This is taken from today's Profootballtalk.com, THE NFL rumor site of choice! Wrong as often as not (but, hey, it IS a rumor site), but some of this does make sense...and some doesn't (PS-Don't kill the messenger, folks...) Pro Football Talk ANGELO CLOSES IN ON SABAN? On Thursday morning, Bears G.M. Jerry Angelo was preparing to make a list-ditch run at LSU coach Nick Saban, given that Saban had told him he plans to stay in Baton Rouge. A day later, Angelo could be in position to turn the thing around. And with Angelo's Plan B, Jim Mora, Jr., bound for Atlanta, the stakes definitely are getting higher. But, as it turns out, the fact that Angelo didn't jump into the bidding war for Mora strongly suggests that Angelo believes he's got more than a snowball's chance to secure Saban. Rewind to Thursday afternoon. Angelo's hopes of landing Saban seemingly are fading, Mora is emerging at the next best option for Chitown. Our moles tell us that Mora's agent contacted Angelo on Thursday afternoon to inform him that the Falcons had placed a five-year, $7.5 million offer on the table, and that if the Bears would offer $2 million per year, Mora would pick Chicago. After getting the call, Angelo talks with Saban's agent. Following the discussion, Angelo calls Mora's agent and tells him that an offer won't be made. Possible translation -- Angelo thinks his chances of getting Saban were good enough to permit him to cut loose his primary fallback option. Then, on Thursday night, Saban (who typically chooses his words carefully and deliberately) fails to make the obligatory unequivocal statement that he's happy at LSU and has no present intention to leave, as he receives the Coach of the Year award from the Football Writers Association of America. (As we explained on Thursday afternoon, college coaches seriously jeopardize their ability to recruit competitively if they don't hold their cards close to the vest until a decision to leave is made.) The Arizona Republic, in recounting Saban's statement, suggests in a headline that Saban "quell[ed]" the rumors linking him to the Bears job. But in the first paragraph of the story, Jim Gintonio reports that Saban said "he has not made any decision about jumping to the NFL." So unless by using the word "quell" Gintonio means "throw gasoline on," we think that he might have missed the real story. Indeed, we hear that Saban's comments on Thursday night were even more non-committal regarding his plans to stay at LSU. Specifically, we hear that Saban said he plans to take the weekend to consider his options. Saban's comments, we're told, have prompted Angelo's spirits to rise regarding his overall chances, which is quite a change from Thursday. Other tidbits that have come to light over the evening hours: 1. Angelo and Saban decided not to risk a face-to-face meeting. In fact, we're now hearing that Angelo (contrary to prior reports) didn't even travel to Arizona. (Memo to the guy who sent us a phony tip that he'd walked in on Saban and Angelo at the Pheonix airport -- well played. Just be careful not to have anyone likewise walk in on you and your boyfriend Fido as you "unwind" after cooking up phony e-mails.) 2. We've confirmed that LSU's pending offer to Saban contains a huge buyout clause, which would apply for at least four years. So if he stays (and if that clause doesn't come out), he likely won't be jumping to the NFL before 2008. 3. Overall, LSU's initial offer might have rankled Saban to the point that he began to seriously consider NFL opportunities. 4. Saban's Wednesday statement to Angelo that he planned to stay at LSU might have been motivated by their friendship. Saban apparently didn't want Angelo to miss out on other candidates as he waited for Saban's decision. So, as of right now, Saban remains a viable candidate for the Chicago job, and a decision should be coming soon.
last night on the local AZ sports they did an interveiw with Saban he said he was building something at LSU. I dont think he is leaving.
For the record, I don't buy Item #2 at all. LSU has not included buyouts in previous contracts and to do so now when Saban is MOST likely to leave (right after a National Title) makes zero sense. LSU has no "leverage" with which to get Saban to take a huge buyout clause---nothing says he has to sign a new deal, and if it indeed is "too late" for him to snag an NFL vacancy this season, he could simply reject LSU's new deal and coach under the existing one that pays him $1 more than Stoops. #3 seems to be based on an erroneous comment attributed to Saban that Saban had received an offer earlier this week and was (pharaphrasing) "waiting to see what else they come up with". This was effectively refuted on Wed. night when Skip told Kaare on WWL that he faxed over a new offer on Tues. afternoon (the supposed Saban comment came early Tues morning). Whatever, though I did read elsewhere that Saban would "take the weekend" to consider his options, so that is not BS. Again, it could be just a friendly gesture to Angelo, giving Angelo a few day's of positive pub in Chicago for going to the wall for Saban as opposed to rejecting it out of hand. Didn't Stoops let things lie for a few days when both the Browns and Fla. Gators came a calling over the past few years? These things happen...plus, it doesn't hurt to be doing this while LSU is putting together a new deal for him. Would Nick get $3 mil a year from LSU if he WASN'T being courted by NFL clubs? I don't think so myself.
I dont buy these tidbits either but there is one thing for sure, something is going on right now and its Nick Saban making up his mind. Taking the weekend to decide is a story thats consistent with many of the reports today, it seems plausable thats its true.
Sites content is managed by different people. Mike Florio is no prince himself, but he's proved himself somewhat in the past few years (many of his old coworkers now work for ESPN Insider), so he's not completely unreliable in the eyes of NFL types. Besides, collegefootballtalk.com wasn't even in existence when I posted this. Didn't you slam me for posting something about Nick Saban and Skip Bertman a couple of weeks ago from collegefootballtalk.com, a thread that was deleted even though I said I didn't believe it myself and was posting it as an example of how nasty some online "sports journalists" can be? If it was you, then you've taken hypocrisy to a new level... (PS-Unlike you, I clearly state at the top of this thread that this was rumor at the time and came from a rumor-intensive site. If you don't appreciate or understand the distinction, you're the one who's not too bright.)
