I didn't take the Nick Saban talks seriously until about two weeks after RichRod's reneg. I figured we would have found a replacement choice much more quickly than we seemed to be going with the process. At that point, right around Christmas, I felt we were in a true holding pattern waiting for somebody to finish their season. I didn't really expect Saban but I knew we were waiting to make a move for somebody big (Bob Stoops, a NFL coach, etc). I think right after Christmas I started buying the Saban talk. The rumors that his family didn't like Miami and his growing tired of the NFL situation (fearful that if he stuck it out in Miami he'd be out of a job because the doctors denied him his franchise QB...Drew Brees).
I believe I was one of the people actually on the Chris Petersen bandwagon before their OU upset. I considered him an up-and-comer and likely an easy pull from a financially inferior mid-major. When RichRod was supposedly the guy, I was dreaming of Jimmy Johns at QB. Imagine that...our starting QB would have made it a season before getting busted for dealing drugs. But between Christmas and New Years, I really believed we had a shot at Saban. If it fell through, I imagine our backup plan might have been bringing Stallings in like Synder at Kansas State recently.