When I started agitating for regime change in Tuscaloosa back in 2006, it seemed impossible that Alabama would so quickly turn from the Malaise of Mike Shula to the excellence of Nick Saban. Landing a coach of Saban’s potential seemed beyond Alabama’s capability. But through some luck, the brutal talk of Paul Finebaum’s radio show, and the guts of Mal Moore, Alabama began a legendary run when Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa.
Think back to those dark days before Saban. Those days of Mike Dubose, Mike Price, and Mike Shula.
The problem with the Mikes was not their football knowledge, schemes; the problem with the three Mikes boiled down to self-control and leadership.
None of those Mikes were capable of managing a major college program. That’s OK. Some people are great assistants and others are great head coaches at small programs on the periphery. Only a few can handle the big stage of the SEC, and fewer still can achieve excellence on a big stage. And none could achieve that excellence for as long as Nick Saban did at Alabama.
What more can be said about Nick Saban? He is the Greatest Football Coach of All Time. The chattering heads on ESPN and talk radio are offering their hagiographies of Saban. In fact, I’ve toyed with the idea of a biography with the title of A Greater Than The Bear: A Biography of Nick Saban. Yet, even that seems to fail in capturing Saban’s greatness. Perhaps more time is needed to truly appreciate Nick Saban’s legacy.
What we can do is think back to those dark days before Saban. The indiscipline within both the UA administration, the Athletic Department, and the football teams consistently hindered success.
Alabama was dysfunctional; however, that doesn’t even capture it. The politics within the Athletic Department were Byzantine. Who can forget secret sources leaking damaging info to Phil Fulmer in an attempt to get even with rivals in Tuscaloosa?
Even with Mal Moore as athletic director, the chaos remained in Tuscaloosa. Moore worked hard to overcome the factions . Yet, even after Moore decided to fire Mike Shula, there was chaos to come. Remember the coaching search?
Were it not for Paul Finebaum mocking Rita Rodriguez’s hair, Alabama likely would’ve hired Rodriguez instead of waiting for Nick Saban to finish his season.
Do you remember that?
Do you remember the low point of the coaching search, when it seemed imminent that Rodriguez would accept the Alabama job and then rejected it? Paul Finebaum’s show likely had a great deal to do with that stroke of luck.
When news broke Rodriguez would not take the Alabama job, things looked bleak. I remember at the time I was sitting in the press box of all places Legion Field watching the state high school football championships. Nobody knew what would happen next. It looked like the coaching search had already failed.
“Malfunction” Moore had done it again. Yet, Moore didn’t give up. After that fiasco, Moore settled down and waited on Saban. And the rest is history.
The Lessons of Nick Saban and Alabama’s history Post-Bryant
The entire saga of Alabama post-Bryant shows the importance of leadership.
It also illustrates the dangers of arrogance. Alabama’s run in with the NCAA began because of the arrogance within the Athletic Department and within the football program led by Gene Stallings.
Alabama paid dearly for that arrogance not once but twice. It was hammered by the NCAA. However, the real damage was done when fans demanded Alabama hire Mike Dubose as its next head coach. The Dubose regime was a disaster. It led to even more NCAA troubles.
The Mike Price insanity embarrassed the university in front of the nation. It had little choice but to fire the amorous coach. Mike Shula took the job and the burden of managing Alabama in the midst of NCAA troubles, the PR nightmare, and a short time to prepare. He tired hard and ultimately failed. He still won 10 games one season including the Cotton Bowl.
The fact that mediocre coaches like Mike Shula, Mike Dubose and even buffoons like Bill Curry could win 10+ games at Alabama showed it had enormous untapped potential for a competent coach. Nick Saban proved that.
Some things to keep in mind for the Post-Saban Coaching Search
The Alabama program today is a hot job. Yet, not every coach who wants it is right for it and more than a few successful coaches would not want the headache of following Nick Saban. This makes for a few challenges. However, any coaching search post-Saban is almost guaranteed to be better than the prior post-Bryant coaching searches.
It is unlikely, Alabama would hire a coach as inept as Bill Curry. The Curry hire was an obvious attempt by the university president at the time to diminish the football program. Something that ignores the PR benefit of a good athletic department.
It is also unlikely that fans would undertake a fax campaign (does anyone still use fax machines?) to influence the coaching search as was done when Mike Dubose was hired. Even if fans tried to flood the office with emails and a faxes, it is unlikely the current leadership would be swayed. That’s a good thing.
Leaders should not ignore fans, but public opinion is not a good way to govern Leaders must have convictions and hold to them. A leader must be willing to pay the price for being wrong. If you have a leader who picks a coach based on an opinion poll, you will too often wind up with troubles.
The Saban Era closed with perhaps Nick Saban’s finest coaching job. This team overachieved and was close to making it to the championship game. What a way to close out a career.
Thanks Coach Nick Saban for the memories. There are so many. I enjoyed sitting in Atlanta more than once to watch Alabama win the SEC. Then there was getting to sit in the stands and watch Alabama win back-to-back national titles when Alabama defeated Notre Dame in Miami. There are more. Many more. So, thanks Coach Saban and thanks Paul Finebaum for being a brutal radio host that was once fired because of Ray Perkins.