Walk down memory lane just before Coach Saban's hire. Neal McCready

Mystical

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Time to give up on Saban
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
So let me get this straight. Just last week, Alabama was so confident it could lure Nick Saban away from his $5 million-a-year job with the Miami Dolphins after New Year's Eve that it offered its top position to West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez. Now, days after Rodriguez changed his mind/played Bama for more cash, the Tide's sights are set once again on Saban, who just led the Dolphins to a 21-0 mauling of the New England Patriots.
One Alabama backer after another has insisted since Rodriguez's rejection that Saban is back on top of the Tide's wish list. Alabama fans, apparently plugged into Saban's office and his $7.5 million home in Fort Lauderdale, believe the former Michigan State and LSU coach is unhappy with the NFL and the Dolphins and that he's willing to leave almost $15 million on the table in order to return to the SEC.
Turns out, they just might be right -- but only about the unhappy part.
"Nick doesn't ever look happy," said Chris Landry, a Baton Rouge-based NFL scout and analyst for Fox Sports Radio. "He's always so focused and driven."
Saban, who is 15-14 in two seasons at Miami, is still a bit irritated at the Dolphins' doctors, the same ones who told him during the offseason that free agent Drew Brees' injured right shoulder wouldn't heal in time for him to throw a football this fall. Later, the same medical staff gave Saban the green light to trade for quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who suffered a severe knee injury last season while playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Brees signed with New Orleans and has guided the Saints to the verge of the NFC South championship while putting up MVP numbers. Culpepper's knee hampered his play early on, and the Dolphins have since turned to Joey Harrington.
So, no, Saban's not super happy. If he had Brees, he just might be a Super Bowl contender. However, Landry said there's no way Saban is leaving Miami, and Landry should know. The veteran NFL scout worked with Saban in Cleveland, played a key role in LSU's hiring of Saban and now runs his own scouting/consulting business in which he analyzes pro and college personnel for NFL teams. One of his clients, predictably, is the Miami Dolphins, and Landry insists Saban has no intention of walking away from the NFL after just two seasons.
"From a football/organization standpoint, his situation is perfect and he knows it," Landry said. "He's got what he wants. It's a chance of a lifetime. He'll have success. He took a team with six-win personnel last year and won nine games. He's doing a good job in my opinion. They're an old team that he's trying to rebuild. That challenge kind of drives him. There's no question he'll have success in Miami and he'll be given the time he needs to have it."
Landry was surprised Sunday and again on Monday when various media reports kept the Saban-to-Alabama rumors alive. Landry, who is often consulted by NFL and college teams in their coaching evaluations and searches, hasn't heard from Alabama recently, but if Mal Moore were to call, he'd advise him to not wait on Saban.
"I think that would take them out of some other candidates," Landry said. "(Saban to Alabama) isn't happening at all. He's every bit committed to Miami. Alabama's not even on his radar. After the season, he's going to be focused immediately on draft preparation and free agency. I think you can take that to the bank."
Landry said media types are reading too much into Saban's statements about the job. Several analysts have insisted that Saban is leaving the door to Tuscaloosa open with denials of interest that aren't 100 percent emphatic. Those people, Landry said, don't understand Saban.
Saban's a coach's coach, meaning he'll never say a job is a bad one, never insult friends by saying he wouldn't be interested in a position at their alma mater. For example, Landry said, Saban would never take the job at Ole Miss, but if Archie Manning were to call him, Saban would be respectful and flattered. That's happened, Landry said, when former Alabama players have talked to Saban about the Tide vacancy. That doesn't mean he wants Mike Shula's old job.
"He might want to return to college one day," Landry said, "but it wouldn't be to Alabama."
By the way, Landry recommends Wake Forest's Jim Grobe for the Alabama job, pointing out that Grobe took a program with fewer resources than its opponents and won the Atlantic Coast Conference title. He's surprised Alabama appears to be aiming higher.
'There's a minority there that believes there has to be something bigger because they're Alabama," Landry said. "It's a good job, but you have to get the right fit. They have such a high regard for their program that they can't see that the landscape has changed."
Contact Neal McCready at:
nmccready@press-register.com

I was reading Jess's article and had completely forgotten about old doomsday Neal. If you take a shot at the king you best not miss. He missed and he got fired.
 
Yes we need to really appreciate what we have now. This is why I always give Coach Saban the benefit of the doubt on any agenda he pushes. The man is a genius. Thankful for this time of Alabama football.
I wish all the fans understood it like you. I was so depressed about Bama football that I almost gave up on it. My boy actually had to talk me down off a ledge. lol


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ReturnToGlory

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Nov 22, 2006
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We just had to find the right man for the job and we did. All opposing fans, sportswriters, and former athletes who declared we would never dominate again look real foolish today.
 

ALA2262

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Aug 4, 2007
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You guys don't know bad. Bad is not being able to score, much less win. SEVENTEEN shutouts in 5 years! Consider there have been only 11 more in the 58 years since. Bad is having your aubie dad take you to 1957* barner games attempting to get you to switch.

"Thanks dad, but no thanks. Bama is getting a new coach and is going to be good again." I am forever grateful I spoke those words.
 
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bama2112

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Nov 19, 2006
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If i remember correctly he was also did a Mobile radio show and got canned because Bama fans called in to complain about him being negatively biased against the Tide. I hope he enjoys writing about Bama and the SEC championship, since he is now the Ole Sis blog reporter.......
 

AlexanderFan

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Jul 23, 2004
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In Landry's defense, everything he said about Saban and his personality was dead on. Glad this happened for us.


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Mystical

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If i remember correctly he was also did a Mobile radio show and got canned because Bama fans called in to complain about him being negatively biased against the Tide. I hope he enjoys writing about Bama and the SEC championship, since he is now the Ole Sis blog reporter.......
Lesson here you come at the king, you best not miss.

 

gtowntide

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Mar 1, 2011
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Paul Johnson is a really good one too. I cannot believe Alabama and Nick Saban had to settle for each other.
I'll add myself to those that thought Coach Saban wouldn't come. I really wanted Paul Johnson. I guess I was sentimental about the 70's and thought the wishbone/option game would work again.
Now I look at the Ga.Tech record the last 10 years and see how wrong I was.
I gave props to Mal Moore(RIP) for being so driven to bring CNS to Bama. And the rest as they say is history!
 

Sabanizer

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Dec 6, 2000
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This really hits home want we went through as a fanbase, having to read garbage like that. Coach Saban is too good for Bama, its not an attractive job anymore, If Ole Miss called, we should go after Wake Forest's HC. Good thing is that I understood that it was a top level job again, the probation made it not so, and many, like Landry I do not believe understood the difference. Coach Saban certainly did. This is perfect example of why you should never take anything from "a" journalist "to the bank". There were plenty of insiders at this same time saying that the Alabama was again a top 5 job, and history has now proven that it was. While we were losing games and players, Mal Moore was building one of the most attractive infrastructures to compliment one of the best fan bases and tradition rich teams in the country.......and he took it to the bank and cashed the check!!!
 

mittman

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Jun 19, 2009
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I've said this before, and I will say it again. I thought getting Saban was a pipe dream, and thought we should have gone after Jimbo Fisher. I continue to be glad I was wrong.
 

CoachThomas

Scout Team
Jul 1, 2006
182
1
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Myrtle Beach SC
I too was one that thought we would not get Saban. And thought that Grobe or Johnson were all we could hope for. But I will give it to Mal Moore for not giving up and landing the coach who brought us out of the wilderness. And brought other schools back to reality.
 

Lil Bama Lady

BamaNation Citizen
Aug 31, 2006
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Here's one I saved from Ole Neal myself. During he last 8 years, I have went back and pulled it out, read it and chuckled. So when people complain about Bama football, I tell them "Do you think losing to Ole Miss will make me NOT be a Bama fan? You are out of your freaking mind! I have lived through the "Dennis Fran-phony, Bill Curry, Ray Perkins, Mike DuBose, Mike Price, Mike Shula, Dear-God-don't-ever-hire-another-coach-named-Mike years!!! So I, for one, am thoroughly enjoying the tenure of Coach Nick Saban and I APPRECIATE everything he does for this school and his players. So shut your pie hole!" It's not subtle, but it gets the point across. Enjoy!

Alabama has been passed
Neal McCready November 8, 2006 Mobile Press Register

Some Alabama fans are really funny. I mean, Eddie Murphy-at-his-peak hilarious.
In the wake of Mississippi State's win over Alabama, many Crimson Tide fans came out of the woodwork demanding immediate change.
So bring on Nick Saban. Bring on Rich Rodriguez. You can interview Bobby Petrino, too. Maybe Rutgers' Greg Schiano would make a good coordinator, a coach-in-waiting if Jimmy Johnson isn't willing to commit more than, say, five years to bringing Alabama football back to where it belongs. I mean, really, who wouldn't want to come stalk the same sidelines that the Bear once patrolled? Who wouldn't want to coach in the shadow of greatness? After all, if you're going to fantasize, take it the distance.
The problem, however, for the dreaming Tide nation is that when it wakes up to the real world, Mike Shula's still the coach and the hard truth is he just might be the best Alabama can realistically hope for. The line of prospective coaches just dying to come to Tuscaloosa isn't as long as Tide fans think.
Before every home game, there's that voice. I still can't understand what he says, but it's something about "class," and "we got class," or "win with class." Then the elephant roars and another voice says, "This is Alabama football."
No, that was Alabama football. Those days are long gone and until the powers that be at the Capstone recognize that, all the Tide is going to be able to embrace is history. The people who Alabama football is selling to -- the current high school recruits -- were born in 1988 or 1989. They were 3 years old when Gene Stallings led Alabama to an upset over Miami in the Sugar Bowl and the national championship. Their experience with Alabama football mostly has been controversy, scandal, NCAA sanctions, losing seasons and mediocrity. The ardent Alabama fans among that group remember Shaun Alexander and Chris Samuel leading Alabama to the 1999 SEC title, but they were 11 or 12 then. Since that national championship night in New Orleans, a lot of water has flowed under the proverbial bridge.
Here's reality: Alabama has been passed. Ask the kids. They're the only ones who really matter. They'll tell you Florida is cool. So is LSU. Ask them about winning tradition and they'll tell you about Auburn, Tennessee and maybe Georgia. South Carolina has Steve Spurrier. Arkansas kids are staying home. Ole Miss has built a great indoor practice facility. Kentucky has fabulous facilities. Mississippi State probably isn't far behind. Jimmy Johns would probably never admit it even if someone could extricate his foot from his mouth, but had the Brookhaven, Miss., native stayed home and gone to Mississippi State or Ole Miss, he'd be a hero in his home state and a starter on the field. Oh yeah, he would have won a football game Saturday. Instead, he went to Alabama, where he's now a highly publicized backup playing behind an underachieving senior.
So why would Saban leave sunny Miami for Alabama? Petrino might be preparing for the national championship game in early January. Why would he give that up to take on a rebuilding project that goes well beyond the football field? Rodriguez might leave his native West Virginia one day, but Alabama's a lateral move at best.
But if Alabama is intent on making that sort of splash, here's two pieces of advice: Ante up and get your eyes out of the rear-view mirror because the men the delusional Tide fans talk about are forward thinkers with healthy egos. In other words, if you expect them to come to Tuscaloosa and walk in a shadow, you'd better hope for nothing but sunny days because guys like Saban, Petrino, Rodriguez and the others aren't going to walk in a shadow that isn't their own.

 

uafan4life

Hall of Fame
Mar 30, 2001
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While none of McCready's articles quite measure up to Michael Ventre status, he almost certainly has the most butt-hurt-in-the-rearview Bama hating articles. :biggrin:
 

bvandegraff

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Mar 13, 2014
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Let's all point our fingers and laugh at the nice stupid sportswriters! Both "Where is he now" McCready and the self-serving chowderheads who gave Bama up for dead after the Ole Miss loss....
 

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