Nick Saban to Alabama a done deal?
Jan 01, 2007 in College Football
Miami Dolphins head coach Nick Saban has reportedly been offered $40 million to become the next head football coach of the University of Alabama. If the reports are true and Saban accepts, Alabama will have pulled off quite a coup with this hire. Alabama hasn’t been considered among college football’s elite programs since Gene Stallings retired ten years ago, yet the Crimson Tide faithful haven’t lowered their expectations. Saban would step into one of the most high-pressure situations in college football, a job that has killed the careers of two coaches and forced a third to run off.
But if there is someone who can revive the Alabama program, it’s Saban. He turned LSU into a national power, winning the BCS National Championship in 2003. He led chronically dysfunctional Michigan State to its only 10-win season in the past 15 years. Perhaps most importantly, Saban has the track record, reputation, and personality to get the same respect from recruits that Steve Spurrier and Bob Stoops get. Alabama hasn’t won any recruiting wars in the talent-rich southeast in a long time, which is essential to stay competitive in the SEC.
Saban has publicly maintained that he has no interest in the Alabama job, going so far as to state, “I’m not going to be the Alabama coach.” But like Steve Spurrier, his foray into the professional ranks has been turbulent and seems to indicate that the college game suits him better. He has also privately expressed frustration at certain aspects of coaching in the NFL, such as coaches’ lack of control over personnel decisions.
I expect that Saban will end up taking the Alabama job, despite his vehement assertions to the contrary. He’s a college coach, and the type of guy who likes to be the top dog (he’s rumored to have left Michigan State because he was sick of being overshadowed by Michigan). He would be worshiped as a God in Alabama if he can turn that program around. That, plus an offer for a college job that pays more money than a lot of NFL jobs is probably too good to pass up.
UPDATE: Saban accepted Alabama’s offer Wednesday morning, and is set to become the highest-paid coach in college football. Wise move, in my opinion. He would probably have had to come back to the college ranks eventually anyway, and might have had to start at a lower rung of the ladder than the one he left.