To Saban or Not to Saban

I don't know about you but I don't know what to think about Nick Saban. However, I don't think that he is going to come Bama. It will be another black eye for the program. Third strike for Mal Moore in dealing with the coaching search alone! This should surely remove him from the university. Finebaum article of note:

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Saban story not over yet at Alabama
Saturday, December 23, 2006

The questions are inescapable. You get them at work. You get them at the grocery store and at the mall while doing Christmas shopping. Unfortunately, the answers are not easy to come by, but today I'll try and give it a shot.

-- Q: Will Alabama hire Nick Saban?

A: Impossible to answer and growing more difficult by the hour because Saban is one of the most mercurial coaches in the business. There is no question Alabama will go after the Miami Dolphins' coach with a Brink's truck. The school has had weeks to prepare a comprehensive and intelligent offer. UA officials have had time to catch their breath and actually plan this move, something that didn't occur in the aftermath of Mike Shula's firing or in the rushed shotgun marriage attempt with Rich Rodriguez.

-- Q: Where would you put the odds of landing Saban?

A: It's like watching the Dow Jones on triple witching hour. One minute it's way up, then it comes crashing down. Saban's statements Thursday in denying the story again were his strongest to date. Still, what else can he say? And did you watch his body language? He seemed tormented while talking about Alabama. Why? Saban isn't happy in Miami and may sense the handwriting on the wall. His team's performance has been all over map. For the second year in a row, the Dolphins got off to a miserable start, going 1-6. They are currently 6-8. Last year, Miami limped out of the gate to a 3-7 record before winning the last six games. And what about the Dolphins' offense? It looks as bad as Alabama's did this year.

-- Q: What's the most likely scenario once Miami's season ends?

A: I would suspect that Saban would start contemplating the Alabama offer on the plane ride back to Miami following the Dec. 31 game against Indianapolis. Usually, NFL coaches meet with players on the following day and at some point the public should be able to see a signal, one way or another. The feeling is that one reason Saban and his agent, Jimmy Sexton, have been so adamant in their denials is fear of upsetting Miami owner Wayne Huizenga, who is quite powerful and carries a big stick.

-- Q: What role will Sexton play in this story?

A: Very big. Sexton and Saban seem to be very close. More than likely, Sexton already knows what the game is and now it's a matter of dealing with Saban, whose head might be a little clearer when the NFL season is finally over. For you folks who track planes on the Internet, keep on eye on Sexton's plane (it's out of the Wilson Air Center, a private hangar, at the Memphis airport) and see where it is heading on New Year's Day.

-- Q: If Saban turns down Alabama, how bad will the school look?

A: It's hard to imagine how the school can really look any worse. The national media has scoffed at the Saban to Bama stories, so it's unlikely much more can really be said, other than the headline "Saban Turns Down the Tide -- Again!" Frankly, I think you have to give Tide athletics director Mal Moore some credit for staying the course during the difficult time since the Rodriguez debacle and going back to his original plan, which was going after Saban. Amazingly, it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

-- Q: Where will Alabama turn if Saban stays in Miami?

A: Can you say placing a "want ad" in the newspaper? Well, it's a safe bet that Moore has a Plan B. I think you could probably throw a name in there from Jim Grobe to Paul Johnson to Houston Nutt (although he recently received an extension from Arkansas) to Frank Beamer, Chris Peterson, Rick Neuheisel or David Cutcliffe and have a shot at being right -- or wrong.

-- Q: What about Joe Kines?

A: Certainly, Kines has done a solid job as defensive coordinator and is the most experienced coach on the staff. Should Alabama score a big victory in the Independence Bowl, there might be a movement toward considering him for the job. But I don't see any realistic chance of it happening. It would be an interim hire, and the school would look ridiculous for firing Shula and then putting in his top assistant on a short-term basis. There was a time to give the job to Kines, in May 2003, after the Mike Price debacle. Having done so, Alabama wouldn't have been subjected to the Shula years and everyone would have been better off.

Contact Paul Finebaum at:
finebaumnet@yahoo.com

His column appears Tuesdays and Saturdays in the Press-Register.