05_never_again
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He's also 72. I doubt he taps out if he was 42 or 52. If you've already worked through a bunch of stuff in your career, and you are old and tired, at some point most people don't want to work through the next "thing." If Saban was in his 70s when hurry-up offenses became a thing, I bet he would have retired then.Less than 3 years after transfer and NIL he is calling it quits. Like I said, he sees the writing on the wall. I have no doubt it has been harder over that time span, and with the NCAA getting weaker and weaker as every year goes by, he knows his days are numbered. In a situation where talent is equalized (NFL) it is shown that he can’t get it done. Saban even acknowledged himself when he was hired…”you are getting a **** coach, but nobody will have a more talented team than me”.
As for hell of a recruiter, how do you explain almost every top recruiting coach in the Saban era at Bama is all of a sudden pedestrian at other stops? And for that matter, where was the run of #1 recruiting classes at Mich St…or even LSU matching what he did at Bama? He is a great/elite recruiter, not denying that, and a better than average coach…but the Bama machine and political top cover deserves more of the credit IMO. It’s amazing how average coaches look on an even playing field, and that is right around the corner. In some instances, Bama may even be at a disadvantage in the near future.
It has been posted here more times than I can count the stories, pics, instagram posts, etc of the Bama players flashing cars, cash, etc. there was an entire post on another site clearly detailing everything going on and how it worked. There was and is zero concern about consequences. We don’t need inside info, it’s all right there on the web.
I get it, Saban is a great college coach with what he can do at Bama. I just don’t think he could have done that anywhere else. You think it is all due to him being Saban, the Bama machine is no different than a half-dozen other schools. I just think that is incredibly naive.
You seem to think him paying players is unique - I don't know how else to further explain that he was hardly unique in doing that. Why are a lot of his assistants pedestrian at other stops? Because they aren't Nick Saban, and usually those assistants try and be like him without having the reputation (like Pruitt). And the assistant he was closed to (Kirby) is unfortunately on his way to 2+ titles at UGA.
Saban could have achieved what he achieved at other big football schools, the ones with similar tradition, brand, money, etc. to Alabama. Michigan St does not fit that profile.
We're talking about CFB, not the NFL. The entire point of college coaching is to not play on a level playing field (i.e., have better players than your opponent). Coaches who routinely take the field with under-talented teams are not sticking around long at any job unless they are Bill Snyder, who is probably the most underrated coach in the history of football. Saying Saban wouldn't be a good coach if his teams weren't talented is like saying Dale Earnhardt wouldn't have been a good racer if he had to race with 3 wheels. It's a true statement, but kind of a silly one.
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