Here's the thing... there's a reason(s) why Saban is handling things this way. Likely it is due to a reason (s) not known by people outside the team. Obviously, it's going to be something that can be adequately explained to any member of the team who approaches him and asks "why don't we go with _______ as our starter?" Otherwise, he would compromise himself as the leader of this team.I'm not crazy about the way Saban is handling the QB competition. Saying “there’s still a competition at QB” and “we haven’t picked a starter yet” is a mistake, IMHO. He should come out and say “Sims is our starter. He’s played really well and we’re pleased with his progress. But we still intend to give Coker lots of playing time. It’s important that he’s ready to take the reins, if necessary, so we’re going to give him meaningful playing time. But Blake’s our starter.” That statement leaves the door open for healthy competition without causing a division on the team. Then, if Sims stumbles, or if Coker starts playing really well, Saban can change things up without looking like he short-changed Sims.
As fans, we can gripe all we want about the situation. However, in all honesty a lot of us want a certain comfort level that allows us to start considering the outcome of the season - and an unsettled QB situation doesn't allow us to predict those things with much confidence. However, there IS a reason(s) - and I'm confident that however Saban handles the situation it will be done in such a way that won't threaten the team's well-being. Don't know about anyone else, but I'm grateful that we've got a coach that doesn't listen to masses when it comes to running his team. To many "leaders" in the college game today have started making decisions based on everyone's else's opinions... and when many of them do that, they end up joining those folks in an off-the-field capacity.