In college he can control every part of the process and the players/coaches/admins are squarely under his thumb. In the NFL, he found that a bunch of millionaires didn't really like a midget yelling at them like children. He deserves all of the criticism he gets for only giving it a try for two years. Unless Saban goes and wins in the NFL (unlikely at his age), I'll always hold Pete Carroll and Jimmy Johnson in higher esteem for getting to the top at both levels.
Yes they are. They are grown men. Just look at what happened in Miami, there are several accounts you can find online. Players in Miami hated Saban. Zack Thomas almost beat the shit out of him. They would call him Nick on purpose because they knew he hated that. He bolted because he didn't get the respect he thought he deserved. There was also an incident in Miami at practice where Jeno James collapsed, and Nick basically just stepped over him. James had to be airlifted to a hospital. The players saw that as an ultimate sign of disrespect.
Only four coaches are in that elite club of winning National Championships & Super Bowls Paul Brown - Ohio St. & the Cleveland Browns Jimmy Johnson - Miami (Fl) & the Dallas Cowboys Barry Switzer - Oklahoma & the Dallas Cowboys Pete Carroll - USC (Left Coast) & the Seattle Seahawks Like him or hate him, Nick Saban will go down as one of the greatest coaches of all times... There are a lot of GREAT college coaches that didnt have much NFL success. A few that come to mind (besides Nick) are.... Steve Spurrier, Chip Kelly, Lou Holtz, Bobby Petrino, Dennis Erickson, Butch Davis & Lane Kiffin.. It sounds like there are a few LSU fans still bitter about little nicky leaving LSU... The fact that he is having so much success at bama is really eating away at a lot of LSU Tiger fans... LET IT GO......
Yep. So did the "players coach" Pete Carroll. Saban failed for some of the reasons people have noted, but the big one that hasn't been noted is that he didn't have a QB. There is no way you can succeed in the NFL without a solid QB. It isn't college, where the best talent is lining up to play for you. In the NFL, you have to scout and then go out and get one. The Dolphins didn't.
Euphemism for money. Can't imagine that anybody would be enamored with his personality. Can't imagine that his lack of charm would translate into perpetual number one recruiting classes without money inducements.
Should have added one for Paul Brown...he never won a SB...he won a NFL Championship...splitting hairs but true none the less
If you are a great college coach, you can stay at a school like Bama forever and keep racking up top recruiting classes all day. It's a much easier job than coaching in the NFL where the talent is, more or less, even. Guys like Bear Bryant and Nick Saban can become college legends and it might even be a better job and a life to be a college coaching legend, but when it comes time to naming the greatest coaches, they will be sitting behind Shula, Landry. Lombardi, Brown, Belichick, Walsh, and Noll. Unless you do it at the highest level, you shouldn't be in the conversation. Too much is stacked in your favor in college football.
The point for which I was called "delusional". And never forget that Alabama pays its players... always has, always will. Saban might have tried it the clean way in his first year there... AND GOT HIS ASS KICKED. From then on it was the Alabama way or he was heading down the highway. The best mind in coaching right now, IMV, is Belichek. Amazing what he's done.
See I was listening to Kevin Mawae the other day on the radio and he said the grind of college coaching is far greater than the grind of NFL coaching because you never get time off.
