My one suggestion to Saban would be: Ease up a tad on the Bama fans. I understand we sometimes seem difficult and even hypercritical...but responding in kind might not be the best reaction. I'd like to see a little more sweet-talk directed at the fan base and a little less frustration with us.
I've listened to and quoted things he said that were positive about the fans, but it just seems to bead up and run off. They just don't seem to hear it. Miss. State game? He was saying how fantastic they were, how much they helped, and this goes back to his first #1 recruiting class in which he credited the fans with helping land that class (in particular A-Day attendance helping). The ratio of positive to negative statements isn't even remotely close, he said one thing in particular this year (which by the way was dead on) which some fans took as being directed at them, because the media said it was... but even then he didn't actually say anything about the fans! I still don't know for sure whether he was directing it at the media, the fans, the players, but his sentiments about the Arkansas game proved to be a Nick Saban knowing what he was talking about. Even if he was telling the fans to calm down, he was right wasn't he?
The truth is I'm not sure Alabama fans really knew their part in the process and seemed accustomed to just showing up, sitting there, watching, and leaving once they were no longer entertained. 2012 and 2013 really showed the problems with that approach. Towards the end of 2012, even for the Auburn game, there were a lot of empty seats. National championship run, ok? They're leaving in the third quarter, that is if they show up at all. There was a problem and this carried over to A-Day. Auburn, coming off a dreadful season had more fans for their spring game, than showed up to celebrate an Alabama national championship. You can make excuses, but that was absurd, that's not national championship level fans, that's not the Alabama fans being part of the process. So, over that period yeah, Saban became more critical because the fans desperately needed a kick in the butt.
What did we start to see in the latter portions of last season though? The stadium was literally rocking, fans were supporting the team for four quarters instead of three, and it seems to me the criticism that was directed towards the fans worked. The lingering issue though, was the overreaction of fans, the unrealistic expectations, the death threats after the Auburn game, the meltdown after the Ole Miss/Arkansas game, and really what we've seen mid-game a few times this year from Alabama fans. They need a bit more coaching before they learn that success is never a 100% thing and spewing nonsense doesn't help the situation.
I made a comment about how tough a place LSU is to play at, and someone countered with historical data to show that playing at LSU isn't really that tough. That got me thinking, was playing @ LSU prior to Saban's arrival really that daunting? I can't really recall that being the case, and that gets me wondering if may be Saban woke up the LSU fanbase as well. I wonder if he coached them a bit, and criticized them a bit, because there's no question that despite amazing loyalty that Alabama fans demonstrate, playing @ Alabama vs. @ LSU when Saban first arrived here was a stark contrast. That's just speculation, but I do absolutely feel like Saban treats the fans as part of the process.
Anway, to end my rant and get back on topic a bit, with these sort of things I feel like Saban is the best at what he does and he has earned the benefit of a doubt. No one will be right 100% of the time, but if he criticizes the fans, if he hires a coach, or even he gives a player a second chance, this is one coach that (at this point in time) has the track record to show that he knows what he's doing. I'm not even talking purely in terms of success, Saban has a great record when it comes to compliance, when it comes to graduation, he's coached at a lot of places and if there was a bunch of dirt, they'd be happy to expose him. He doesn't leave behind messes like some other coaches and I have no reason to believe he's anything other than a man of integrity in deeds, not just in public posturing.