Any word on Saban's new contract?

Discussion in 'The Tiger's Den' started by tiger_in_atl, Jan 21, 2004.

  1. CottonBowl'66

    CottonBowl'66 Founding Member

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    Re: I still think.

    Oh, someone was contentious all right. It may be jealousy, or it might be they actually thought they were looking out for LSU's interests.

    The story I heard was this: The LSU fathers met and decided on a very generous contract offer to Saban. The deal was that this offer was to be presented to him as it was.

    But they did not know that someone in the room was a "confidante" of Saban's and he told Saban what the offer was very quietly BEFORE the meeting.

    So Saban knew what was agreed to and knew what was coming, or so they both thought. Saban basically thought the offer was what he wanted, and was all ready to agree to its basic terms and would rule out all NFL offers.

    This was BEFORE the Sugar Bowl.

    Well, someone took it upon himself to lower the offer and see if Saban would accept it. When Saban saw this offer, and saw how much less it was than what he expected, he didn't know what to think.

    He told them he would think about it and would get back to them after the Sugar Bowl. He then went back and called his confidante (spy?) and asked him what the H was going on. The guy told him he didn't know, but the original offer was the correct one and that was the one they all agreed to.

    Anyway, Saban stuck to this, concentrated on the Sugar Bowl, and let his friend Angelo come down and meet with him. I don't think he ever considered going to the Bears.

    LSU finally got it straightened out--and it cost LSU a little more than it would have originally, according to my "source."

    On this I will speculate--I think Saban let Angelo come down and give him an "offer" which was just for show. It allowed Angelo to save face with all the Bears fans who wanted Saban and would have wondered why they did not offer the job to him, and it made a few people at LSU sweat a little.

    But after LSU returned to the original offer, I do NOT think Saban ever considered leaving.
     
  2. DoubleCutter

    DoubleCutter Founding Member

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    The person Saban omitted at the press conference was Skip.
     
  3. Ralph_Wiggum

    Ralph_Wiggum Founding Member

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    Re: Re: I still think.

    Now, this confidant we can assume is either a high member of the administration or a trustee?

    Now don't forget that Skip is the boss and he built LSU baseball and knows how to run an athletic department.

    This is a business. Any manager will tell you that there's a point where you pay someone enough to keep them happy, but if you can save a few dollars all the better. LSU has one of the best athletic departments in the country because it's well run.

    Skip is not the bad guy here. The snitch is the bad guy. Skip has a duty to get the most for the least possible. Whether it's cutting down on photocopying or coach's salaries while balancing out people's feelings and egos.

    In regards to the bears job, I think Nick was serious about it. The NFL won't waste it's time on someone who's wishy-washy. That's why the giants move quickly--they thought Nick wasn't leaving, but the Bears waited cause they thought Nick was willing to consider it.

    Of course this is all conjecture based on Cottonbowl 66's info.

    In the end things worked out.
     
  4. CottonBowl'66

    CottonBowl'66 Founding Member

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    That is correct. You win a cookie. :)
     
  5. CottonBowl'66

    CottonBowl'66 Founding Member

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    All of you who know someone who might have heard this story first hand, start snooping around and asking about it.

    If I know the story, there have to be a lot of people who know the story. I am not an LSU insider and heard this story through pure chance.

    But I am confidant it is basically correct. Ask around.
     
  6. Jean Lafitte

    Jean Lafitte The Old Guard

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    Speculation.

    Your second and third-hand hearsay information is not reliable enough to believe or take seriously.
     

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