BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The most powerful man in college football of the last decade slides into the back booth at his favorite breakfast spot in Homewood, Alabama. Surrounded by construction workers, off-duty cops and high school coaches, Mike Slive is just one of the guys at Salem's Diner, a place where he's simply called "Mike" by the rest of the regulars.
At just past dawn, Slive, the longtime commissioner of the SEC, orders his go-to dish: scrambled eggs dry, a sliced tomato and an English muffin. And yes, he'd love another cup of coffee, always more coffee, which is the only thing that flows faster than the conversation at Salem's, an old-fashioned greasy spoon where locals love to swap tales—some a little taller than others.