The attached quote: "Saban acknowledged recently that he had left LSU in part because the Tigers had lost their "fear of failure" after winning a share of the national title in 2003. He will not have that concern with the Dolphins this season." was in the New York times on-line addition. I wonder if it is accurate. I hadn't heard that before. Any comments?
Saban has said publically that he knew LSU would never be the same after winning the National Championship, but he's never really expanded on it. Assuming this is true, I'm not sure what to make of it. It sounds like a good thing to me that LSU fans lost their fear of failure & moved towards a yearning to win instead. It seems like that's your goal as a coach is to bring your team to that level that the fans can do that. Why would that drive Saban away?
He has said this very quote numerous times, and is just another way of saying that he wanted to move on to a different challenge.
Wasn't our "fear of failure" by players and fans alike in every game we played one of the perceived problems he addressed when he first got here? Did he not say we had to start expecting to win every game instead of waiting for disaster to kick in? Now that we have achieved HIS goal, he states that attitude is a "problem"! Excuse me! I think the only "fear of failure" was his, that he was afraid he could not sustain his success and could not take the heat if his teams did not remain competitive each year. To me, this is the same as saying that we should be satisfied with anything less than being at least in contention for a championship each year. I said it before and I'll say it again, every reason he gave for leaving was a bunch of crap! Good riddance, imo.
They guy is a great coach.. this can not be debated.. He is also an ego-maniac.. this definately can not be debated.. His ego craves the role of "savior", but it also wants him in a place where this can be achieved.. he picked LSU because of it was a program with a winning tradition that had gone to crap and with the wealth of talent in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi, turning things around was a very good possibility... He picked Miami for similary reasons.. a winning tradition, a good location, and an owner who will put out the money... this attracts free-agents which makes turning the Dolphins around easier. He reminds me of Bill Parcells... he is a builder, once the house is built, he wants to move on... If the Dolphins win the superbowl, expect Saban to move on not long after...
i dont think saban thinks that losing the fear of failure is a problem. i read the quote more like he thinks its mission accomplished.
I think you are all misinterpreting what "lost their fear of failure" really means. Before, fear of failure drove them to work hard and do all of the things Saban felt was necessary to win. Once they reached the top of the mountain, the fear was gone. In other words, Saban felt the new attitude was "so, we lost a few games. So what? We already won the big one".
But unlike the pros, every year you have a new team, so the guys who 'WON the BIG ONE' probably aren't there anymore, and the new players are looking to build their legacy as Tigers.. So that assumption is just a way of saying "The Dolphins offered me more money."
I would agree... you could tell he just didn't care anymore... the move to put matt flynn in the game for the cap one bowl... WTF kind of move was that?
