In a conference where the passions always run high, and there are few, if any, divided loyalties, Jimmy Sexton is an exception. On any given Saturday, you could find him hoping both Alabama and Auburn win. Or wishing somehow, some way, that South Carolina and Ole Miss will end up in an overtime-defying deadlock.

That’s how it is when you represent nearly half the coaches in the SEC. While fans are imagining disaster scenarios for their rivals, Sexton is hoping his clients succeed. That way, they’ll thrive, and he — as their agent — will get a piece of the action.

There is one exception to the commercial credo he and his peers adopt, the University of Tennessee. That’s his alma mater. It’s where he met Reggie White, the Hall of Fame defensive end and his first client. You won’t find Sexton taking Pyridium before Volunteer games to turn his urine orange, as some particularly rabid fans do, but the man is UT through and through. That’s good news for new Vols coach Lane Kiffin, who knows he can count on Sexton’s support in October against Bama and Nick Saban, a Sexton client, or when the Ball Coach — whom Sexton represents also — and South Carolina come to Knoxville this Halloween.

“I’m in a unique situation, because he went here and has a skybox at Neyland Stadium,” Kiffin says. “I would think he’s cheering every game for Tennessee.”

Sexton is partial to the Volunteers, and he won’t hide that. He also has worked with his alma mater for several years, first as a rep for former head coach Phillip Fulmer and now as Kiffin’s agent. That gives him pretty substantial influence at the school. Come to think of it, by representing Kiffin, Saban, South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier, Auburn coach Gene Chizik and Ole Miss head man Houston Nutt, Sexton may well hold the most sway of anyone in the SEC. There are certainly people who believe he has too much power, thanks to his ability to maneuver his clients into plum jobs and secure raises/extensions for them when the coaching rumors start to swirl each year. In the conference generally regarded as the best in college football, Sexton is in a position of considerable power. And, at a time when the salaries of coaches are rising to new heights, and the fascination with their comings and goings has reached fever-pitch, Sexton is even more important to the storyline.

He and his staff at Athletic Resource Management in Memphis represent a variety of players and coaches in football, basketball and baseball. Among the bigger, non-collegiate names are Dolphins executive Bill Parcells, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and Redskins offensive tackle Chris Samuels. But it is the college game in which Sexton has made the most headlines recently, and in addition to his SEC clients, he also represents North Carolina’s Butch Davis, Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer and a pair of bosses-in-waiting, Texas’ Will Muschamp and Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher. And his roster is growing. With the additions of Beamer, Davis, Fisher and Duke’s David Cutcliffe, Sexton is gaining a toehold in the ACC. Each year, as jobs open, Sexton assumes his position as a major player, while the college football community obsesses over who will land where and — perhaps most important — for how much.

“The media is enthralled with what coaches are making,” he says. “It’s always been accepted (professional) players made a lot of money. Now, coaches are making it. That’s why there’s so much publicity about the coaches.”

Despite his status, Sexton remains largely a mystery to most fans — and even media. Unlike some of his agent brethren (a fast-talking Miami resident comes to mind), who seek out the cameras and willingly fill notepads with their bombast, Sexton prefers to work quietly, away from the scrutiny. That doesn’t mean he isn’t piling up the air miles or taxing his cell phone; he’s busy, all right. It’s just that you don’t know when he’s doing it, or more important, with whom. “What’s special about him is that you don’t read a ton about him in the media,” Kiffin says. “He does what’s most important behind the scenes.”

Sexton is quiet but extremely effective. Just look at some of his work over the past three years on behalf of his clients. In November 2006, he brought Butch Davis back to the college ranks at North Carolina. A year later, despite a 4–8 start, Davis received a contract extension and a raise from UNC, a response to rumors that he might leave Chapel Hill and take the vacant job at Arkansas, his alma mater. Even though Davis vehemently denied the chatter, he still received an extra year and $291,000 more per season.

A couple months after placing Davis with the Tar Heels, Sexton guided Saban out of Miami and into his all-world contract (eight years, $32 million) in Tuscaloosa, even though he couldn’t keep the coach from incurring the wrath of furious Dolphins fans. A year later, he began an interesting arc with Nutt, who on Nov. 23, 2007, had led Arkansas to an upset win over top-ranked LSU. Three days later, despite having received a contract extension offer from school chancellor John A. White worth a reported $2.4 million annually, Nutt resigned. His departure capped a raucous year that included turmoil over players (most notably Mitch Mustain), a coach (Gus Malzahn), poor play (losses in three straight SEC games) and text messaging. One day after turning down Arkansas, Nutt was announced as head coach at Ole Miss.

“He went 8–4 and beat LSU, but we felt the support wasn’t there,” Sexton says. “It was best to get into a better position.”

Even though some thought Nutt was taking a chance by leaving Arkansas, he was confident Sexton would come through. “Once I knew I wanted to resign from Arkansas, he had several options ready for me,” says Nutt, a client since the early ’90s. “One option was laying out for a year, but I didn’t want to do that. The one that jumped at me allowed me to stay in the SEC. When I heard Ole Miss was available, I was excited.”

After one season in Oxford, during which he led a rejuvenated Rebel program to the Cotton Bowl, Nutt became the subject of more rumors, this time regarding the vacant Auburn job. The “resignation” of Tommy Tuberville, another Sexton client, threw the job wide open. Plenty of names were mentioned, including Nutt’s. In fact, some reports have an Auburn representative contacting Nutt. The upshot? An extension for the Ole Miss boss, a buyout for Tuberville, and Chizik’s new job on The Plains. And about $1 million in commissions for Sexton, who denies that he held the Rebels up for more money by inquiring about the Auburn job.

“There were rumors Auburn was going to go after Coach Nutt, but they never contacted us,” Sexton says. “We were not trying to get Houston Nutt that job.”

Sexton is probably right about that, because leading Nutt to his third SEC school in as many years would have killed his credibility within the conference and done the impossible of making Bobby Petrino look good. But an agent’s job is to maximize his clients’ opportunities and income, and Sexton did that for all three of his coaches in the Auburn episode. Not that the folks in Oxford were too thrilled with the situation. When contacted about speaking on the record regarding Sexton, Ole Miss AD Pete Boone said, “I’ll have to think about that,” and then declined.

Agents aren’t out to become best friends with the men with whom they are negotiating. But Sexton does a pretty good job of preventing the acrimony from getting out of hand. “I think most ADs we’ve worked with would say we try to come to a fair agreement,” Sexton says. That’s certainly the case at Tennessee. Sexton has known UT athletic director Mike Hamilton since the early ’90s. That makes sense, given the agent’s close ties to the school. But this past season tested the relationship a bit. The Volunteers announced in early November that they were firing Fulmer. Though he would finish the year with the team, he was out after 17 seasons and one national title. Since Sexton represented Fulmer, he was not happy. At the same time, he understood the need to remain professional with Hamilton and the UT administration, since he would probably have to negotiate with the Vols again. Little did he know it would be a month later.

“This was a hard one for (Sexton),” Hamilton says. “He had personal ties to the coach and the institution, and it put him in a tough set of circumstances. He was very professional. He fought vehemently for Coach Fulmer in the separation agreement and then went to bat for Coach Kiffin.”

Hamilton refers to Sexton as “one of the good guys” and appreciates that he works hard for his clients while at the same time trying not to use underhanded tactics to gain an advantage during negotiations. That may not be the opinion of everybody with whom Sexton deals, but it is a measure of his success that you don’t hear his name spat out venomously by ADs and school presidents — or even professional GMs and owners. And though he is extremely active in just about all things SEC, it’s unlikely too many fans would recognize him if he strolled past their tailgate party. That underscores his desire to keep things relatively quiet.

Will he capitalize on a situation to gain an advantage? Hell, yes. Sexton understands the value of the free market, and how several forces conspire to create demand and push up salaries. He is always, as he puts it, “working under the assumption (schools) are not going to pay more than the market will bear.” Of course, that market has a much higher tolerance these days. Witness the Saban contract, or even John Calipari’s big deal (eight years, $31.65 million) to coach Kentucky’s basketball team. The latter prompted concern from NCAA chief Myles Brand, who wondered whether it was “in tune with academic values.” We won’t go into the hypocrisy of such a statement, especially when the NCAA is collecting nine figures from CBS for its basketball tournament, but it goes to the very reason why Sexton’s clients need him. In a climate where the pressure to win is mounting, and coaches are expected to create programs that will be the main fundraising engines for their athletic departments, they need representation to secure a big salary but also cover the back end, in the event of termination, resignation or anything in between.

“College sports are big business,” Sexton says. “People pay for branding rights and media rights approaching $10 million a year. Football and basketball coaches are the two breadwinners, and these are the guys who should be paid.”

Sexton’s clients certainly appreciate his commitment to the bottom line, but their affection goes beyond the investment portfolio. One of the reasons for his success is the strong relationships he builds with the coaches he represents. They speak of the trust they have for him and the peace of mind he provides by working on their behalf in a way that allows them to concentrate on running their teams. If something comes up, Sexton will present it. Until then, he’s a cheerleader and supporter.

“The more you’re around him, the more you trust him,” says Beamer, who says he’s been with Sexton for “six or seven years.” “One of his real strong points is that he has a good way of communicating.”

Spurrier began his relationship with Sexton when he was at the end of his brief tenure (2002-03) with the Washington Redskins. “I called him and asked, ‘Have you ever done an exit deal?’” Spurrier says. “He said, ‘No, but I will.’” Spurrier didn’t use Sexton too much when he was talking with South Carolina, choosing to negotiate his own contract. Still, he appreciates Sexton’s professional approach and counsel. “He’s a good guy,” Spurrier says. “You like to have him doing work for you. He’s a Tennessee grad, and he loves Tennessee. But he loves his clients the most.”

That dual relationship was both helpful and detrimental to his dealings with Hamilton regarding Fulmer and Kiffin. But, in the end, as he always does, Sexton got the deal done, and everyone was satisfied. The aftermath featured some interesting behavior by Kiffin, who has a good reason for some of it.

“(Jimmy) was the one who told me to say at the press conference that we’d be singing ‘Rocky Top’ at Florida next season,” Kiffin says with a laugh. “You can write that.”

Chances are if that happens, Sexton will be right next to Kiffin, belting out the fight song. Unless Urban Meyer calls between now and then. That might complicate matters a bit. Then again, Sexton will find a way around the problem.

He always does.

This feature appears in the 2009 Athlon Sports Southeastern Magazine. Click here to purchase your copy.