DESTIN - Alabama coach Nick Saban has a strong - and seemingly solitary - stance on the Southeastern Conference potentially moving to a nine-game league schedule.
Others, including Georgia's Mark Richt, Vanderbilt's James Franklin and Ole Miss' Hugh Freeze, want to keep things status quo. The SEC currently plays eight conference games: six games against division opponents, one against a designated rival from the other division and one rotational game against the remaining six teams.
The SEC's 14 coaches spent Tuesday discussing the pros and cons of eight- and nine-game schedules. While most want to remain at eight games, some would like to see the 6-1-1 model switched to a 6-2 version that would eliminate cross-division fixed opponents. That would mean the end of annual rivalries like Alabama-Tennessee or Auburn-Georgia.
Coaches will vote and take the result to athletic directors Wednesday. The ADs will make a final suggestion to presidents and chancellors later in the week. The league is likely to make a decision on the 2014 schedule Friday but might not reach a final resolution regarding future schedules until later.
But the league is in the midst of a major overhaul. The SEC add Texas A&M and Missouri last year and is launching the SEC Network in 2014. The network surely will want more marquee matchups in exchange for increasing revenue.