In this paper we illuminate some algebraic-combinatorial structure underlying the second order networks (SONETS) random graph model of Nykamp, Zhao and collaborators. In particular we show that this algorithm is deeply connected with a certain homogeneous coherent configuration, a non-commuting generalization of the classical Johnson scheme. This algebraic structure underlies certain surprising identities (that do not appear to have been previously observed) satisfied by the covariance matrices in the Nykamp-Zhao scheme. We show that an understanding of this algebraic structure leads to simplified numerical methods for carrying out the linear algebra required to implement the SONETS algorithm. We also show that this structure extends naturally to the problem of generating random subgraphs of graphs other than the complete directed graph.
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