SEC can trust its coaches to go soft on disciplining misbehaving players

HOOVER, Ala. – In the Southeastern Conference, the basic response from football coaches when it comes to discipline issues is this: Trust me.

Trust me, the football coach, to find a way to keep misbehaving players in uniform and on the field. Trust me, the football coach, to temper justice with mercy – perhaps extreme mercy. Trust me, the football coach, to find a justification that passes the smell test well enough to stop the complaining about preferential treatment.

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen was asked – several times – about the school’s controversial decision to admit five-star defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons just a few weeks after Simmons was caught on cell-phone video repeatedly punching a woman who was lying on the ground amid an altercation with another woman. The basic answer: Trust me.

“In this situation, our university did a very, very thorough investigation into everything that happened within the situation there,” Mullen said, “and came up with the conclusion that, you know, we felt that Jeffery deserved the opportunity to be part of our family.”

What clearly compelling facts did the school uncover to mitigate the disturbing video? Mullen didn’t say. He did call it “a great investigation,” and that is apparently supposed to be sufficient.

Trust Dan.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was ready for Simmons questions himself Monday. He cautioned the outside world, “Be careful of judging one’s character on 10 seconds of video.” Trust me, Sankey was saying, a 300-pound man who punches a woman repeatedly is not necessarily a bad guy.

Now, Mississippi State did contribute a CYA penalty to Simmons, suspending him for the season opener against mighty South Alabama. So there’s that.

And truth be told, a one-game suspension is more than some other SEC players will receive for offseason misdeeds. (To be sure, misdeeds of a lesser nature than violence against women.) Any missed playing time is too much for some coaches to tolerate.

At Auburn, four players arrested for marijuana possession on April 30 – top cornerback Carlton Davis, former No. 1 national recruit Byron Cowart, receiver Ryan Davis and injured DB Jeremiah Dinson – will not be suspended. That’s a deviation from coach Gus Malzahn’s previous discipline form; he suspended quarterback Nick Marshall and defensive back Jonathon Mincy for one half of the 2014 season opener.

Of course, that was a game against rebuilding Arkansas, and Auburn was a 19-point favorite. This year’s opener is against 2015 national runner-up Clemson. And Malzahn’s job security is a fraction of what it was two years ago.

But – trust in Gus! – none of that played a part in the non-suspensions.

“We have the same expectations regardless of the opener,” Malzahn said Monday. “It just so happens we’re playing one of the best teams in college football, a team that almost won it all last year. … But, to answer your question, we have high expectations with our players no matter who we’re playing the first game or not.”

Maybe Malzahn is opting for a page out of rival Nick Saban’s playbook. Saban rarely uses playing time as a consequence for player misbehavior; instead opting for “discipline.” What that discipline constitutes is kept in-house. Do not ask for an explanation.

But it’s assuredly significant. Trust Nick.

Among those Alabama players whose “discipline” will not involve game suspensions are All-America offensive tackle Cam Robinson, who was arrested on drug and weapon charges in Louisiana in May. Ouachita Parish district attorney Jerry Jones opted against prosecuting Robinson and teammate Hootie Jones due to a fairly weak case, though he also famously noted that the players have sweated a lot while the rest of us enjoy our air conditioning.

This is not a new dynamic – coaches have long tried to find the path of least public outrage while working the discipline system in favor of maximum playing time. Some coaches try the 180-degree spin tactic, asserting that suspending or dismissing players is “the easy way out,” while keeping them in uniform and inviting the criticism that comes with it is somehow the difficult route. That sidesteps the inescapable bottom line: Coaches are hired and fired based on wins and losses.

For many years, the handy discipline solution for inevitable offseason transgressions was a first-game suspension. That worked well when most everyone played Mississippi State’s schedule, opening with the South Alabamas of gridworld. But then college football discovered the power and allure of opening weekend, and of big-time neutral-site games that helped strength of schedule and produced revenue.

Now, when Auburn is opening with Clemson or Alabama is playing USC or LSU is facing Wisconsin, the season-opening suspension isn’t an easy call.

But that doesn’t mean SEC football coaches aren’t committed to discipline. They are. Trust them.