Upcoming Biography on Coach Saban

Rush

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I hadn't heard a biography of Coach was in the works.

Though I suppose it shouldn't come as a big surprise...

http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/al...wife-terry-driving-force-behind-move-alabama/


While the article focuses on Miss Terry's role in the move, what I find particularly interesting is the following:

"According to a chapter centering around Saban’s tenure with the Dolphins, he became close with Alabama athletic director Mal Moore whose nephew, Chuck, previously helped Saban remodel one of his homes in Georgia.


Chuck became a ‘key intermediary’ in the process
..".


Looks like a bunch of little things may have come together and resulted in a very big thing...

Which I daresay, we, as fans, are pretty happy about...
 

RTR91

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I hadn't heard a biography of Coach was in the works.

Though I suppose it shouldn't come as a big surprise...

http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/al...wife-terry-driving-force-behind-move-alabama/


While the article focuses on Miss Terry's role in the move, what I find particularly interesting is the following:

"According to a chapter centering around Saban’s tenure with the Dolphins, he became close with Alabama athletic director Mal Moore whose nephew, Chuck, previously helped Saban remodel one of his homes in Georgia.


Chuck became a ‘key intermediary’ in the process
..".


Looks like a bunch of little things may have come together and resulted in a very big thing...

Which I daresay, we, as fans, are pretty happy about...
Saban talked about Chuck doing the lake house work when he made comments at Mal Moore's memorial.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

selmaborntidefan

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I've long said there was ONE WAY Saban might not have been lying when he said he would not be the Alabama coach. It was always possible that he had no intent and that was his exclamation point - and then changed his mind after saying the dogmatic statement.

Saban wasn't the first or last coach to say one thing and then do another. For Pete's sake, Urban Meyer quit to spend more time with his family and apparently the kids went from toilet training to college grads in one year. I don't pick on Meyer because of that, and I don't appreciate folks hitting at Saban.

But I've long thought there was more behind the scenes than we were privy to.
 

Jon

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I've long said there was ONE WAY Saban might not have been lying when he said he would not be the Alabama coach. It was always possible that he had no intent and that was his exclamation point - and then changed his mind after saying the dogmatic statement.

Saban wasn't the first or last coach to say one thing and then do another. For Pete's sake, Urban Meyer quit to spend more time with his family and apparently the kids went from toilet training to college grads in one year. I don't pick on Meyer because of that, and I don't appreciate folks hitting at Saban.

But I've long thought there was more behind the scenes than we were privy to.
he wasn't lying, he was wrong. There is a difference. At the time of the comment he had not agreed to be our coach, so the statement was 100% true at the time he made it. Later, he listened to Mal and more importantly Terry and changed his mind
 

selmaborntidefan

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he wasn't lying, he was wrong. There is a difference. At the time of the comment he had not agreed to be our coach, so the statement was 100% true at the time he made it. Later, he listened to Mal and more importantly Terry and changed his mind
Yeah, that's my basic point.

The problem in the 24/7 sports cycle, though, is that nobody takes in details like that. I suspect the reason that Tommy Tuberville's departure from Oxford got swept under the rug so well (other than in MS, where they wanted to burn a cross in his yard) was because he wasn't a championship-winning coach and Saban was.

Plus, Auburn on its best day is still not Alabama.

I'll admit that Saban was the guy I really wanted as head coach, but I'll also admit that when he went that far with the denial, I wrote him off as "he's not coming here."

My favorite experience in all that was calling my brand new brother-in-law who was an LSU fan (he still is - he's just no longer my BIL, ha ha) and breaking the news to him.

Dead silence on the other end and then he told a co-worker, "Alabama got Saban."

More dead silence from the co-worker.

But nobody will ever take in the details. A couple of years ago when the Texas rumors were the hottest, I still recall fans here saying they wished he would come out and deny it. Well, we all know what would have happened if he had - they would have juxtaposed two videos of him and say, "He's done this before."

On the other hand, let's say solely for the sake of argument that he was actively lying at the time - why does anyone else even care? The only group that could conceivably even be angry about it in terms of being jilted are Miami Dolphins fans, and I've never known one who said they wish Saban was still their coach.

The fans who hold to that and talk about it are the ones covering their fear of the fact he's a damned good football coach at the collegiate level. (And you know what? He might have been in the NFL is he had stayed longer.

How many of you realize that Saban's record as NFL head coach was TWO GAMES BETTER than Bill Belichick's first two seasons?

And you can't really say that Saban took over any better of a team than Belichick did. The 2004 Dolphins were 4-12 while the 1990 Browns were 3-13, hardly a significant difference. And the Browns had been to THREE AFC title games in four years prior to that 1990 nosedive - the Dolphins hadn't.

No, I'm not saying Saban would have been Belichick - because nobody knows. But note that Belichick had five losing seasons in his first six years as a head coach before lucking into Tom Brady coming off the bench in 2001.

Ok, Jon, so I'm meandering, but I think Saban's record speaks for itself in so many ways - and I'm a guy who laughed hysterical when LSU first hired him (along with the late, great bayoutider, we both were about in stitches on the ground).

I was wrong about my initial view on Saban - and he was wrong in his statement as you say.
 

NationalTitles18

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Ok, Jon, so I'm meandering, but I think Saban's record speaks for itself in so many ways - and I'm a guy who laughed hysterical when LSU first hired him (along with the late, great bayoutider, we both were about in stitches on the ground).
One of the few times I was right since I thought LSU had made a good hire at the time. I had no idea how good a hire. But I've been wrong probably more times than not. I thought Granny Holtz was a decent hire for USCe, so...
 

selmaborntidefan

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One of the few times I was right since I thought LSU had made a good hire at the time. I had no idea how good a hire. But I've been wrong probably more times than not. I thought Granny Holtz was a decent hire for USCe, so...
I laughed when LSU hired Curley Hallman (what was THAT all about?) and Gerry DiNardo and honestly figured Saban was in the same train of losers. But when he first won the SEC and then a national title, I honestly wished we had been able to snag him say when Dubious got canned.

But let's be honest - NOBODY in our wildest dreams thought three in four and a Heisman winner. NONE of us thought that.

I also laughed when LSU hired Miles but he's been okay.

My loudest chuckle?

Gene Chizik at Auburn. Second was when Ole Miss hired Houston Nutt, which in my view was even worse than Orgeron. At least with Orgeron you could say he was a USC assistant and it was hit or miss. You already knew Nutt was a mediocrity and yet hired him anyway? HUH?

Holtz was not bad at SC, he just wasn't as successful as earlier. But he didn't have to be.
 

Rush

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Just heard the author interviewed by Ryan Fowler on Tide 99.1...

Sounded pretty impressive...

Writes for Forbes magazine...
 
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RTR91

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New Nick Saban biography details Texas' flirtation and agent's contact


It's a time most in Tuscaloosa like to forget. Though Alabama was rolling with an undefeated record in the fall of 2013, an undercurrent of anxiety persisted.

There were vague reports of Texas' interest in Nick Saban and even more hazy rumors of mutual interest. It came to a head after a shocking Iron Bowl loss and a few weeks of nerve-rattling reports. Saban ultimately agreed to a big raise and contract extension with Alabama, but a new book details the Taxas saga in detail.

An unauthorized biography, "Saban, The Making of a Coach" takes a deeper look at the depth of discussions about the Longhorns' job. Authored by Forbes writer Monte Burke, the 17-page chapter "Texas Hold 'Em" gives a play-by-play of interactions between Saban's agent Jimmy Sexton and prominent Texas boosters. It was a move similar to the one that sent Saban from Michigan State to LSU in 1999. Sexton made the initial contact with LSU AD Joe Dean through mutual friend Sean Tuohy, who's future adoption of Michael Oher would inspire the book and movie "The Blind Side."
 

cuda.1973

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Burke quotes Patterson saying he warned Sexton he'd better not be using Texas to get a better deal from Alabama. The conversation ended when Sexton took offense to that implication. Patterson told Burke he never spoke with Saban and a contract was never offered.
Sounds like something Bevo & Co. would do. Once again, their arrogance on display, and it may have cost them. Thankfully!
 

bamacpa

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I've always thought Coach Saban was more of a builder or remodeler than a manager.


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CoolBreeze

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I've always thought Coach Saban was more of a builder or remodeler than a manager.


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Not sure I follow you there cpa. Leadership is what coach provides. He leads people and does a pretty good job of it. I guess what you are saying is that he knows how to build a program but doesn't know how to maintain it? I see absolutely no evidence of that at all. But we are all entitled to our opinions of course. That is what makes this board great.
 

RTR91

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Not sure I follow you there cpa. Leadership is what coach provides. He leads people and does a pretty good job of it. I guess what you are saying is that he knows how to build a program but doesn't know how to maintain it? I see absolutely no evidence of that at all. But we are all entitled to our opinions of course. That is what makes this board great.
I believe he got it from the link I posted...

The new book, due to be released Aug. 4, went a little further. According to the book, Sexton told the Texas boosters that Saban felt more like "a turnaround artist than a long-term CEO." Building a program, he said, was more enjoyable that maintaining one. And, most importantly, Texas was the only school Saban would consider as an option for leaving Alabama.
 

bamacpa

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No, I didn't phrase that well. I suspect he enjoys the rebuilding more than trying to maintain success or stay on top. Both are challenging, I just sense from his comments over time that he prefers the task of building up. I viewed Mack Brown as the opposite, I thought he enjoyed the trappings of his success too much.


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lowend

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In any job, you eventually wear out your welcome, even if you are being successful. The things that brought initial success no longer work. Maybe those skills and activities are designed to rebuild or maybe the people no longer hear your message. You think you're going to have a great season, show, experience, and then it underachieves. You're left thinking about what could have been. You start looking at other options and they become attractive. I'm going through the same thing right now at my own job.
 

selmaborntidefan

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Maybe it's me, but I don't think Saban would have ever gone to Texas because he would have had to deal with too much micro-managing by the money men who think money makes them football wizards. Furthermore, if the "build a program" line is actually true then what exactly is the "challenge" of building at Texas? Easier conference, bigger state, more money - I mean, if Saban wants a challenge to build he could go to Iowa State for Pete's sake.

I've never once believed Saban would leave us for Texas and it's always Longhorns who allegedly have all that inside information that sounds like Texas hogwash.
 

RTR91

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Maybe it's me, but I don't think Saban would have ever gone to Texas because he would have had to deal with too much micro-managing by the money men who think money makes them football wizards. Furthermore, if the "build a program" line is actually true then what exactly is the "challenge" of building at Texas? Easier conference, bigger state, more money - I mean, if Saban wants a challenge to build he could go to Iowa State for Pete's sake.

I've never once believed Saban would leave us for Texas and it's always Longhorns who allegedly have all that inside information that sounds like Texas hogwash.
I thought the entire thing was laughable, too. Then, I heard Phil Savage on SiriusXM's college station one night on my way home from work. He indicated things had changed and he didn't feel so comfortable about Saban returning to Tuscaloosa. Savage and Saban have been friends since they were together in Cleveland. Phil did not make me feel very comfortable with his comments.
 

BamaMark.

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I thought the entire thing was laughable, too. Then, I heard Phil Savage on SiriusXM's college station one night on my way home from work. He indicated things had changed and he didn't feel so comfortable about Saban returning to Tuscaloosa. Savage and Saban have been friends since they were together in Cleveland. Phil did not make me feel very comfortable with his comments.
I heard the same conversation and kinda got a sinking feeling in my gut. That was the first time I put any credence in the rumors. Thankfully things turned out like they did.
 

CoolBreeze

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No, I didn't phrase that well. I suspect he enjoys the rebuilding more than trying to maintain success or stay on top. Both are challenging, I just sense from his comments over time that he prefers the task of building up. I viewed Mack Brown as the opposite, I thought he enjoyed the trappings of his success too much.


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Gottcha...and you may be right on there. I have heard from Nick and Terry that the building part is the most fun.
 

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