Last Thoughts On Saban

by Poseur on Nov 6, 2008 9:05 AM CST Comment 12 comments

I wanted to throw in my two cents on Nick Saban, or maybe a buck fifty. And since I have posting privileges, I don’t have to get involved in the comment war. I can start a new one.

First, I think it’s important to sort out my feelings for Saban. I was against the hire when it happened. I believe I said something along the lines of, “why are we hiring a guy who couldn’t beat Dinardo?” I didn’t think he was all that successful at Michigan State, but I can’t say that I closely followed his career.

He got to LSU and we started winning, which is always a good way to win over a fan base. Of course I liked winning a national title and I do believe my original feelings towards him were wrong. He is a good coach, far better than I thought he was when he got hired. That said, he had a disturbing tendency to take all of the credit for wins and throw players under the bus for losses. Hey, being a rampant egomaniac doesn’t make a coach special, so it’s not really a knock. Saban constantly flirted with the NFL during his time year. And while we were successful, Saban’s teams had a knack for losing focus and losing games they had no business losing.

When he bolted for the Dolphins, my attitude wasn’t quite “good riddance”, but I can’t say I was surprised or upset. He used us, we used him, and everyone benefited from the relationship. I didn’t feel betrayed, but then again, I never truly went all-in on Saban. So I moved on to a coach I actually am all-in with, Les Miles.

My problem is not with Saban, it is with a certain section of our fanbase that openly pines for Saban. It pisses me off for two reasons: ONE: I don’t believe Saban was as great as his reputation and TWO: it assumes that Miles isn’t a terrific coach. When last year’s team lost to Arkansas, there was a murmuring that Saban wouldn’t have lost that game. Like Saban didn’t lose twice to Arkansas. When this year’s team got ripped by Florida, those who pine for Saban flooded the message boards for our weak title defense. Like Saban didn’t defend our title by struggling with Oregon State, losing to Auburn, and then getting crushed by Georgia. Saban teams were blown out, too, ya know?

This isn’t to say Saban isn’t a good coach. He is. He is a terrific coach. But he’s not our coach, and in a way, he never really was. LSU was his audition for the NFL. Thanks for the title, Nick, but don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. You always had a foot out the door. So I’m not here to rip on Saban, as a head coach using one job to springboard to another is just the way the business works. I don’t hate him for it, I’m not even mad.

What does get me mad is how we still have a part of our fanbase that wants him back. That nothing Miles ever does will measure up. Not his national title, not his recruiting efforts, not his success against top ten teams, or in the SEC. Those are the people I do hate. And that has nothing to do with Saban. Miles is the coach at LSU, Saban is not. Hopefully, Saban’s return to Baton Rouge will allow us to finally close the chapter on his tenure here. I’m just sick of hearing about him.

0 recs | Comment 12 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

now this is a post

i can understand and get behind. i think a good portion of my not understanding the feelings toward saban is that i don’t feel like les gets the love he deserves. i still personally don’t have all the faith in the world in les as a coach, but his record is undeniable.

as a related sidenote, i’m expecting les to throw everything but the kitchen sink from the playbook at bama. should be interesting.

by gerry dorsey on Nov 6, 2008 10:05 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Hey Gerry

Don’t be surprised if that ole kitchen sink comes out, as well.

by Purpletiger006 on Nov 6, 2008 10:33 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Good post, completely understandable

by Kenny483 on Nov 6, 2008 10:36 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Saban on Miles

At his press conference, Saban pointed out that Miles has a better record with you guys than he did…which is a) true and b) probably not completely altruistic, but a nice compliment nonetheless.

I believe this game will be the true test of Bama this year. None of the teams we’ve played yet have been as good as they were expected to be. And I know LSU isn’t happy with the UF/UGA outcomes. But this is the measuring stick.

by Watchman on Nov 6, 2008 10:39 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I enjoyed the post...

but the only thing I don’t agree with is the thing about Saban throwing his players under the bus. He may have done that at LSU, but I can’t think of an instance where he’s done that at Bama. He took the blame several times last year and has even apologized for not getting the team prepared enough to play a full 60 minutes this year (even though we still won the game). I think the thing with him is that he places the blame where it is due. He expects perfection from everyone including himself. That might be hard to live with, but if you want to succeed, then that’s how it has to be done.

And as far as giving credit, he’s given credit to the players and staff multiple times this year. Yes he’s got an ego, but I think he still knows when to give credit to those who deserve it.

I agree with your view on how he was with LSU (one foot out the door), but to me he seems to be settled at Alabama. Hopefully I’m not wrong, but I think he’s happy there and will most likely be his last stop.

by jsholt969 on Nov 7, 2008 2:42 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

What would Saban have done?

I love Les miles, and I think he’s a fine coach. AND — if your sole criteria is winning football games — I think Saban is better (maybe the best coach in the nation). Would Saban have given up 50+ to Georgia and Florida? That’s unthinkable. Sure, he gave up 45 points when we played at #3 Georgia in 2004, but the odds were stacked against us for that game (coming off the National Championship, UGA’s revenge factor, etc.), that team was not as talented defensively as this one, and (here’s the kicker) other Iowa getting 30 in their last game, that team didn’t give up more than 24 points to any other team all year. Now, the Saban haters of the world will point to Miles’ record and say that should end the debate, but I don’t think that it does. Miles took over a program that Saban built into a contender. Let’s revisit this issue in 5, 7, or 10 years. I’m guessing that, by that time, Saban has a better record that Miles, despite LSU’s clear advantage in recruiting (i.e., being the state’s sole big time program, etc.). Miles reminds me a bit of Dale Brown: great recruiter, great motivator, not such a great X’s and O’s guy. The think about Les’s play calling that I do like is his guts on offense. On defense though, (and maybe this is due to our 2 DC system which clearly is an abject failure) I don’t think we’re anywhere near where a Saban-coached team would be. How maany times this year have we watched our DBs sit in a soft zone which the QB has enough time to exploit for 7+ yards seemingly every time? Maybe I’m putting too much stock in Saban, but I think that he would’ve solved that issue. One other thing: as for the poster’s reference to Oregon State: we replaced an ineffective QB with a freshman in that game (I still remember JaMarcus Russell unnecessarily diving into the endzone on that QB sneak) . The difference was that Saban’s D held the Beavers to 21 points, so we were able to pull it out even when the O wasn’t clicking. I don’t pine for Saban like I used to because I’m awfully happy to have a coach as great as Les Miles at the helm. However, wouldn’t it be nice to at least have someone Saban-like with the game-planning accumen to bring back the LSU-style defenses that we were so spolied with back in the Saban days.

by cclsu1 on Nov 7, 2008 8:53 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

edit

On that last sentence: I meant to say, wouldn’t it be nice to have someone Saban-like as a DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR (and keep Les as the head coach).

by cclsu1 on Nov 7, 2008 8:55 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Sure, he gave up 45 points when we played at #3 Georgia in 2004, but the odds were stacked against us for that game (coming off the National Championship, UGA’s revenge factor, etc.),

I don’t know how you excuse that loss away but then act like this year it is inexcusable. You know we are coming off the national championship this year too.

by shelby924 on Nov 7, 2008 9:28 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I suppose I could excuse giving up 51 @ Florida this year. Giving up 52 vs. Georgia at home makes it a bit tougher. What about giving up 50 to Arkansas and 43 to Kentucky, 34 to a Alabama team that Ul-Monroe held to 14 (all towards the end of last season)? There is a noticable trend here. In any event, the point of my post is that the defense seems to be weaker under Miles than it logically would have been under Saban, and since defense wins championships (cliche but true), it’s hard for me to buy into the notion that we should be jumping for joy to have Miles instead of Saban (even though Miles is a great coach in his own right).

by cclsu1 on Nov 7, 2008 10:43 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

In 2000, LSU gave up 41 to Florida and only scored 9. In 2001, LSU gave up 44 to Florida and only scored 15. In 2002, LSU gave up 31 to Alabama and scored 0.

And it is misleading to say the defense gave up 50 points to Arkansas and 43 points to Kentucky when both those games went to triple overtime. In regulation, Arkansas only had 28 points and kentucky had 27.

by shelby924 on Nov 7, 2008 12:12 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

That’s a fair point. Just having watched every LSU game for a long time, I just get the feeling (and I think the statistics do bear this out) that there has been a dropoff in defense as of late. Fewer sacks, fewer forced turnovers, fewer tackles for loss. It seems to me that this softness on defense has caused LSU to lose some of its swagger, and I for one would like to see us get a defense coordinator that can bring back the aggressive, shut down defense that used to characterize Saban’s teams.

by cclsu1 on Nov 7, 2008 12:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs