If LeBron James has any collegiate eligibility left for football, he shouldn’t expect a scholly offer from Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports an interesting take on the LeBron James situation from Alabama’s National Championship head coach at a recent high school coaching clinic in Huntsville.
When talking about leadership, the topic of LeBron James’ nationally televised announcement of his signing with the Miami Heat came up.
“The way (James) managed what he just did speaks volumes about who he is and whether he is a team guy — not because he left Cleveland, but the way he did it,” Saban said. “ … That’s not the kind of trust and respect you’d like to have in a team organization.”
Interpretation? “LeBron, it’s all about you, huh? Well, not in my organization, Nancy.”
It’s an interesting quote considering the way Saban left the Miami Dolphins to come to Alabama. It’s also interesting in that Nick Saban has specifically mentioned the talented basketball player to his team when referring to what excellence looks like.
Apparently not anymore.
The grandiose, sell out nature of LeBron’s announcement reeked of self. In contrast, Coach Saban quietly went about the process away from the camera with Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga, his wife Terry Saban and Alabama Athletics Director Mal Moore.
For Cleveland fans, the LeBron announcement was the equivalent of your wife or girlfriend going on national television to announce her break up with you for a new beau, then twenty four hours later copulating with him on TV for you to have to see.
That’s not leadership. And from a man who has led his organizations to multiple championships to one who has yet to do so, Saban just told LeBron to sit down and shut up.
So Zanderech…
…not that I expect you to read this now that happy time is over…
…you’re telling me that if a microphone is shoved in your face TODAY with a reporter putting you on the spot about another opportunity that MAY or MAY NOT be a good move for you…because you haven’t investigated it yet…
…you would be absolutely open about your interest, regardless of what it would mean to your present employment situation and those who depend on you.
Yeah.
Oh beacon of employment salvation, I guess YOU buzz by your boss’ office on your way out the door to let him know lunch will be a little long today because you have a job interview.
The fact is, you’re a nobody spewing on a blog and won’t ever have to seriously answer that question.
And thanks for the enlightenment on how we prefer…how you say…”amateur level” football, what with its pageantry, tradition and far superior fan following to the “laundry exchange” that is professional football, complete with fabricated and manufactured fan interest.
We love college football because we take ownership of the school we either attended or are touched by. You love pro football for reasons unbeknownst to God or man.
Thanks for slithering in, idiot. Hope your Dolphins make the playoffs again before you die. If you need us in boring Tuscaloosa we’ll be vying for our 14th national championship.
Oh, and one more thing Zanderwhatever, I loved this part of your mindless, meaningless rant:
“The main difference between the exit of Nick Satan and LeBrick is that Nick Satan lied to the faces of the Dolphins organization, the ownership…”
So I guess the Dolphin’s owner Wayne Huizenga was lying when he said publicly that Saban had been open with him every step of the way.
See, before you get your little fingers “to-a-flying” on a keyboard, facts are a neat thing to check.
Thank you for making me hate the Heat and the Dolphins even more than I already did.
Way to get off-topic ITK and sling half-assed insults and half-baked counter arguments.
The fact of the matter is, Nick Saban should be the LAST person criticizing anyone about how they left a franchise, or for focusing on their future. What do you think Saban did to LSU and Miami? Saban only watches out for #1. If anything, Saban should have given Lebron pointers on how to leave the cavaliers like an asshole. If he had done that, this article would have made more sense instead of sounding like a biased article written by a community college dropout with an affinity for Alabama football.
As for the professional football vs college football side of things, your argument is delusional. According to you the NFL has no tradition or any true fan base. Forget the fact people cheer for a pro team that is close to home, there is no real connection there. Am I right? This method of thinking is laughable, your arguments are laughable, but most of all this article is laughable.
You address my points with spite and bitterness, and even resorting to personal insults. Very classy I must say. Then again, thats to be expected from a Tide zealot.
Fan following or not, College football is not the pinnacle of the sport. Thousands of college athletes from D-1 schools fail to make it to the next level of competition every year, and many that are drafted fail to even make a team, or are usually relegated to the scout team.
Why am I a professional football fan? Because I love competition, so its only natural to watch the best athletes play, and the best coaches coach. There is also plenty of tradition and epic moments that professional football has produced for Americans for nearly a century, even with small town markets such as Pittsburgh and Minnesota. You just choose to either ignore it or degrade it (probably because there has never been a professional football franchise in the state of Alabama) in order to place the only thing you know on a higher pedestal.
I do agree that the purity of the game (or pure passion for the sport) can be better found found at the college level. However, the way Alabama and Florida organized their cake-walk schedules while being highly ranked in the BCS was a disgrace. College football is beginning to receive the taint of big money with BCS bowl game contracts and super conferences, so don’t be so quick to put it up on a pedestal.
Nick Satan should have lied lied, period. He should of not answered the question, or claim he hadn’t considered the position. But he gave a definite answer. He said he was “Not going to be the Alabama coach.” Not “I have not considered such an offer” or anything of the sort. Definites are dangerous, especially if they are lies, and it ended up biting him in the ass.
It seems Lebrick is better at giving non-definites than the more experienced and “wiser” Nick Satan. Look how Brett Favre answers questions regarding returning to play every year. He is textbook in how the media can be answered on the fly without giving definites.
As for your personal attack on me as a “nobody,” I guess that is up to the eye of the beholder really. What I can say is that I am a professional, with a professional license that gives me the power to go places that less than 1% of the nation’s population go, and my goal as a professional is to strive to be the best at what I do, and not digress to less demanding or a less complex line of work (essentially the point is to always be moving forward). Nick Satan gave up on himself at the highest level because it was hard, so he fled to Tuscaloosa to win “easy.” Your insults can’t negate those facts.
All in all, he should keep his mouth shut and focus on winning that 14th you so covet. And yes, Tuscaloosa is boring, but the people of Alabama are very nice and gracious (except for you of course).
Correction to previous post:
*Nick Saban should not have lied, period.*
Pro football is a spectacle, no doubt. It is a all-star game every week with the best of the best, packed with collisions running back to linebacker that rival a low speed auto accident.
But still, Zander, it was you who threw the first stone, and in terms of atmosphere, while you have your opinion, you’re welcome to be wrong. It’s why our founding fathers signed the documents to give you that right.
There is no substitute for college football atmosphere. Is the competition the same? Obviously not. But show me a Bills v. Jaguars game and I’ll show you a cure for insomnia.
As for you being a nobody, I’m impressed with your 1% speech. Eloquent. Maybe you are “somebody”. But all I contend is that very few make decisions in life with microphones firmly placed by eager hands under our noses. If I were in his shoes, maybe I would do it differently. But maybe not. What we have in common is, neither of us truly know.
Lying and answering flippantly to the media, when at that point in time…look, it’s a dying, useless argument. But to say the owner wasn’t informed is a grotesque, uninformed overstatement on your part.
But don’t worry, my new friend. I forgive you.
And as for you, KD Lang, you’re welcome (and invited) to come back and read other articles we post that are true. Call them whatever you wish. Just know you’re welcome here.
Wayne did come out and say he was informed all along the way. I remember watching the news conference with him on local news, followed by Don Shula’s comments on the whole dilemma.
There were a lot of people within the Dolphins Organization that stated that no one really knew until he boarded that plane, but we will never know. Mr. Huizenga handled it with class, probably because he kind of looked like a fool for putting so much faith in Saban in the first place, the same faith Dolphins fans gave him when he came to town promising a change of “culture.”
Its like you said, its a dying argument… until Saban starts throwing stones from glass houses. Stick to coaching Alabama, win more championships, but don’t comment on trust and respect in regards to departing from a former employer. Its not his place.
On another note, thanks for responding to the trolling and not deleting the posts. Saban will always be a touchy subject to South Floridians, especially when he references their latest superstar athlete. As for Alabama, great school, great fans, tough road to 14, Miami vs. Ohio State will determine who you will play in the BCS championship this year.
Have a great week.
ITK…You know exactly what Im talking about. Dont act like you dont.
You got it handed to you on this one.
You should write a new article . ” BPI punks ITK”.
The truth will set you free.
BP, you’ve known me a long time, and you’ve been living on this site a lot longer than I have. I hope you see through this now to know I’m being dead serious. No sarcasm or witticisms intended.
What did you hand me?
Your ass.
Hah! Unreal – for “Z” to pull the 1%er line out and threaten that he could go places we can’t – all credibility was thrown out. Why? Because you didn’t back it up about your percentage status and to me and and a million others you look like a pissed off nobody in Broward Co. who has a grudge to fill with a bad google search that landed here. The mortar is loaded. Let’s go!