What does it mean to sign a contract? I own and opperate a small business. As an employeer, over the years, I have made mistakes with employees which cost my company some very good people. I've tried to learn how to live up to my end of the employer / employee relationship. With the LSU / Coach Saban relationship, it sure looks to me as if LSU has lived up to its end, but for Coach Saban to even entertain other offes after signing a seven year contract is simply wrong. What do you all think..???
I think you are correct and I've been saying this too. Why sign a 7 year contract if your not committed to it? Just sign a 1 year deal, at a time? Most people seem to brush it off because sports seems to be different. I guess anything goes?
Between that and the fact that Saban explicitly denied having any interest in the head coaching job tells everyone he wants to have his cake and eat it too. We were our own worst enemy when Skip did not put a buyout in the contract so he could essentially leave whenever the right job came up. I still respect Saban and wish him the best stay or go, but I just wish it didn't have to be this way. Saban wouldn't be the first one to leave like this though.
His contract probably says that he can walk away with no penalty as long as he sticks to the NFL interview timetable that is in the contract. I am sure that he did not guarantee to stay 7 years in the contract. It just guarantees that LSU would continue to employ him for 7 years OR pay out the money he is owed if LSU fired him.
I'd have to completely disagree. #1) The terms of a contract are not expected to be 100% binding by either party. Saban could've been fired before the seven years were over....and he can also leave. Contracts are restructured, renegotiated, etc. all the time. It's just the latest agreement between the two parties....I don't think anybody is under the impression they are supposed to be permanent. #2) Also, I don't really think Saban and LSU fit in the employee/employer relationship correctly. It's pretty rare to have someone in the office have more power than the boss. #3) Why would you want to force the guy to stay? I wouldn't want my boss to have that kind of power over me. I don't think anybody else would enjoy that....and for those people who complain that their boss does have that kind of influence over them......that's no fun, is it? I say good for Saban and thanks for the best football teams I've ever seen at LSU...he earned every dime.
Did we hold a gun to his head when he signed a 7 year deal? No one will force him to stay just like no one forced him to sign a contract for 7 years. If we go through this every year I'd rather him leave and lets find a coach that wants to live and breathe LSU football. A coach like Butch Davis, one that won't be looking at options after every season. Don't get me wrong, I respect NS and what he has done but everyone knows he will leave because LSU is a stepping stone, he has no allegiance to us because he isn't from LSU or the south. I wish him well when he does go but I think we can find a coach that wants to be here instead of one that weights his options after every single season. I'll say it again, Why sign a 7 year deal if your not going to be serious about it or abide by it? If he wants to go I want him to go, I don't like the idea of begging or bribing a coach to stay.
It is a dilemma no doubt. We are at the love/hate crossroads with Nick. He gave us everything we wanted and more. This football program has been elevated to national prominence due to NS and he did sign a 7 year contract. However it was a contract with no buyout and basically said "if you get us there,you can go." I personally have no regrets. Nick has the right to follow his dream. That being said, I cannot believe he would be interested in rebuilding a sorry Miami team that could take years when he is as close to being the next Bear B. in college football. No body has come close to Bryant as for as wins,championships or titles.(As for as the SEC) Saban can become a college football LEGEND at LSU and I wonder why he doesn't want to. The "next challenge" theory should be that of dominating records in college football. He is at a time in his life where he can make new head coaching records in NCAA football. So what is it really about Nick? It does not matter what anybody thinks,it is his life and he should live it the way he wants to. I can only hope he stays headman at LSU and breaks all coaching records while he is here.
The fact of the matter, as sad as this may sound, is that LSU NEEDS Saban, and not visa versa. So, guess who has the upper hand in that deal? Bingo! That's why there is no buyout if he leaves early. He won a fricking NC, and most people in Louisiana would have voted for him as Governor of this state, this past election. It's all part of the free enterprise system. Supply and Demand. The very basics at work here.
I wish there would have been a 7 year deal with a buyout for the first 3 years if Saban were to leave. I really don't think a buyout of say 1.5 million would stop an NFL owner from going after Saban if he was "their man" and it could help LSU cushion the blow of losing him.
He signed a seven year deal as appreciation from LSU to him. It basically says if he wants to stay that long or if we want to fire him before that he still gets the full amount of money but if he wants to move on, he can. It was not meant to keep him here against his will. It was meant as an enticement to keep him here. The fact that their is no buyout shows that the contract was meant as a guarantee for Nick not LSU. He was always supposed to be able to leave whenever he wanted to.
