For the first time since 2004, the belle of the SEC media days ball was nowhere to be found. Steve Spurrier's absence cast a shadow over Hoover, Alabama, on Monday as things got underway for the 2016 session.
The Head Ball Coach and owner of roughly the 1,000 best quotes from the SEC dog and pony show retired as South Carolina's head coach six games into the 2015 season, ceding his program and the spotlight to a new generation. Spurrier had been a head coach at an SEC program for all but three years (2002-04) since 1990.