What's Going On With Saban?

[TrapGame]

I have never seen so much speculation in the sports media that this might be the last season for Saban at Alabama. Even Finebaum is saying Saban may be retiring in the next couple of years. And frankly, it's about damn time. We all know this 2023 Alabama team is not going to be one of Saban's best. They have weak spots on both sides of the ball that you just don't normally see with Alabama.

[AlSwearengen]

he is getting older and bama seems to be losing a little momentum to georgia and a couple other programs.

[Pinto]

If I had to guess, I?d say Saban has proven himself and as he has repeatedly stated he doesn?t like this new game college football is playing. In short screw you guys I?m going home.

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Saban has to have better players than his opponent to win. He doesn?t have that advantage anymore.

[MaroonFlounder]

He will still be right in the thick of things

He actually loves this situation. There is no "rat poison" this year. Media is not drooling over the program like they usually are. His guys will play better because of it, or at least he thinks they will

[msstate7]

F it! Roll tide to a natty... hopefully this will make him retire

[NWADAWG]

Saban has to have better players than his opponent to win. He doesn?t have that advantage anymore.

This all day. He's a good coach and a good at managing the egos. But he is not some super X and O coach.

In my vast experience as a peewee coach, I typically coached better and harder in the years I won few games than the years I won virtually all games. Now, it's apples and oranges (maybe more like a whole fruit basket) difference between piddly peewee and college sports but one truth carries throughout - Better players make coach look good.

[Todd4State]

He will still be right in the thick of things

He actually loves this situation. There is no "rat poison" this year. Media is not drooling over the program like they usually are. His guys will play better because of it, or at least he thinks they will

Yeah but if he starts going 10-2 there that won't be good enough for long. Alabama expects 15-0 every year and they expect to blow everyone out and to be number one in everything football.

[viverlibre]

Watch for Saban to be back in the playoff hunt this year and for many years to come. No doubt the portal and NIL make his job harder though.

[DawgFromOxford]

Saban has to have better players than his opponent to win.

I mean that's true of any successful long tenured coach though. You don't consistently win at a high level if you have inferior players.

Are there better X and O coaches out there? I don't know, probably. I don't know enough about X and O's to say. But you don't accidentally or luck your way into winning 6 national championships, even if it's at Bama.

[TrapGame]

Yeah but if he starts going 10-2 there that won't be good enough for long. Alabama expects 15-0 every year and they expect to blow everyone out and to be number one in everything football.

When those toothless bastards start burning shit in his yard or hire moving vans to come over on a Monday after a loss, he'll just leave. That will be it for him. He can manage a 5* diva but he can't manage the crazies. Going 9-3 for them would be like most of us in the league going 5-7. It's unacceptable to them.

[HancockCountyDog]

The dude is 72 years old and NIL has started to even the playing field some.

He does have some Urban Meyer energy where once he doesn't have a clear talent advantage and may start having to rely on his coaching skills, he may just take his ball and go home.

[Reason2succeed]

Yeah, Saban just bought another home in Florida in the same neighborhood as Tiger Woods. There is speculation that he may be putting down the whistle and picking up the clubs soon.

That is why I hope that CZA can get a win over them to break the streak before Saban retires and we cease our annual games against them. That would set CZA up for success by getting that win in his first year.

[SPMT]

Saban has to have better players than his opponent to win. He doesn?t have that advantage anymore.

I don?t agree with this statement. His players were not as good as Texas in 2009, Florida sec champ in 2008/2009 or the year they mauled lsu, etc.

Saban may not be some innovative x o guy, but that shit is a gimmick.

He is the best at:

1a. Recruiting to his system. 1b. Preparing within his teams skills and system.

Often times, the champ game has been very even with regard to talent.

[Captain Falcon]

I mean I hate to put it in these terms but he will be 72 soon and he just watched one of his SEC peers die while still active in coaching last year, and he is almost a decade older than Leach was. I am not saying that situation is a direct link to Saban, but life is too short to spend it working forever. He has made more money than he will ever need and his legacy as the greatest college football coach of the modern era is already established if he never wins another game.

[TrapGame]

Yeah, Saban just bought another home in Florida in the same neighborhood as Tiger Woods. There is speculation that he may be putting down the whistle and picking up the clubs soon.

That is why I hope that CZA can get a win over them to break the streak before Saban retires and we cease our annual games against them. That would set CZA up for success by getting that win in his first year.

I was talking to a State buddy this weekend and said if by some chance Arnett and Freeze beat him this season (a brand new HC and a first year head coach at AU), it's over for Saban. He will retire.

[Leroy Jenkins]

Building a new staff every year is....... suboptimal.

[TUSK]

I'm jus gone leave this here.....


https://youtu.be/_5fxY3h0h3c

[TrapGame]

I expected you sooner Tusk. Long day at the meth house? ***

[Jarius]

Some of you are too young to know exactly how stupid a large portion of the Alabama fanbase can be. If he were to go 9-3 this year there will be some that want him fired. If he does it again next year it would be about 50-50 that wanted him fired.

[Cowbell]

I expected you sooner Tusk. Long day at the meth house? ***

You beat me too it

[MaroonFlounder]

I like to try to have some optimism every now and then, but when it comes to Bama, I’m just not gonna set myself up like a bowling pin…again. Bama rolls.

[Todd4State]

I like to try to have some optimism every now and then, but when it comes to Bama, I’m just not gonna set myself up like a bowling pin…again. Bama rolls.

I do not expect to beat them this year. I hate to say this because I am very competitive and want to win but giving them a respectable game is progress for us.

Our team needs to start believing that they can play with Alabama like they do LSU and etc. like we did in the 1990's. We simply do not show up and that has been the case since Dan was our coach.

In the 1990's we played them tough pretty much every year. We didn't win all of them- lost more than we won in fact. But we always gave them a strong game and made them earn the win. And eventually we broke through finally and beat them in 1996. It was our night and things went our way. I was at that game in 1996 and I remember we had the lead and Bama was driving for what I expected to be a game winning field goal attempt. And then Paul Lacoste I believe it was had a HUGE sack which knocked them out of field goal range and also brought up fourth down putting them in a do or die situation. Then Freddie Kitchens threw a bad pass IMO that was still catchable but the WR dropped and we pulled it off. I was in shock!

For it to be our night again soon- we need to stop playing scared against them.

[CaptainObvious]

Croom beat Saban in sabans first year. Since then we have had 4 full freshmen to senior classes come through (15 losses). It ain?t fear from our players and coaches. It is a huge deficiency in talent PLUS Nick Saban explsining to each of those 15 teams prior to playing State: This is a program Alabama doesn?t lose to. For 15 straight years with the possible exception of 2014, State didn?t lose to Alabama. Alabama BEAT State. It was expected and demanded by their head coach.

[Reason2succeed]

Croom beat Saban in sabans first year. Since then we have had 4 full freshmen to senior classes come through (15 losses). It ain?t fear from our players and coaches. It is a huge deficiency in talent PLUS Nick Saban explsining to each of those 15 teams prior to playing State: This is a program Alabama doesn?t lose to. For 15 straight years with the possible exception of 2014, State didn?t lose to Alabama. Alabama BEAT State. It was expected and demanded by their head coach.

I disagree. State has not brought their A game to Bama since Croom left. If we had ever played Bama with the focus and intensity that we played LSU with in 2014 we may have won.

Also, the referees have not been kind to State because the SEC has always been protecting their eventual champion. That is why being 4-0 would be vitally important this year and why playing Bama earlier is better. We will not get fair officiating late in the season when we have losses and they dont.

[MStateDawg]

All this talk has spiked because Saban recently purchased a $17.5 million beach house in Florida. I doubt you drop that kind of coin on a house to only visit a couple times per year.

https://www.si.com/college/alabama/bamacentral/nick-saban-invests-17-5-million-into-florida-vacation-home-gaither

[PMDawg]

I mean that's true of any successful long tenured coach though. You don't consistently win at a high level if you have inferior players.

Are there better X and O coaches out there? I don't know, probably. I don't know enough about X and O's to say. But you don't accidentally or luck your way into winning 6 national championships, even if it's at Bama.

^^^^This^^^^

Some coaches can jump up and win a game or two despite a large talent gap, but they aren't winning championships. I'm thinking...who was the last team that won the championship with a SEVERE talent deficit? I don't believe this applies to anyone in the BCS era.

[Lord McBuckethead]

He is old. Father Time and women are undefeated.
He should have retired 2 years ago.
Hell, he looks old now.

[TrapGame]

He is old. Father Time and women are undefeated.
He should have retired 2 years ago.
Hell, he looks old now.

I read some unverified rumors today that his wife has been telling him to retire. Evidently she's ready to enjoy the golden years and she's had enough of the coach's wife life.

[viverlibre]

I read some unverified rumors today that his wife has been telling him to retire. Evidently she's ready to enjoy the golden years and she's had enough of the coach's wife life.

the little I've seen of her, and i do mean little, it seems she really enjoys being the Bama coaches wife. First lady of Bama.

She's never spent long stretches of uninterrupted time with him, why would she want to now?

[TrapGame]

the little I've seen of her, and i do mean little, it seems she really enjoys being the Bama coaches wife. First lady of Bama.

She's never spent long stretches of uninterrupted time with him, why would she want to now?

Because life's short. They ain't getting any younger.

Maybe Saban is scared he'll be like Bear Bryant, retire and then almost immediately kill over dead.

I'm sure Tusk is leading the organization raising money to have him stuffed and mounted.

[Extendedcab]

I do not expect to beat them this year. I hate to say this because I am very competitive and want to win but giving them a respectable game is progress for us.

Our team needs to start believing that they can play with Alabama like they do LSU and etc. like we did in the 1990's. We simply do not show up and that has been the case since Dan was our coach.

In the 1990's we played them tough pretty much every year. We didn't win all of them- lost more than we won in fact. But we always gave them a strong game and made them earn the win. And eventually we broke through finally and beat them in 1996. It was our night and things went our way. I was at that game in 1996 and I remember we had the lead and Bama was driving for what I expected to be a game winning field goal attempt. And then Paul Lacoste I believe it was had a HUGE sack which knocked them out of field goal range and also brought up fourth down putting them in a do or die situation. Then Freddie Kitchens threw a bad pass IMO that was still catchable but the WR dropped and we pulled it off. I was in shock!

For it to be our night again soon- we need to stop playing scared against them.

Todd, I agree 100 Percent! Didn't Leach even say this past year that we lost the game before the game even started? He was referring to their mindset - players did not think they could win and they played that way as well - scared, unsure and hesitant.

[viverlibre]

Because life's short. They ain't getting any younger.

Maybe Saban is scared he'll be like Bear Bryant, retire and then almost immediately kill over dead.

I'm sure Tusk is leading the organization raising money to have him stuffed and mounted.

Possibly, but Saban don't seem like the kind to willing take up the rocking chair. There's a reason folks like Trump, Biden, Pelosi, Gates, Mitch McConnell, Buffet, Jerry Jones, etc., hang on so long. I's nothing to do with money, it's about being someone. People who have been that successful that long are built different. Saban can name his price to be on TV, but he sucks at it and I bet he knows that deep down inside. Me? I'd be like Dan Mullen or Special Ed and happy with my money.

[Apoplectic]

saban is a good coach but not a great
coach - without superior talent he is very
average

[viverlibre]

saban is a good coach but not a great
coach - without superior talent he is very
average

Quite possibly the worst take of all time.

[schddog72]

The dude is 72 years old and NIL has started to even the playing field some.

He does have some Urban Meyer energy where once he doesn't have a clear talent advantage and may start having to rely on his coaching skills, he may just take his ball and go home.

I guarantee everybody on this board that his wife dreads the day when this happens; he would be impossible to live with absent UA football to take out his frustrations on. He would be bored to death without it.

[SpaceBully]

Funny that most think BAMA is only good because of Nick Saban. Do you think they'll replace him with Elmer Fudd or something? Sorry to inform you, but BAMA can pretty much get any coach they want. IMO, Byrne will hire just as good or better with another young up and coming Saban. They won't miss a beat.

[basedog]

Funny that most think BAMA is only good because of Nick Saban. Do you think they'll replace him with Elmer Fudd or something? Sorry to inform you, but BAMA can pretty much get any coach they want. IMO, Byrne will hire just as good or better with another young up and coming Saban. They won't miss a beat.

Yep, Hate to say this but Bama has the "IT".

[Lord McBuckethead]

Saban has to have better players than his opponent to win. He doesn?t have that advantage anymore.

Bingo. Equal to lesser talent and Saban has a losing record. He has feasted his entire career on having way more talent than the next guy. That is why he sucked in the NFL and had to return to college. He gets 25 first round picks a year in college. That is until Clemson, UGA, and aTm have thinned his numbers.

He is not that good of a coach when it comes to equally matched teams. And he is old and getting frail.

[Jarius]

Funny that most think BAMA is only good because of Nick Saban. Do you think they'll replace him with Elmer Fudd or something? Sorry to inform you, but BAMA can pretty much get any coach they want. IMO, Byrne will hire just as good or better with another young up and coming Saban. They won't miss a beat.

Alabama went through a near 20 year period of just being pretty good prior to Nick Saban. He has a lot more to do with their dominance than the name Alabama does. They will drop off when he retires and that's not even really debatable. He is the best recruiter to ever live.

[Jarius]

Quite possibly the worst take of all time.

No it's not. He outrecruits damn near everyone by an extremely wide margin and when he doesn't he's got a record of about .500. He is the best recruiter ever, but his development and game day coaching skills aren't any better than most and he will tell you that himself. Now recruiting is by far the most important quality for a college coach to have, but there is a reason he got his ass kicked in the NFL when talent was equal. He's not special in any other way than recruiting.

[Leroy Jenkins]

No it's not. He outrecruits damn near everyone by an extremely wide margin and when he doesn't he's got a record of about .500. He is the best recruiter ever, but his development and game day coaching skills aren't any better than most and he will tell you that himself. Now recruiting is by far the most important quality for a college coach to have, but there is a reason he got his ass kicked in the NFL when talent was equal. He's not special in any other way than recruiting.

And he has a good eye for pulling assistants from the scratch-and-dent bin.

[viverlibre]

No it's not. He outrecruits damn near everyone by an extremely wide margin and when he doesn't he's got a record of about .500. He is the best recruiter ever, but his development and game day coaching skills aren't any better than most and he will tell you that himself. Now recruiting is by far the most important quality for a college coach to have, but there is a reason he got his ass kicked in the NFL when talent was equal. He's not special in any other way than recruiting.

Dude, do a little research before posting, he took over a MSU team that hadn't had a winning season in 5 years and improved them to 9-2 in 5 years, never having a losing record. We know what he did at LSU and Bama, he was at the Dolphins for two years and the talent certainly isn't equal in the NFL (have you ever watched a game?), had his team doctors let him sign Drew Brees, he'd likely had a New England type run. He took over a 4-12 team and the year after he left they went 1-15.

[Jarius]

Dude, do a little research before posting, he took over a MSU team that hadn't had a winning season in 5 years and improved them to 9-2 in 5 years, never having a losing record. We know what he did at LSU and Bama, he was at the Dolphins for two years and the talent certainly isn't equal in the NFL (have you ever watched a game?), had his team doctors let him sign Drew Brees, he'd likely had a New England type run. He took over a 4-12 team and the year after he left they went 1-15.

"Dude", I'm not the one that needs to do research. You are. He took an MSU program to 9-2. Guess what, about 3 other coaches have done that since then. One even got them to the playoffs. The entire reason he left Michigan State was because that school could not recruit itself well enough. That came out of Saban's mouth. That's not special. He won at LSU. Guess what, Ed Orgeron and Les Miles won a freaking national title at LSU. Whoopty ****ing doo. Guess what, the talent is as equal in the NFL as any league in sports. There is a salary cap and everyone plays on the same financial playing field. He got his ass kicked because he didn't get Drew Brees, a HOF quarterback. You know what that means? It means he's not special. It means he needs more talent than everyone else to win, just like most every other coach.

[viverlibre]

"Dude", I'm not the one that needs to do research. You are. He took an MSU program to 9-2. Guess what, about 3 other coaches have done that since then. One even got them to the playoffs. The entire reason he left Michigan State was because that school could not recruit itself well enough. That came out of Saban's mouth. That's not special. He won at LSU. Guess what, Ed Orgeron and Les Miles won a freaking national title at LSU. Whoopty ****ing doo. Guess what, the talent is as equal in the NFL as any league in sports. There is a salary cap and everyone plays on the same financial playing field. He got his ass kicked because he didn't get Drew Brees, a HOF quarterback. You know what that means? It means he's not special. It means he needs more talent than everyone else to win, just like most every other coach.

MSU is that because he built them to that. Prior to St. Nick, LSU had three double digit win seasons since 1961 and had two consecutive losing seasons, he built them to a national power. Bama has always been Bama, but he took them to the next level. LSU, UGA, UF (at times), TOSU have all recruited very well in the Saban era, but haven't yet put together of decade of 15 years of dominance. He's the greatest coach in college football history, ask anyone with just a small amount of sense.

[Lord McBuckethead]

The Kylin Hill block in the back game, on Bama opening possession they fumbled and we recovered inside their 30. No review. Nothing. They just gave the ball to Bama.

[smootness]

No it's not. He outrecruits damn near everyone by an extremely wide margin and when he doesn't he's got a record of about .500. He is the best recruiter ever, but his development and game day coaching skills aren't any better than most and he will tell you that himself. Now recruiting is by far the most important quality for a college coach to have, but there is a reason he got his ass kicked in the NFL when talent was equal. He's not special in any other way than recruiting.

This is just dumb.

He is an elite recruiter, an elite program/culture builder, and at the very least a very good defensive coach. He's also good at building a team of assistants around him.

I can count on one finger the number of coaches with 7 national titles. To act like the only thing he does is recruit is asinine. Sure, he's amazing at it. But there have been plenty of great recruiters in college football. And a grand total of 0 of them have won 7 titles outside of Saban.

[Lord McBuckethead]

MSU is that because he built them to that. Prior to St. Nick, LSU had three double digit win seasons since 1961 and had two consecutive losing seasons, he built them to a national power. Bama has always been Bama, but he took them to the next level. LSU, UGA, UF (at times), TOSU have all recruited very well in the Saban era, but haven't yet put together of decade of 15 years of dominance. He's the greatest coach in college football history, ask anyone with just a small amount of sense.

He is the best college football coach ever because he has absolutely the best talent on one team each and every year. Saban is kind of a shitty coach on an even playing field.

Let?s look at his even playing field results:
NFL, he sucked.
LSU lost way more to UF than he should have.
Bama lost to Newton, UGA recently, and let?s not forget Clemson basically owning him.

These are few and far between events, BECAUSE Saban always has a huge talent advantage. Literally every time he has won was due to this.

Sucks as a coach, but is awesome at building a program, recruiting, and his strongest advantage is being able to do is have essentially 16 first round draft picks on every team he has coached outside his first year at each stop.

Now with the portal, he will always be stocked at every position barring injuries.

Saban, not a good coach, just has the most talent always.

[Lord McBuckethead]

This is just dumb.

He is an elite recruiter, an elite program/culture builder, and at the very least a very good defensive coach. He's also good at building a team of assistants around him.

I can count on one finger the number of coaches with 7 national titles. To act like the only thing he does is recruit is asinine. Sure, he's amazing at it. But there have been plenty of great recruiters in college football. And a grand total of 0 of them have won 7 titles outside of Saban.

Saban has strung together 20+ straight top 3 classes as a college coach. Most of them #1 overall class. Sure, some teams out recruit him for a season, but not the previous 3 plus the next 3.

[smootness]

Sucks as a coach

Saban, not a good coach

Good grief.

His QBs in Miami were Gus Frerotte, Sage Rosenfels, Joey Harrington, Daunte Culpepper, and Cleo Lemon. Yet he sucked by taking that team from 4-12 to 9-7?

[basedog]

Saban's whole make up being at a football school (Bama), recruiting, assistants and coaching adds to one thing, he must be the GOAT of modern time in college football.

I'm no fan of Bama and Saban but I know who the best is all time in modern football. If not who you got?

[TUSK]

this thread...

https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExNWp2cXpreGlubGJ3YTExbWI3dnhhMG9 rYjl6c2V1N3B3MXR1Z2k3dSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjd D1n/VLe9cJCjYWXLy/200_d.gif

[Jarius]

MSU is that because he built them to that. Prior to St. Nick, LSU had three double digit win seasons since 1961 and had two consecutive losing seasons, he built them to a national power. Bama has always been Bama, but he took them to the next level. LSU, UGA, UF (at times), TOSU have all recruited very well in the Saban era, but haven't yet put together of decade of 15 years of dominance. He's the greatest coach in college football history, ask anyone with just a small amount of sense.


He took those teams to that level because he recruited better than anyone on the planet. He’s not recruiting as well as Georgia now and he’s not winning as much. He is the best coach ever because of his elite recruiting ability. LSU is not winning today because of what Saban did 20 years ago. That’s ridiculous. LSU has gotten whoever they want out of the state of Louisiana for 100 years. They sucked because they made some awful coaching hires. It’s just about impossible to fail there with the way recruiting works in 2023. I mean Ed won a national title there. They have more money than almost anyone and a talent rich state with no other p5 instate school. Saban is the GOAT, but not because he’s some sort of wizard.

[Jarius]

This is just dumb.

He is an elite recruiter, an elite program/culture builder, and at the very least a very good defensive coach. He's also good at building a team of assistants around him.

I can count on one finger the number of coaches with 7 national titles. To act like the only thing he does is recruit is asinine. Sure, he's amazing at it. But there have been plenty of great recruiters in college football. And a grand total of 0 of them have won 7 titles outside of Saban.

There has never been anyone come close to recruiting the way Nick Saban recruits on a yearly basis until Kirby Smart came along and then guess what…..Kirby Smart starting winning national titles just like Saban has. All of that other bullshit you mentioned is things that damn near every other coach in the country is good at doing. Yea, Saban has a good culture. So does 75 other college coaches. Yea he hires good assistants. So do a shit ton of other coaches. The difference in Saban and everyone else is he recruits players that people dumb enough not to realize Saban wins because he outrecruits everyone by ten miles could line up and win 10 games a year with. Acting like “there have been a ton of good recruiters” that don’t win national titles isn’t true. There has been a grand total of 1 other coach in Saban’s era come close to matching him on a 4 year rolling average recruiting ranking and that man is currently tea bagging him. No one else has ever lined up with equal talent over a 4 class period. Ever.

[Todd4State]

He took those teams to that level because he recruited better than anyone on the planet. He’s not recruiting as well as Georgia now and he’s not winning as much. He is the best coach ever because of his elite recruiting ability. LSU is not winning today because of what Saban did 20 years ago. That’s ridiculous. LSU has gotten whoever they want out of the state of Louisiana for 100 years. They sucked because they made some awful coaching hires. It’s just about impossible to fail there with the way recruiting works in 2023. I mean Ed won a national title there. They have more money than almost anyone and a talent rich state with no other p5 instate school. Saban is the GOAT, but not because he’s some sort of wizard.

The lesson here is players win championships. Which is why MSU needs to focus on recruiting and team building as much as possible.

[smootness]

There has never been anyone come close to recruiting the way Nick Saban recruits on a yearly basis until Kirby Smart came along and then guess what…..Kirby Smart starting winning national titles just like Saban has. All of that other bullshit you mentioned is things that damn near every other coach in the country is good at doing. Yea, Saban has a good culture. So does 75 other college coaches. Yea he hires good assistants. So do a shit ton of other coaches. The difference in Saban and everyone else is he recruits players that people dumb enough not to realize Saban wins because he outrecruits everyone by ten miles could line up and win 10 games a year with. Acting like “there have been a ton of good recruiters” that don’t win national titles isn’t true. There has been a grand total of 1 other coach in Saban’s era come close to matching him on a 4 year rolling average recruiting ranking and that man is currently tea bagging him. No one else has ever lined up with equal talent over a 4 class period. Ever.

I'm not going to disagree with you that the main factor for Saban is talent and recruiting. But pretending he sucks as a coach outside of that is so beyond the realm of intelligence it's not worth entertaining.

[Jarius]

I'm not going to disagree with you that the main factor for Saban is talent and recruiting. But pretending he sucks as a coach outside of that is so beyond the realm of intelligence it's not worth entertaining.

I don't think he sucks outside of recruiting. He was good at Michigan State without talent, so yea he can coach and develop. I just don't think he's special at anything other than recruiting, which is the main thing you need in college to be special. It just gets a little eyeroll worthy for me when people drool over everything Saban does as if he's so much smarter than everyone else. If they lose a game they think this 5 foot midget getting mad and yelling at his team are going to magically make them beat the hell out of whoever they play next. No, the team he plays next just doesn't recruit as well as he does and they will naturally be focused after a loss as to not ruin their playoff chances. His recruiting makes people think he's a lot smarter human being than he is. I can promise you that until the last few years no one has mistaken Kirby Smart for a genius and it won't be long before he gets the same treatment for simply buying players at a higher rate than everyone else.

[Lord McBuckethead]

I'm not going to disagree with you that the main factor for Saban is talent and recruiting. But pretending he sucks as a coach outside of that is so beyond the realm of intelligence it's not worth entertaining.

Hence why he loses at a rate of 75% of the time when he plays someone close to his talent level and he sucked in the NFL.
Name something you saw that screamed, Damn, Saban can coach and I will show you hundreds if not thousands of plays made by his teams because they had talent better than anything their competition has.

Shit, Mullen won 9 games with Relf at QB. That is bigger feat than anything Saban has ever done.

[DawgFromOxford]

Name something you saw that screamed, Damn, Saban can coach .

2018 National Championship. He benches his star QB for a freshman. They come back and beat Georgia. Ballsy coaching if you ask me

[Captain Falcon]

Hence why he loses at a rate of 75% of the time when he plays someone close to his talent level and he sucked in the NFL.
Name something you saw that screamed, Damn, Saban can coach and I will show you hundreds if not thousands of plays made by his teams because they had talent better than anything their competition has.

Shit, Mullen won 9 games with Relf at QB. That is bigger feat than anything Saban has ever done.

I mean Saban kinda had this whole other successful coaching career before he ever stepped foot in Tuscaloosa.

His one and only team at Toledo won the MAC. His last team at Michigan State went 9-2 and finished in the Top 10. LSU had one national title in their history (in the 1950?s) and he won one of them and his recruiting was responsible for the title that Les Miles won.

You can totally remove his Bama career from the equation and he is still a college football hall of farmer. The Bama years put it way over the top. Obviously talent has helped him but he is responsible for that culture of consistent excellence. We will see what happens with Kirby over the long run, but to this point no coach in the modern era has come close to matching what Saban has done. And this includes lots of other programs that recruit extremely well.

[Todd4State]

Hence why he loses at a rate of 75% of the time when he plays someone close to his talent level and he sucked in the NFL.
Name something you saw that screamed, Damn, Saban can coach and I will show you hundreds if not thousands of plays made by his teams because they had talent better than anything their competition has.

Shit, Mullen won 9 games with Relf at QB. That is bigger feat than anything Saban has ever done.

Winning 9 games with Relf is a bigger feat than winning 7 National Championships?

[Todd4State]

He took those teams to that level because he recruited better than anyone on the planet. He’s not recruiting as well as Georgia now and he’s not winning as much. He is the best coach ever because of his elite recruiting ability. LSU is not winning today because of what Saban did 20 years ago. That’s ridiculous. LSU has gotten whoever they want out of the state of Louisiana for 100 years. They sucked because they made some awful coaching hires. It’s just about impossible to fail there with the way recruiting works in 2023. I mean Ed won a national title there. They have more money than almost anyone and a talent rich state with no other p5 instate school. Saban is the GOAT, but not because he’s some sort of wizard.

If Saban wanted a change of scenery for whatever reason and wanted to come to MSU we would fire Zach Arnett on the spot.

And rightfully so.

[trojandawg]

I think his wife has probably told him it's time. So they can enjoy some years post football. Lots of changes have come that he don't like. That house in Florida should be a tell.

[TrapGame]

I think his wife has probably told him it's time. So they can enjoy some years post football. Lots of changes have come that he don't like. That house in Florida should be a tell.

That's what I think too. I have never read any rumors about Saban's wife being in his football decisions until now. I don't think it's a coincidence.

[Jarius]

If Saban wanted a change of scenery for whatever reason and wanted to come to MSU we would fire Zach Arnett on the spot.

And rightfully so.


Yes, because he would recruit exceptionally high and win here. I don't think anyone insinuated otherwise.

[TUSK]

this thread reminded me of this thread:

https://www.elitedawgs.com/showthread.php?75285-Mack-Brown-killed-Saban-to-Texas&highlight=saban+texas

[Lord McBuckethead]

That?s one. In maybe 25 years of coaching.
Not to mention, literally every single coach in the nation would have made that call. Hurts was sucking D in that game. He had to make a change because Hurts loses that game 100% given what he did up to that point.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Yes, because he would recruit exceptionally high and win here. I don't think anyone insinuated otherwise.

No shit, but he is old. He doesn?t and shouldn?t have 4 more years left to build something like MSU.
If he did, we would win a national championship. Because of his recruiting, not coaching.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Winning 9 games with Relf is a better coaching job, yes. Give Saban that team and he only wins at best 9 games. Give Mullen Saban?s roster and he wins 7 NC.

[Pancho]

No shit, but he is old. He doesn?t and shouldn?t have 4 more years left to build something like MSU.
If he did, we would win a national championship. Because of his recruiting, not coaching.

The man can scheme some defense.