July 14 through 17 in Hoover -- a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama -- SEC football head coaches and selected athletes will gather to answer questions from billions of media members. Many of the words they use will be interesting. Many will not.
But one word we definitely know they'll use is "excited."
Here is the recent history of SEC head coaches using "excite," "excited," "excitement," "excites," "excitable," and other variations at the last nine years' worth of SEC Media Days, compiled from ASAP Sports' transcript archives.
Original photo by Al Messerschmidt, Getty.
As you can see, there's a reason many experts consider Caldwell's career EXCITEMENT frenzy to be one of the most unbreakable records in all of sports. However, some choose to dismiss his record, choosing to only count coaches who've entered the contest for multiple years. However again, all agree that Caldwell delivered the greatest all-around performance the event has ever seen.
Which coach will emerge the victor in 2014? Non-existent Vegas odds favor Mullen, who has the track record of elite EXCITEMENT generation, the all-time one-year record, and a promising roster this season. But don't overlook Georgia's Mark Richt, the event's most consistent producer -- he's been good for almost exactly seven EXCITEDs a year since charting began.
And while Spurrier and Saban are longshots -- the South Carolina coach has dropped only one EXCITED bomb since 2006; Alabama's head man hasn't deployed a non-sarcastic one since 2011 -- never count out Miles. Of anything. Especially anything involving the English language and the ways it can be used.
Also, here are a couple other marks to shoot for, since the career average tally is untouchable.
The 10 most cumulatively EXCITED SEC head coaches, 2005-2013
1. Dan Mullen, 2009-Present Mississippi State: 63
2. Mark Richt, Olden days-Present Georgia: 59
3. Houston Nutt, several teams at all times: 57
4. Gene Chizik, 2009-2012 Auburn: 39
5. Ed Orgeron, stalking you from under your car: 34
6. Will Muschamp, 2012-Present Florida: 27
7. (tie) Robbie Caldwell, one year of glory, and Gary Pinkel, 2012-Present Missouri, 24
9. (tie) James Franklin and Urban Meyer, excited Big Ten men: 23
The 10 most EXCITING one-year outputs, 2005-2013
1. Robbie Caldwell, 2010 Vanderbilt: 24
2. (tie) Ed Orgeron, 2006 Ole Miss; Dan Mullen, 2009 Mississippi State: 23
4. Gary Pinkel, 2012 Missouri: 17
5. Houston Nutt, 2008 Ole Miss: 15
6. Will Muschamp, 2013 Florida: 13
7. (tie) Gene Chizik, 2010 Auburn; Chizik, 2011; Mark Stoops, 2013 Kentucky: 12
10. (tie) A whole bunch of guys have put up 11 reps in a single session.