Image: Tuscaloosa News
A coaching search that until today could only be described as "embarrassingly public" should get a different description shortly. The new description would be "successful."
The Orlando Sun-Sentinel, the Birmingham News and the Tuscaloosa News are reporting that Nick Saban will become the new head coach at Alabama today. As with any Alabama coaching search story, it is obviously still developing.
Bama fans won't rest easy until they see him at the press conference, but this looks like a done deal.
Nick Saban is a proven, established winner with a national championship and two SEC championships under his belt in five years at LSU. His head to head record vs. Tuberville was 2-3 with both coaches holding serve at home. He's also a proven recruiter with consistent Top 5-10 recruiting classes at LSU.
Bottom line: He was the best coach in America that was willing to come to Alabama. Bama did the right thing by offering the money to get him there.
He also has the personal gravitas/cojones to run the Alabama football program "his way" and not the way that Lee Roy Jordan, Paul Bryant Jr., or Mal Moore think he should run it. With a rumored $30 million contract (roughly the same amount they paid Albert Means*), they can't fire him if he gets on their nerves. He'll assemble a world class coaching staff, and he'll recruit gang busters. Plus, he has burned a ton of bridges with the NFL over his departure from Miami. So where else can he really go?
It's a good thing that Georgia plays Alabama in 2007 and 2008. That way we get him before he reloads their talent pool. It's also a good thing for Georgia that Saban is coming to the SEC. A strong Bama rises at the expense of Tennessee and Auburn.
The only real downside for the Dawgs and Tech...he will most certainly come into Atlanta for recruits. The good news...there's plenty of talent for everyone.
PWD
*the Albert Means line was shamelessly ripped off from MakoDawg on ThePorch.
16 comments:
I hope Saban and AL are happy. Talk about a repuation to live up to.
I too am glad we get UA early in Saban's regime. They'll definitely be looking for the signature win when the Dawgs come calling and I'm sure GameDay will be there with the Saban love-fest. In the words of Mike Price, "it's rollin' baby....it's rollin'".
Something about this marriage doesn't seem quite right. Saban left LSU, a great job in its own right, to tackle his NFL hunger. He never gave it enough time to be realized, positive or negative.
Now, it just seems like Saban is a mercenary of sorts hired to prolong the Tuscaloosa faithful from realizing the inevitable: You can't replace the Bear.
Saban will be gone in three years once he doesn't win the SEC and both parties are sick of each other.
Saban truly is beginning to feel like the football version of Larry Brown, excpet with more a college feel than pro.
And this makes the SEC bonkers in coaching talent. Les Miles has done all right at LSU (though we need to wait and see how he does with his own players). Houston Nutt keeps Arkansas competitive. Orgeron is trying to bring Ole Miss back to life and recruiting his nuts off. Tuberville and Saban give a Bama and Auburn to of the best defensive mind in the nation among collegiate HCs. The East has the likes of wunderkid Meyer, the ol' Ball Coach Spurrier, Rev. Richt, Phat Phil, a pretty good coach at Vandy with Steve Martin, and Rich Brooks spent years as a head man or coordinator in the NFL. There's some damn good coaches in the SEC right now.
NFL salaries are getting in the $8 million range now (Holmgreen) and will likely continue to go up in the next 3-5 years. Prominent schools like Penn State, Michigan, FSU could be looking for coaches in the next 3-5 years. And there's always a chance that a Pete Carroll or Bob Stoops or Charlie Weiss will head to the NFL in the next 3-5 years as well.
Given his track record (staying at places no longer than 5 years and moving, going back on his word multiple times, etc), I would have to think that he will bolt to the next best stop in the near future.
He's got an uphill climb in the beginning at Bama with a strong SEC West, admin that is hard to work with and fans that expect a too much. But he's a great coach and heck of a recruiter and he'll win games and when he leaves he'll leave the cupboard full.
If he performs well enough that NFL owners come after him again after the stunt that he pulled in Miami the last 30 days, then Bama really will be giddy. That would mean he won another MNC.
There's worse things that losing your coach because he won a MNC.
Losing him because he lost to AU 4 in a row for instance is worse.
Paul, your last remark speaks to the reason why I think Alabama was dumb, dumb, dumb to pay this much to Saban (or to anybody).
He's not going to go undefeated next year. Given the problems that still exist at Alabama, and the amount of talent Auburn will be returning, he may not even beat Auburn next year.
If/when he loses to Arkansas or Georgia early next season, or hands Auburn their sixth straight Iron Bowl win, the message boards over here will be going nuclear with comments like "We paid $40 million for THIS?!?!?!"
Crazy fact of the day: What are the chances that the two coaches to whom the University of Alabama offered its head coaching position would be from two towns in West Virginia separated by less than 10 miles?
I have to wonder what kind of money Rodriguez turned down, and what his attitude will be if/when one of his teams plays Bama.
Is this contract to college football head coaching positions what A-Rod's was to MLB contracts? That is, given the fact that Saban will now make almost twice as much as some other very good coaches, won't they begin to ask questions of whether he's really twice as valuable as they are? This could make for some serious inflation among the ranks of college football coaches. All I know is, whatever Mark Richt wants, we oughta pay him. He's the best thing to happen to UGA football since Herschel Walker, and maybe, ever.
It's only $500k more than what Bob Stoops gets.
It's really not that big a deal.
If it's a progressive year over year increase like I think it is, then it's going to be really similar to stoops year 1 deal.
The money is over blown.
If Mack Brown was hit by a truck tomorrow, Texas wouldn't bat an eye lash at offering a coach $4 or 5 million if they had Saban's resume.
pwd
If he doesn't succeed- losing to Auburn, no SEC titles, no real national title runs- then Bama can't really afford to fire him and buy out his contract and pay another guy.
If he is successful- at least .500 against Auburn, 2 SEC titles and a National title or near miss- then what does Bama pay to keep him?
I think for better or worse until his contract expires, the Tide is hitched to Saban.
I bet Don Shula really can't stand Bama now after firing his son and stealing the coach from his beloved Dauphins.
PWD, i just don't see this as the magic bullet over at Bama. Saban has pissed off damned near everyone he comes into contact with and he'll have a boat load of asses to kiss and bellies to scratch with that lunatic fringe of big dollar boosters. $32 million and 8 years just means it's alot of money and alot of time. You can't buy a personality with it. I think Saban and the Lee Roy Jordan factor at Bama are going to have a rocky relationship and the money will acerbate things. Remember, this group of "professionals" have made a total of one good football hire in almost thirty years.
In addition, the conference and the western division has gotten alot more sharp teeth when St. Nick first got to the bayou. Then there are the expectations. What are they? What is enough wins and titles for someone you've just paid 32 million clams to? Hell, most of the Bama fans can't spell patience, much less show it. Hope he beats the bunch on the Plains soon or he'll have hell to pay.
Shad,
I think you're paying too much attention to the national media's perception of Bama and to the lunatic fringe on TiderInsider.
As Cecil Hurt said the other day....Bama fans don't expect a return to the days of the Bear. They do; however, look around at UGA, LSU, UF, UT and Auburn and say "Why shouldn't that be us?" They aren't even consistently competitive anymore.
PWD
Those fans are delusional enough that they DO expect a return of the glory days of the Bear. The best e-mail that went around before Saban's hire was the "Bama search committee" over a picture of the grave diggers. Mark it down, UGA wins in Tuscaloosa and AU wins the Iron Bowl...again.
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