in todays T.P. ( www.nola.com ) click LSU football. The guy is out to make the most money for every client and he is very good at it. I don't hold any grudges against Nick or Sexton.
Go to the article and put your cursor at the top of the article and hold down the left button. Move the cursor down to the bottom of the article until you see that the entire article is highlighted, then right click your your mouse and then choose the copy option. Once you have copied the article then return to this thread and then place your cursor in the box and right click your mouse and choose the paste option.
I dont think you need to log on but here it is LSU Football News Agent Sexton earns keep, respect His client Saban leads a list of who's who Saturday January 10, 2004 By Mike Triplett Staff writer One of the craziest weeks of Jimmy Sexton's life began and ended in New Orleans. The 40-year-old Memphis-based agent was at the Superdome to see his client, Nick Saban, coach LSU to a 21-14 victory over Oklahoma in the BCS championship game in the Nokia Sugar Bowl on Sunday. From Our Advertiser A week earlier, Sexton had been in the same building to see another client, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, take on the Saints. In between he didn't do much -- except help Coach Steve Spurrier tender his resignation with the Washington Redskins, help Arkansas coach Houston Nutt mull a mega-bucks offer from the Nebraska Cornhuskers, watch Parcells' first-round playoff game at Carolina and travel to Athens, Ala., to recruit North Carolina State quarterback Philip Rivers, a likely first-round draft pick. "There's no such thing as 'down time' this time of year," said Sexton, who as president and co-founder of Athletic Resource Management, represents more than 60 coaches and athletes in the NFL, NBA and college football and basketball. But for all the big-name brokering Sexton has done over the past two weeks, Saban is his client d'jour -- earning heavy interest from the Chicago Bears and the Chicago media. Sexton is the one who has been fielding calls from interested NFL teams. He is the one holding a copy of LSU's latest contract proposal, which would make Saban the highest-paid coach in college football. Sexton did not want to comment specifically on the courtship Friday. Saban said Thursday night that he was going to take the weekend to "weigh some options," and that he was deciding whether he would even talk to the Bears, "because of our loyalty to the people at LSU and what we've got going on there." Saban was back in Baton Rouge on Friday for meetings with players and coaches, but he was not available for comment. There were no reports of any scheduled meetings with Bears officials, but the feeling in Chicago is that the Bears expect to have some idea by Monday whether or not Saban is interested. "I would characterize it much like anyone out in the business world, any job that is out there," Sexton said. "Very few people say, 'I don't even want to talk to you. I'm not interested in that.' Most people will at least listen. That's what Nick does. "You never say never, but history tells you that he hasn't made the move in the past. And he's had numerous opportunities, some that many people don't even know about." 'A good friend to me' Some people might believe Sexton is the reason Saban's name keeps being floated in NFL rumors. But Saban and Sexton said that is not the case. Teams are going to be interested in Saban, one way or another. Sexton's job is to allow Saban to focus on coaching football. "I help Nick manage a lot of those situations," Sexton said. "That's why guys have agents nowadays. In the old days, they had to field calls from athletic directors and team owners and didn't really have time to focus on their job. "Hey look, a lot of people are gonna like Nick Saban. I refer to him almost as a guarantee. The guy's never had a losing season as a head coach. The guy can flat-out coach football. I think it's flattering for LSU that so many people are interested." Saban said he and Sexton are friends. They met in 1992, when Saban was defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, who were courting one of Sexton's clients, defensive end Reggie White. Saban hired Sexton soon after. And Sexton said they became especially close after Saban made the move from Michigan State to LSU in 2000, a bold move and major life decision that they went through together. "The thing I like most about Jimmy is, first of all, he's a good friend to me and somebody that I feel like I can trust," Saban said last week. "And the thing that separates him from other people that I've been involved with is that he truly cares about what I think, what my wife thinks, what's best for our family and all those types of things. And it's not just about what job you take, what the status of the job is, where you are, how much money you make. That's not the whole deal. "And I really appreciate that, because I think that's really and truly the only way that you can be honest and be a good friend to somebody is that you do care about all of those things." White was Sexton's first client, when he "stumbled" into the business in 1984. White and Sexton were friends who lived down the hall from one another in the dormitory at the University of Tennessee. Agents weren't very popular back then. So when the NFL and USFL were competing for White's services, he asked 20-year-old Sexton -- a double-major in political science and business -- to help him out. Little did Sexton know what a big fish he had landed. White became the NFL's first premier free agent in 1992 when he headlined a lawsuit against the league that opened the free agency floodgates. Later, Sexton represented Scottie Pippen during the NBA's free agent craze following the 1998 lockout. Now his client list is a who's who of sports, especially when it comes to football coaches: Saban, Parcells, Spurrier, Nutt, Houston Texans coach Dom Capers, Miami Hurricanes coach Larry Coker, Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville. When LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher became a hot commodity this year, he retained Sexton's services. Who else? "First of all, anybody Nick picks, he's gonna be thorough," Fisher said. "The thing I like about Jimmy, he's very good at his job, he's very well-respected, he has a great name, he has a lot of integrity in what he does. But the guy has a great personal relationship with you, too. He's one of the top guys in the country, and I talk to the guy three times a day. Where he finds the time, I have no earthly idea. "But I mean the guy, he works at his job the way we work at our job. And I respect that." A hectic schedule Business has not let up much this week for Sexton. He drove back to Memphis, Tenn., on Monday night. He went to his office Tuesday, and said he was there until 1 a.m. He spent Wednesday night at the Ole Miss-Mississippi State basketball game with one of his newest clients, Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury. On Thursday he went to dinner with Rivers, Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey (another client) and their wives. He's also, of course, been dealing with Saban's many suitors. LSU athletic director Skip Bertman said he enjoys dealing with Sexton. He just wishes the agent was a little more available at times. But then again, Bertman said, there isn't much need to negotiate. LSU has laid all of its cards on the table. Whatever the Tigers can give, Saban can have. "I don't think I'm getting a lot of attention, because I think he knows we're gonna do what needs to be done for his client," Bertman said. "Jimmy's up front. He's honest and upfront and nice. Naturally, he's very competitive. But he understands LSU can't do everything." Sexton said his clients usually are understanding about the heavy workload. "The thing I tell them is that there's a lot of agents that would like to be in the position that we're in," said Sexton, who also spends a good share of his time on the phone with wives and family members of clients. "I don't say that from an arrogance standpoint. But I think that's a positive. I think we outwork everybody, too." Sexton's family equally is understanding. The agent is married with three boys. They try to make due during the busy season. The two oldest boys often come with him to NFL games and were with him at the Sugar Bowl. "Summer time is pretty good for our family," Sexton said. But the winter is pretty good for business.
