I thought the cowboys were in love with Kiffen/Orgeron. Now that would be funny if they left USC in the middle of the night !!!:lol:.
Saban leaving Alabama in the lurch would make me laugh,but I still don't get the fixation with this guy. He's a great college coach, but there are nearly a dozen guys doing equal work on the recruiting trail and on the field each year who don't get the amount of pub.
He was at LSU. They won the national championship. One year later he was gone. Did I mention he was at LSU?
LOL, to surmise: He wins big, he's a great coach, he seems to have one of those personalities that appears to be a lightning rod for the media and fan base alike. Seems to be a great fit at a program like Bama. Read the article, the writer seems to feel the same. My personal observation on the interview is that he has officially moved into the kinder, gentler stage of his coaching career.
Ok....Contrary to what you myopic Gumps think, Alabama isn't the epicenter of college football, or even southern college football. Nick Saban just won the NC, so that helps explains why this offseason the media coverage is all about him. But people act as if he's the unquestioned best coach in football, which is a laughable notion given how fluid success can be at this level. Remember when Bob Stoops was the greatest coach in the world? Remember when everyone in the Big Ten was envious of Kirk Ferentz? Remember when Bobby Bowden could leave whenever he wanted? Remember when Urban Meyer was unquestionably the best coach in the SEC? Remember when Phil Fulmer was Mr. Volunteer? Remember when Pete Carroll's Trojans were unchallenged annually in the Pac 10? Now, do you remember when all of the above stopped being true? To roughly paraphrase the film "300", even a God-coach can bleed. Saban will lose games, he will have let downs, and he will have bad seasons. It will happen. And when it does, Alabama will say "But Nick, we have you on this pedestal, this isn't supposed to happen!"
Here's my take on Saban and why he leaves successful programs. He's a larger than life persona...but deep down inside, he knows it's just a bubble that could pop at any moment. Glimpses of his "ordinariness" occur periodically...like when he loses to ULM or Utah. We at LSU, lionize him still despite the fact that he had some mediocre wins and some losses (UAB, Iowa) because his teams were caught flat footed. But now, in retrospect, we see his aura diminish. We see that it really doesn't take cryptonite to hurt him. I think Miles' biggest problem is that he is compared to the inflated image of Saban more than to a more realistic image of Saban (game management lapses notwithstanding). Anyway, like chips on a poker table or stocks in your portfolio, you don't have tangible results unless you cash them in. Saban is ego driven (but realistic about himself) and when the bubble inflates enough....he cashes in and moves on to the next audience. There's a very good reason why there's no buyout clause for his contract. There's a reason why he wants to be able to leave at the drop of a hat. He'll probably stay at Bama longer than he did at LSU....but there's always going to be greener grass in another pasture. When there's no place to go, but down....he's gone !!
We sort of remember the iconic Coach Bryant around here. We experienced down years, no SEC, no NC, injuries, head cases, just like everyone else in the college world. We felt Alabama had the best coach in the world, regardless. Every year, Chollie Mac and the rest of the teams on the schedule wanted that game like no other. The product was solid and year in and out we would reload and go after it again. Bama fans see consistency and effort they'll be fine, we get the "long run." If they don't, the forums will once again rumble as they did a few years ago and much like the ongoing debates over hear, it won't stop until that product lives up to the consensus standard. I agree that can be ridiculously high. The media will always be the "gasoline" just looking for a spark. Saban said that's why he came, "no expectations could be higher then my own." So far, it's been a lot more fun then waiting for basketball season.
There is no question that Coach Saban is a great college football coach, but he is no different than any other great college football coach. College football, like most sports, is subject to so many variables that it only takes one to be off to cause, what could be, a very good to great team to underperform. A devastating injury to one of your skilled players can derail a team for an entire season. Even the best coaches out there can't prevent these things from happening. Much of the success that coaches and teams have has a lot to do with luck. My take on why Saban won't stay at Bama, much like he hasn't stayed anyplace in the past, is that Saban is really smart. Smart enough to know when to time himself to be in the right place at the right time. As the Tide starts to turn and Saban can no longer dominate the SECw he will find the perfect opportunity elsewhere, as he did when he came to LSU and Bama. Saban hasn't proven to be able to sustain a program, maybe that isn't his strength. He has proven to be able to take programs from out of the ashes and bring them back to dominance. Which he has done again at Bama. Sustaining that success is going to be what he will need to prove he can do. It is virtually impossible to Better what he has already accomplished, so the future can only bring let downs in comparison. He has reached the level of the perfect season, so there is no doing better, the best he can do is match what has been his best at Bama. A challenge that won't bring enough rewards for the ego of Saban.
