How often does any hot-at-the-moment coach not named Saban turn out to be "the real deal" as I think most fans would define it? Say, winning 10 plus in the regular season every year, winning your division and your conference more than anyone else does, and being a fixture in January bowls? If Dabo turns out not to be, he'll have plenty of company:
- Chizik and Malzahn each had a good year, but couldn't sustain
- Kiffin and Sarkisian looked good in spurts, then faded (for very different reasons)
- Chip Kelly? Maybe, but he jumped to the NFL and we all know how that's worked out so far.
- Al Golden? Let's just say he made it very unlikely any college coach will soon wear a tie on the sideline.
- Charlie Strong did well at Louisville but has yet to translate that to Texas.
- What ever happened to Greg Schiano?
- Kevin Sumlin seems to have ridden a once-in-a-generation COLLEGE QB talent for all he was worth. He's gone (a phrase with meaning on many levels), taking with him the any likelihood of pairing the terms "Texas A&M" and "SEC West Champion" that seemed inevitable only a couple of seasons ago.
- Urban Meyer? Probably the best example of the exception proving the rule (at Florida and likely at tOSU).
Just as with corporate CEOs, the "hot" commodity very often turns out not to be, while the ho-hum, under the radar folks (who rarely if ever get the spotlight when plum vacancies arise) consistently get it done in terms of winning percentage. Think Gary Patterson; Bob Stoops; Gary Pinkel; Bronco Mendenhall; and yes, Mark Richt and Les Miles. Again, Saban is the exception, but he's a once in a lifetime coach. If he's the standard, then as someone (I forget who) is supposed to have said after a fellow SEC coach was fired allegedly for being unable to beat Coach Bryant, "They'll have to fire us all then."