ok, i wish i would have started this post before the ole miss game. Everyone says les miles did good with saban's players. well saban won the bcs championship his 4th year with alot of dinardo's seniors and juniors who redshirted. then sabans 5th year they finished 16th and lost a bowl game. now saban is at alabama doing good in his 3rd year with yet again another coaches juniors and seniors. what is ya'lls take on it? do ya'll really think saban is that great of a coach or same circumstance miles was in with other coache's players.
saban is a great coach. one of the top 3 in the country. but stop linking miles 07 nc with him. yes he had a great talent base but miles coached those players. here's the scary part about saban (and to answer the question in your thread title) and this is just my opinion: saban is in his coaching prime right now. he's doing things at bama he never would have had the ba!!s to do at LSU on the field. his years here and two in miami have made him better. coaches just like players can hit their prime and he is hitting it now. that's a bad thing for us. so yes i think he is that good.
Great coaches never quit learning. Great teachers are excellent students. So much of what these guys do for their teams is psychological. They know human nature. Lot's of X and O geniuses come and go everyday.(see south bend). Saban's players are focused on immediate things, things they have control of now. He's good at eliminating distractions. It's not a perfect science, but you have to be consistent. Good coaches are, very detailed oriented, and extremely aware of everyone's job. Most important Quality: Saban, impacts his team with his example. Every player knows he's not asking anything of them he doesn't demand of himself. If the leader goes first, you don't mine following.
Interesting you brought up the leadership aspect. I'm not a football coach, never pretended to be. However, leadership is something I do know. The first rule people need to understand is when it comes to leadership in pressure positions, it is better to be respected than liked. That's counter-intuitive to a lot people because, let's face it - it's human nature to want to be liked. If it's a likeablility contest, Miles wins hands down. Saban is definitely more respected. Many folks don't like Saban to receive any kind of props whatsoever, but there's very few that can honestly say they don't respect him as a football coach. Yes, Saban is a hard guy to like, and yes, Saban has driven off many assistants. But the reason he has driven them off is because he sets very high standards and holds those assistants accountable. But I would be willing to bet every single one of those assistants are a better coach because of it. I'm not a Miles hater or a Saban lover, but I can take an objective look at their styles from a leadership perspective. And no, I didn't write this to blow sunshine up tusk's arse.
IMO, Saban is a great coach, dont like the way he left us and all that stuff, but he can coach a football team. Now, I hope God doesnt hold it against me for saying that. :geauxtige:geauxtige:geauxtige
I think there is a lot of truth to the above posts. He has learned alot from his "failure" in the NFL and has taken that lesson to the college level. I think he appreciates the college ranks so much more now so the ambition of going up a level is gone. This allows him to put even more into teaching his kids all the details that make them better. He now knows first hand what they need to succeed on Sunday and instills it in his players. If you ever want to see how involved he is in teaching watch one of his practices. And yes I think he is reaching his prime, that makes him very good. I hate to compare him to Shula because I still don't like what he did to us and the dolphins, but they used to say Shula was such a good teacher that he could beat you with his team, then the next week beat his team with your team. I think from a coaching perspective Saban has that ability.
If Saban is so gotdamm great how come he lost to Utah last year in the Sugar Bowl and looked totally bumfuddled doing it and I'm not even gonna mention ULM. He does have the officials on his side, I'll say that.
Respect, tough quality to define all the time. Some of his assistant's have left for various reasons. Some chose to leave, some were asked. Funny thing, either way, they do seem to respect his abilities, and have very little negative things to say. I do think in today's culture, too many people are concerned with the idea of being well liked, all the time. Coach Bryant scared the living beegee's out of the players and some assistant coaches. I heard some of the players didn't fully appreciate coach Bryant until after they graduated. Those who stayed at least respected the journey.
Just like Miles will learn from this. We need to support LSU, and right now, that's Miles because it is what it is. He's not going anywhere this year. I'm not defending him last week, he was indefensible. But we all better hope he learns, improves and moves on, because he's going to be our coach next year, barring something unforseen and unpredictable.
