I'm really not that worried at this juncture. Many pundits have observed (and I agree) that Miami is simply not a good fit for Nick Saban. Now, he will go to the NFL someday, I really think he wants to, but this is neither the right time nor the right opening for him to go. I highly doubt Miami will give him TOTAL control; their franchise simply hasn't operated that way in the past. The trend now in the NFL is to separate the roles of head coach and general manager, because combo duty didn't really work out that well for most franchises, with a few notable exceptions. I honestly would worry more about him going to the Cleveland Browns than the Dolphins; the Browns have more puzzle pieces to build a winner in place at this time than the Dolphins, who have gone through some serious turmoil in the last two seasons. The only positive Miami offers is a warm climate, and Coach Saban has that here. Plus, people in the know (a group Jay Mariotti is NOT a part of) know that LSU will probably contend seriously next year as a factor in the national title race, IF (big if) we get settled at QB. We are loaded on offense next year. Defense has some key losses, but with Coach Saban and Coach Muschamp's proven abilities, I would be shocked if we have a bad drop-off in the caliber of our defense. Plus, he is just THE MAN here. Where else could he have that?
No offense, seriously, but that's a whole lot of misinformaton crammed into one single post. Must have been hard work putting it together. Wow, where to begin? Miami is hardly talent-poor, still fielding the #8 defense in the NFL even with a pathetic offense and no running attack at all. That's pretty damn good. Miami always has good DL and DB play, and Saban plus a free agent or two puts that unit back into the top 5 in the league. And free agent shopping the Dolphins will do, since Ricky Williams no longer--repeat, no longer---counts against their cap. Take away his $3.7 mil from the 2005 salary base and the Fins have an Eagles-like $9 to $10 mil to spend, or about $7 to $8 mil if they get rid of David Boston (which is likely). Floyd Reese, who used to coach with Saban 16 years ago with the Oilers and is currently Titans GM. Reese has a history of being very loyal to his coaches and also only wanting to work with certain coaches (much like Saban would only want to work with certain GMs). Anyways, Reese's name has been tied to Saban and the Miami post, with Pastarelli going as far as saying the Dolphins also interviewed someone along with Saban in Dallas this week. In fact, if Nick Saban likes LSU as much as he says he does, then wouldn't leaving when the program is in tip-top shape---flush with talent, major facility upgrades underway, etc.---be the BEST time to leave if Saban wants LSU to attract the best coach possible, as one would think he would? Who's said Miami is "not a good fit" for Saban? What does that mean, anyway? I'd say working with a friend and person you respect professionally in Floyd Reese, having nearly $10 mil in FA bucks to, say, lure Edge James back to Miami and/or even Drew Brees, a top 10 defense, one of football's most tradition-rich (and now title-starved) franchises and an owner committed to spending what it takes to win AND also staying out of your hair...if that's "not a good fit" for Saban, what is?
to add to tejas tiger, what divison are the dolphins in, thats right the AFC east, what division are the PATRIOTS and bellichek in, if he took the job, we all know how much saban likes to compete and he would be able to compete with his buddy twice a year, as each second goes by this is looking worse for LSU
Absolutely correct. He's worked with and for Bill for years, and I'm sure he'd love to work against him. Nick's a sick, sick competitor. He'd be in the best conference and possibly the best division (even the Bills are good) in football, trying to bring a storied franchise back to the top...and to it's first Super Bowl in 20 years. If he gets Floyd Reese as Pres/GM, he gets a "Saban guy" who he's know since the late 80s. He's g-o-n-e.
