to surprise some people. But I think to your point about getting after the quarterback, one thing that we probably could learn from Oklahoma, though, is how to get after that quarterback and create a little more havoc in the backfield.
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Paul Feinbaum
Okay, let's talk about Matir, because he had a roller coaster year last year. Everybody is upbeat. What can you tell us?
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Chris Marler
Look, I think that he took some lumps last year. I mean, he came back before he's ready. I think that's pretty apparent. But I respect that. Like he even said yesterday, like 17 days, coming back after that surgery, it was too soon, but he's glad that he did. I think he proved to his teammates he's got some real toughness to him. He's willing to put it all on the line to help his team win. I think the biggest thing for him, I mean, you saw him, Paul. I mean, he's. He looks great. He's in phenomenal shape. He's worked on his flexibility, which I think is a big thing. It's like one thing. Oh, if you want your quarterbacks looking like bodybuilders, but as long as you're still flexible, I think that body armor is okay.
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Benjamin Watson
It's called pliability, my friend. It's the TB12 method. Pliability.
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Jordan K.
There you go.
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Chris Marler
Learning things from Benjamin Watson here. But. But I think the biggest thing for him is, you know, not putting the ball in harm's way. And I thought that he made some bad reads last year and, you know, he admitted to that and talked about that. That Alabama pick six, that was on him, the. The corner got him, you know, caught him in something that they fooled him. He threw a pass that he should have never thrown, and essentially that play led to a team unraveling and losing that football game. Those things can't happen. And I think he spent time with Sam Bradford, former Heisman Trophy winner. He spent time in the film room with Brent Venables to see things from a defensive side. And I think with that, I expect him to be better. Plus, look, Ben Arbuckle and him have been together before Washington State, but they haven't been together in the sec. Like, to me, there's some, you know, there's some real stock that I'm putting in the fact that this is their second time around to play against some of these SEC defenses, to play in some of these SEC venues, and I think that's going to add some real value. So I do think we see a better version of John Mateer and the other part of this to Paul. The surrounding pieces are going to be better. The O lines, more experienced. Three freshmen that had to play last year. That group's going to be better. You talk about tight ends with.
- [19:56]
Benjamin Watson
I mean, talk about Jason Georgia. Yeah.
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Chris Marler
Coming over is huge. Rocky Beers, Jason Whitten to coach those guys. I. I just, I like the offense around John Mateer more. It's going to give him the chance to have better success.
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Paul Feinbaum
Let me get to tomorrow as a preview because, I mean, I've done this forever going on 40 years at SEC media days, and Alabama usually gets talked about day One, two, three and four. I mean, you got to go. Need a search party to find a conversation about the Crimson Tide.
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Benjamin Watson
Benjamin, which is very odd.
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Paul Feinbaum
It's very odd.
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Benjamin Watson
We had that conversation earlier. The teams that we weren't talking about a lot and I mentioned us not talking a lot about Georgia. Even though they won the sec, Alabama is another team. Even though last year they made the College Football Playoff, they give Kaylan DeBoer a brand new contract. There seems to be confidence in him. I think part of it again is they're having a quarterback battle there. You know, who's going to emerge from this quarterback battle? Keelan Russell is a name that I'm hearing that might be, you know, have a lead, very athletic. But Austin Mack is a guy who's 6 foot 6 and can make the throws as well. So that's one question mark for them. But you're going to be hard pressed to find another roster that has the type of athletes that Alabama still has and also has the pedigree and the impetus and the desire to win. One thing, Calen DeBoer, I think over the last couple years he weathered a storm. You know, he took over for, you know, the greatest, one of the greatest, if not the greatest to ever do it and he weathered that storm. There were some ups and downs for him and I feel like he is moving into his own offensively. They gotta be able to run the football, though. I mean, I look back to the SEC championship game. They run the ball for negative negative three yards. When have we ever heard of Alabama team run a ball for negative 3 yards? And so for them to go where they want to go in that offense, they've got to develop a certain toughness, Paul, that, and this isn't, this isn't an insult. This is just my observation and analyzing the sport. They've got to regain a toughness that Alabama used to have that we didn't see from them last year. I mean, even thinking about that game against Indiana, which is, you look at the bookends of their season, the beginning against Florida State and the very end against Indiana and they were, they were pushed around. Now they had an eight game win streak in there. They played some good football, you know, throughout the season, deserved to be in the playoff. But that's what we need to see from Alabama, which is what has been lacking over the last couple years.
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Paul Feinbaum
You're a tough guy. Where do you find that?
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Chris Marler
I think he's spot on. I mean, the, the Indiana game, it was somewhat shocking and it wasn't just the offensive line, where we saw struggles all year. It was the way Indiana's offensive line manhandled the front seven of Alabama. We. When was the last time we saw that, Paul? I mean, it's a couple decades. Mike Schuh, when I was playing Gavin Alabama, Mike Shua was that coach. That's probably right. So I think that is, that is a key aspect. Look, I think it's going to be fascinating. I don't know what we hear from Kaylin DeBoer as far as his quarterback. I think Keelan Russell is going to wind up winning this job. Yeah, I just what the young man did at Duncanville, what I've heard from so many different people that have been around him when he was in high school, going through the recruiting process. Like we hear about what he does on the field with the athleticism, the playmaking ability, but I've heard just the work ethic, the leadership that he's going to bring to the table. I think that ultimately rules the day. It'll probably be a battle that plays out seven to 10 days before that first game. But I think Keelan Russell as a defensive guy, a guy like him, I don't want to see him, I don't want to have to deal with them. Which tells me he's got the higher ceiling and he gives them a better chance to win.
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Paul Feinbaum
Ben, Dusty, thank you very, very much. Appreciate it. Great segment. We continue, still 90 minutes remaining. Pat 40 joining us, always excited to talk to him. A number of other guests will drop by. We had a couple of coaches, a number of players, a couple of ex players, more to come.
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You're listening to the Paul Feinbaum Show Podcast.
- [24:10]
Day two, SEC media days. There are four in case you've lost track after watching the coverage all day today. Pat40, always somebody we have to talk to, especially with so many issues. And a lot of people woke up around the country, put on TV or looked at their phone and saw SEC breaking away from college football. And I realize things can be taken in or out of context, but you know Greg Sankey, you know the nuance, you know the context. Like where what does all this mean?
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Greg Sankey
I'll believe it when I see it. I do not think we are having a succession. He answered a direct question in a way that confirmed that yes, there have been real talk about potentially going and doing your own thing when it comes to rules, possibly competition. But I still fail to believe that Greg Sankey has spent his entire adult life working on college sports. In college sports is going to be the guy that destroys college sports and his conference with him. And we just say we're pulling out and the whole thing, the underpinning all collapses. I fail to see that as a viable route for the SEC at any point in time. Now we'll see in 20, 30, 20, 31, does the SEC and Big Ten get together and do something possible. But the SEC is not going to just say we're going to take our ball and go home.
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WNBA Sponsor Voice
Yeah.
- [25:36]
Paul Feinbaum
And listen, we both know Commissioner Sankey, he's the quintessential institutionalist.
- [25:41]
Greg Sankey
Yes.
- [25:41]
Paul Feinbaum
And that would be about it. You know, you might, I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if your Mark, one of these guys said, you know, we're going, we're going to have an entertainment league or something crazy. But not Greg Sankey. The other issue, and I hate to even talk about it in media days, but there was a top eight of Maria Cantwell making the rounds here today. I was shocked when I, when I met her. I know you know her as well. Like what are you doing here? Why aren't you in Washington trying to get this bill passed? You talk to or what? What, what are they doing here? And what is happening in D.C. first?
- [26:15]
Greg Sankey
That was the first at SEC media days to see a credential that just says U.S. senate on it for so to that sign of the times for sure. Interesting. Curious. Agree. Whether this is a misallocation of resources to be here instead of in the Beltway working on getting the votes that you need and getting the language of that bill.
- [26:36]
Paul Feinbaum
There aren't any senators here.
- [26:37]
Greg Sankey
There are not. There are not. And really there's coaches and then there's Greg Sankey and other SEC conference officials. They're not school presidents running around here. So I found that curious. It was interesting. Yeah. Talk to her, you know, and wanted to kind of understand what's going on here. And while there's, I think, publicly stated confidence this bill is going to can be passed through the Senate. We'll see what the wording looks like when we even get to the point of a vote. But that's where the nitty gritty is, is in Washington, D.C. it's not here in Tampa.
- [27:14]
Shane Beamer
Yeah.
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Paul Feinbaum
No. If she had shown up at in Destin, there's some, there's some movers and shakers. There aren't too many here. Really. Yeah. I don't think she wants to grab Shane Beamer and try to lobby him. But I just, and I ask you this because, you know, Eric Schmidt got this ball rolling. He's a Missouri senator He's a co sponsor of the bill and he's very far over here on the right side of the issues. And he said the other day at a meeting that he had the 60 votes. And then I heard somebody say yesterday, you know, it could even be 70 or 80 and I'm like going, did any of these people take civics?
- [27:58]
Greg Sankey
Yeah, I, I'll believe that vote when I see it. Just like I believe SEC secession. You know, I talked to Ted Cruz from SEC spring meetings when they were first introducing the bill and he said we don't want, just, just want 60, we want to go well over 60. But even then that sounded like wishful thinking. And unless they are working some, I think at least minor miracles behind the scenes, it's going to be tough just to get to 60, much less get a massive consensus that you can then roll downhill into the House.
- [28:31]
Paul Feinbaum
And listen, I don't want to turn you into John Martin here from Politico, but if this doesn't happen, and I know there's some healthy skepticism from people like us what happens because the Congress is going to change, it's probably not going to have an easy time or any, any, any route next time around.
- [28:52]
Greg Sankey
Yeah, no, you're right. And Jonathan Martin, by the way, LSU fan. But the, exactly. The, the, the I think there have been so many eggs put into this basket that it's tough to then start all over again. So this, this feels it may not be absolute make or break because I already know some people who are like, well the House is going to take another crack at this next year but if each year that goes by when you don't get it to happen, it seems like it's tougher to figure out how to make it happen. So I think this is a incredibly important couple of weeks for the people who want to see this bill come to be.
- [29:29]
Paul Feinbaum
And again, my final political comment but the reason why it is urgent is you have a president who's behind it. You have two houses, Senate and the House who are both Republican. There's no guarantee of where we are on the second week of November or the first Tuesday in November.
- [29:46]
Greg Sankey
Absolutely. The 2027 make up a Congress is going to potentially be very different and possibly even more, more division to where you can't get anything passed.
- [29:57]
Paul Feinbaum
There is football played and we hardly ever talk about it. But Kirby smart today, people wondering like what's wrong with this guy? And when it tells me though Pat is that winning the SEC is great, the championship game is probably going to go away at some point, but it's now about what happens after that.
- [30:20]
Greg Sankey
It really is. And you know what? Look, I've been in favor of the 12 team playoff. I think it's been a lot of fun. I think it's been great. The side effect is it totally sucks all the heat out of the season. Everything matter. The only thing that really matters is how you do in the playoff. And so I understand some of the lamenting about what's lost in that, but that's the nature of the job. That's the nature of postseason play. And Georgia has been brilliant under Kirby, smart, but hasn't gotten it done in the playoff the last couple of seasons. And you know, you lose as a favorite in your first game and people start thinking, Gosh, 2022 was a while ago, 2021 was a while ago. And is he still like, he's still certainly the best coach in this conference. I think he's the best coach in the country. We'll see about Kurt Signetti. But does he, does he have the roster makeup that he used to have? He has absolute creatures on defense. And a quarterback in Stetson, Bennett who was awfully good and then some players around him were awfully good.
- [31:20]
Paul Feinbaum
Alabama will drop in tomorrow. And people, somebody asked me, where's Alabama? Well, I don't know. They're not the top. What do you expect? Not so much from Caitlin Deborah. We know it, he's going to say, but just the perception of this program right now.
- [31:38]
Greg Sankey
Yeah, you know, it's interesting because I was talking to people earlier today who are like, you know, he's got to win a playoff game. I said, no, he did. But it was followed by such an ignominious loss that nobody remembers that they won in Norman coming from behind. And so that's when the, when you go the whole off season with Everybody thinking about a 38 to 3 beat down from Indiana, then you've got something to get out from under.
- [32:01]
Paul Feinbaum
And.
- [32:01]
Greg Sankey
And they may have the last quarterback battle in, in college football. It's interesting to see how that's going to turn out. I think they're going to be pretty good, have a pretty good roster. I don't put them on the same level with Texas and Georgia right now, but we're wrong often. And so, you know, would it shock me if Alabama puts it together and has a great season? No, but it would surprise me.
- [32:23]
Paul Feinbaum
And Blaine Kiffin on Thursday will probably get a little bit of attention. He's been incredibly quiet. It's almost like somebody said, coach, you can only use Your phone to text players. I realize we're all guessing because not like Lane Kiffin's giving much away, but what do you think's going on there, and what do you expect from him on Thursday?
- [32:47]
Greg Sankey
I don't expect much. You know, you've been around him a lot. You're an accomplished Kiffinologist, if you will. And he's been very good on this set, on this show with you before. But there's a lot of times he gets on a podium and he's a dud. He doesn't have much to say. He can be a little bit awkward. You know, he hems and haws and just kind of doesn't want to be there. So that's kind of my expectation here. And then some random Tuesday in August, he will pick up the phone and tweet something that will set the conference on fire. Again. I. I think he's incurable with that. Maybe he will prove me wrong, but I always feel like Lane can't help himself, but having something to say at some point, that riles everybody up.
- [33:26]
Paul Feinbaum
Well, Pat, the only thing to support your argument is his entire career, because he's always done it.
- [33:33]
Greg Sankey
The body of work going back to usc, Raiders and so on. I mean.
- [33:37]
Paul Feinbaum
I mean, did you ever think leaving the way he left Tennessee, the SC debacle, even getting fired after quitting at Alabama a week before, that he could ever top all that? And he has.
- [33:53]
Greg Sankey
He did.
- [33:54]
Paul Feinbaum
Those aren't even barely. Those are barely mentioned anymore.
- [33:57]
Greg Sankey
Yeah, that's the. I mean, the parting at Ole Miss was so acrimonious and so unprecedented with a playoff team that it's overshadowed all the other stuff in his career, which is really. It's hard to do, but it has. And so that has drawn, I think, an incredible microscope to him. Not so much for this event, but for this season. And clearly it's never going to be hotter than it will be on September 19th.
- [34:23]
Paul Feinbaum
Pat 40, always. Great. Thank you so much. We're up against the break, an hour and change remaining. A number of guests will be dropping in, and we hope you'll stick around.
- [34:44]
You're listening to the Paul Feinbaum Show
- [34:48]
Podcast and we are live. We're still live. That is a hotel that we are doing the show from in Tampa, Florida. And Jordan K. From the state and Chris Marler from parts unknown join us on the set. Chris, what's going on with you?
- [35:08]
Jordan K.
Not much. Busy, fun couple days. Love the setup in Tampa. This has been great. I mean, listen, when I was in Atlanta and it was about A half mile walk there. Okay. It was, it was really cool too, but this has been great.
- [35:23]
Paul Feinbaum
So essentially you judge a media days by the matter of convenience from your room to the main stage.
- [35:29]
Jordan K.
Yeah. And I just found out until like on the way here that I was taking the longest route possible. So now that I got that figured out, it's going to be a great next two days.
- [35:37]
Paul Feinbaum
Okay. I wish you'd tell me the quick route.
- [35:39]
Jordan K.
I'm going to send you the long way.
- [35:40]
Paul Feinbaum
I mean, it's escalators, elevators. It's like three elevators and two escalators.
- [35:45]
Jordan K.
I had to get a compass, which is not great. Good thing I brought it.
- [35:50]
Paul Feinbaum
I tried this new GPS thing and it took me to St. Petersburg. Let's talk to you about South Carolina. Beamer was here a minute ago, Jordan. And I know that's, you know, his future is a conversation piece. I know that only because you interviewed me about it.
- [36:07]
Chris Marler
You had to tell me.
- [36:10]
Jordan K.
It is.
- [36:11]
Chris Marler
I think it's. It's no secret to anyone who's watched South Carolina or been on the Internet, the Shane Beamer's on the hot seat. What exactly that means, what it's going to take for him to keep his job, I think is kind of up to interpretation and probably depends on what the season looks like. Is it seven wins, eight wins? And you kind of were talking yesterday of saying, hey, you know, if half the SEC coaches didn't get fired last year, maybe he's not even talked about on the hot seat, which I, I think is a fair point. And South Carolina does not, does not want to fire Shane Beamer.
- [36:40]
Paul Feinbaum
Okay. Shane Beamer does not equal like a Sam Pittman situation or Billy Napier. I miss Billy Napier.
- [36:47]
Shane Beamer
By the way.
- [36:50]
Paul Feinbaum
The thing that gets me about South Carolina, though, is I had one of your colleagues today. He could survive with seven wins. That's not that big. I mean, yeah, there are not a lot of SEC coaches that could survive after a 4, 8 season by going 7 and 5.
- [37:03]
Jordan K.
I feel like it's. That's probably the floor. I've heard people say, like, you know, he just get to a bowl. And I think that's wrong. I think that now, like, I think like we were talking about this off stage, like everyone wants Shane Beamer to like, for this to work out. And I think the, the roller coaster it's been on where it's like good one year, bad one year. I mean, you heard him say it today, like it's not what anyone's after, but going into this season with the talent that they have and the talent they retained. I think they have a really good chance with like, they probably have a decent amount of their nil money tied up to like four players. And all four of those guys, Sellers, Stewart, harbor, and then Peak, most likely we move on to the NFL after this and that money will be freed up and you could really start building like a foundation for going out and getting more players in the portal. You saw it with getting Dobson, the high school five star kid. So I think that they have a really good chance to parlay this into a couple of good years. And I personally think it starts this year.
- [37:54]
Paul Feinbaum
Couple of moments left. What do you think he really had. Forgetting what Marlowe just said. You cover the team. I don't know where he lives. What do you think he needs to do?
- [38:09]
Chris Marler
I think it's got to be a good seven wins, which probably includes a win over Clemson and some very.
- [38:15]
Paul Feinbaum
I mean, that would be the punctuation.
- [38:17]
Chris Marler
Yeah, that's. You're not.
- [38:19]
Paul Feinbaum
How tough is that? Who hasn't beaten Dabo Sweeney late?
- [38:23]
Jordan K.
Right.
- [38:24]
Chris Marler
The last two times South Carolina's gone to Death Valley. Two South Carolina wins. So history's on their side. I think eight gets it.
- [38:31]
Greg Sankey
Eight.
- [38:31]
Chris Marler
He's back. No questions asked. Seven, nine.
- [38:34]
Paul Feinbaum
They renamed the stadium the entire town.
- [38:36]
Jordan K.
Fantastic. Yeah. Build the statue now. I mean, they. Clemson's gonna take a step back. There's a lot of teams on that schedule. It's like they have like seven other 10 Power 4 opponents. All have a new quarterback. They're breaking in for like the first time in a while. It feels like they have some actual advantages that the teams on their schedule don't have.
- [38:53]
Paul Feinbaum
Yeah. That shirt you're wearing, I swear, I mean, I threw that away earlier this morning. I did not expect you to pick it up.
- [38:59]
Jordan K.
I found it on the beach. I slept there last night. I don't even have a hotel room. It's terrible.
- [39:02]
Paul Feinbaum
Always great. We ran out of time here just as we were really starting to make some sense.
- [39:07]
Jordan K.
I'll stay.
- [39:09]
Paul Feinbaum
Jordan. Chris, thank you very much. One more hour to go. No longer. Put the four fingers up for the fourth quarter. It's one.
- [39:16]
Jordan K.
Love it.
- [39:17]
Paul Feinbaum
We're back after this.
- [39:22]
Thank you for listening to the Best of the Paul Feinbaum show podcast. Watch the Paul Feinbaum show weekdays from 3 to 7 Eastern on the SEC Network. Plus you can listen and watch on the ESPN app.