does anyone think that NFL coaching experiences helps some, like saban, in the recruiting department? is it really that much of an edge to be able to say "i coached in the nfl, and i know what it takes to succeed there...and trust me, i can help you develop that"? if so, we really need to go after an NFL guy...
Do I think it helped him by having already been an NFL coach? Yes....I mean, it couldn't hurt (for reasons you already mentioned), but I don't think it's nec. to be a successful recruiter. I don't think Spurrier was an NFL coach (or was he??) when he was at Florida, yet he did extremely well recruiting. Joe Paterno and Lou Holtz, in their glory days at Penn St. and Notre Dame weren't NFL coaches, yet they really did well recruiting. I think being a former NFL coach adds to the mystique, but I don't think you have to be in order to recruit well. Nor do I feel that because you were a former NFL coach you have a better % of landing top recruits. I think it's somewhere in the middle. Recruiting has so many factors involved other than just the head coach. I would think that a programs fascilities and tradition have just as much to do with a player signing as who the coach is. We've just been blessed to have all 3 of those things come together at the same time.
