this is by saban's co-author of his new book.......good read.

Saban Going Swimming?

Brian Curtis examines the pros and cons of leaving LSU football.

Dec. 15, 2004

By Brian Curtis
Senior Editor, CSTV

NEW YORK, NY -- As I first reported on CSTV's Crystal Ball in early November and here on November 11th, LSU head football coach Nick Saban has serious interest in the vacant coaching position with the Miami Dolphins. Saban has confirmed that he met with Dolphins officials yesterday and that he made LSU aware of the meeting. So is he going?

In two weeks, How Good Do You Want To Be?, will be released by Random House, a book I co-wrote with Nick this summer. It is part biography, part philosophy, and part life lessons. Over the past year, I've gotten to know Nick and his family, and come to understand a little about what makes him tick. His devotion to football is admirable, though at times it seems crazy. There are never enough hours in the day for Nick, and not nearly enough days in a year. Do I know what he'll do next? No. Do I know some of the issues he's probably thinking about? Read on ...

Why Would He Go to Miami?
1) There is little more he can accomplish at LSU. He came to Baton Rouge from Michigan State and has led the Tigers to multiple conference championships and last year's BCS national championship. This year's team, supposedly "rebuilding", went 9-2 with losses to Auburn and Georgia and is headed to a New Year's Day bowl against Iowa. The only thing he hasn't done is gone undefeated, though last year's champs went 13-1. He has taken LSU to new heights and there is little left to prove.

2) The allure of the NFL has always tugged at Nick. He was a successful defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns under Bill Belichick in the early 1990s, and has had an eye on the pros ever since. He enjoys coaching college ball and is good at it; it's just that it's not the NFL. He has been tempted to make the jump in recent years (including last year with the Chicago Bears) but now the pull may be too much. He wants the challenge of being a head coach in the pros.

3) Nick is a great recruiter, as evidenced by his nationally-ranked recruiting classes, but at the pro level, all he has to do is coach football. He spends hours breaking down film and game planning--that's what he loves to do.

4) Let's face it, the money is great. Yes, he makes over $2 million a year at LSU, but the Dolphins could offer him more. And Miami is a great place to live.

5) The Dolphins would give him the power he would want. He would have a big say in personnel decisions and all coaching matters, something many NFL head coaches don't have. Other than having to face his best friend, New England Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick, twice each season, Miami is the perfect fit.

Why Would He Stay?
1) It's not just about money with Nick. There are things more important. He enjoys coaching at LSU. He loves the community, he loves the University and he takes pride in helping young men get a degree or be successful in the NFL.

2) He is God-like in Louisiana. Trust me, I have spent a great deal of time down there. He is worshipped throughout the state and is the biggest fish in the Bayou. That's certainly an ego push. He would be risking a lot by going to Miami, where there is no guarantee he will be successful.

3) LSU will be good next year. They will be good on defense and better on offense and have another great class of freshmen coming in.

4) Nick told me that it was tough moving from East Lansing to Baton Rouge because it meant disrupting his two children's schooling and social life, and did not want to do it again. His oldest son is college-age now, but his daughter is just a teenager and he doesn't want to uproot her again.

5) Even if Nick gets a great deal of decision-making power with Miami, the NFL is still a business. He detested the fact that when he was a coordinator in Cleveland, he would often have to play players because of their contracts, not because they could add something. It ate at him.

So what is he going to do? Stay tuned. I honestly believe that Nick doesn't even know today. I do know that he is driven towards success and will agonize over this one in the coming days.

Crap, trying to give Snort some rep points. He stays off the board for months at a time and when he does show up he makes level headed post.

Great Post!!!!


You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to snorton938 again.

I disagree. One could say that it was his powerlessness as a defensive coordinator who had no final say on personel decisions that "ate at him".

Guys like Andy Reid and Bill Bellichek are proving that you can be very competitive and thrive in today's NFL. What you need is the discipline and the power to do so.

Bellichek, for example, had no problem keeping the popular Drew Bledsoe on the bench in favor of the then-unproven Tom Brady, mainly because Bob Kraft gave him free reign to do so.

I'd say that decision turned out pretty well.

Give Nick the same sort of control and freedom and he'll do the same, and if Huizienga (sp-?) won't now, it'll be another, smarter owner who eventually will.

All I can say is Huizenga WILL NOT sit still if his coach decides to bench a $10M a year QB for a 2.5M. He understands only the dollars and it would be his decision ultimately who plays and who doesn't. Just my take on watching these Dolphins since he became owner.

Snort,

Thanks for posting this excellent informative article.
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7. If he stays, he will sell a bunch of copies of this:

And if he leaves, the book will porbably be banned in louisiana

JMO, but, I suspect workaholic coaches always have a nagging guilt that they are ignoring their families so they try to make it up in other ways. If the young daughter is really happy in Baton Rouge, he will not force her to move again. The early teen years are relatively horrible, mentally, and she will make the call.

I have heard just the opposite - Huizenga realizes he's not a football man (unlike Jerry Jones) and does not meddle in the affairs of the coaches and personnel guys. Perhaps, you're hearing a little more from him now considering the dolphins current situation (interim coach), but, believe me, if Saban has any inclination of owner meddling down in miami, I tend to think he wouldn't even be considering the gig.