Let me explain in detail WHY this ticked me off.
1) The adverb "really" smacks of condescension.
2) So did this first sentence/question.
There are two groups of people who insult Saban this way: Auburn fans and Texas fans. Auburn fans conveniently ignore Tommy Tuberville saying the only way he'd leave Oxford, MS was in a pine box - just hours before he said he was leaving. Demonstrating this was part of his character and not a momentary lapse, Tubs then left recruits in the middle of dinner to take the Cincinnati job while he was recruiting for Texas Tech.
Any Auburn fan who says anything about Saban is a hypocrite - period.
Texas fans call him a "mercenary." Not one of them is intelligent enough to know Saban took a million dollar a year pay CUT to come to the Capstone.
The "hired gun mentality" is a jealous fanbase creation. Auburn is on their third coach since Saban was hired. Better yet, their current "stable" coach has held FOUR different jobs since Saban has been at Alabama.
I'll go you one better - when we kick off the WVA game next August, Saban will have been here
longer than any other coach since Coach Bryant!!!!
Perkins - 4 years
Curry - 3 years
Stallings - 7 years
DuBose - 4 years
Franchione - 2 years
Price - 5 months
Saban - 7-plus years
Nope. Stopping to take pride in your place right now is how you fail.
This is why he took a million-dollar pay cut to come here? Think about that - would you take a job that gave you a 20% pay cut (to say nothing of a million-dollar pay cut)?
Let me tell ya exactly how he views it: "I may have won three national titles, but if I have consecutive losing seasons, I'm gone."
Bobby Bowden, so beloved they ran him off!!
Nick Saban uttered one memorable phrase that for some reason still gets held against him. Nobody holds anything against Tuberville, and he's done it more than once. Nobody holds it against Franchione. Nobody holds the same garbage against Urban Meyer. Or Dennis Erickson or anyone else.
What is the guy supposed to do? If he ever came out and said he was not going to Texas, the media would immediately start playing clips of "well, he said this before." They were saying that here in Texas.
I taped this off of KXAS the night the "Saban to Texas" rumors cranked up earlier this year. Note the snotty remark at the end: "I'm sure we all believe it."
Quite frankly, Saban should be beyond this by now.