Saban, Spurrier or others? That’s the question {by JessN}

[JessN]

Share
 

Saban, Spurrier or others? That’s the question
By Jess Nicholas
November 29, 2006

Even though Alabama’s coaching search is a grand two days old, many Alabama fans are pinging message boards incessantly trying to identify a favorite – or even whether the field has been narrowed.

There isn’t much that would placate Alabama fans right now except an announcement that Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban or Bob Stoops – call them the “S-Troop” if you wish – had been named head coach.

In our original look at the potential field, we handicapped Nick Saban not necessarily as the favorite for the job, but perhaps the key axis around which the search would rotate.

That’s different than identifying Saban as Alabama’s “top target,” as Butch Davis certainly was in 2001, when sources say he had a handshake deal for the Alabama job and then backed out at the 11th hour on the advice of coaches and others who had an inkling of what Alabama would be up against when the NCAA’s probation decision finally came down.

In the process, Alabama lost the ability to bargain with its second choice, Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer, who chose to stay at Virginia Tech rather than be thought of as anyone’s fallback position.

To know where the search is now, you’d have to know where contact took place, when and with whom, and that information isn’t available to us or 99 percent of the people who claim to have the “inside scoop” on what’s going on.

Normally reliable people have lined up behind both Saban and Spurrier, citing sources of information that suggest Alabama – or at least, people acting unofficially on behalf of Alabama – may have contacted either or both prior to the Shula dismissal to gauge interest.

It is likely that no one will ever know for sure, short of one of those men being hired and then writing a tell-all book about the experience. Since the start of the search, though, both have come out with statements denying interest in the Alabama job, and although statements like those are often coachspeak, Saban’s statement was worded much more strongly than such statements usually are.

What is known at this time is Saban remains a key figure and Spurrier may be more of a figure than originally thought. And that’s about it.

If there’s been any change the last two days, it’s the tier under these three men may be shaping up. Rich Rodriguez, Bob Petrino, Jim Grobe seem to have formed a second tier, with Greg Schiano, Paul Johnson and Steve Kragthorpe just behind. The key, of course, is how UA has these men ranked – not how the fans have them ranked.

It’s also still not out of the realm of possibility to see other candidates emerge, most likely from the pro ranks.

The hardest thing to accept at the moment is that the search may just be in its infancy.

The biggest thing that could happen in the next few days – barring the selection of a new coach – is for some names to be officially dropped from the search list. Again, the key name there is Saban, with Spurrier just behind. If both men are true to their word about not taking the UA job, the “A+ list” then includes Stoops and no one else. If Alabama had not already targeted Stoops by that time, there would be a key decision to make: Throw all the eggs in one basket, or open up the search to coaches yet to win a national title.

The point to take from all this is that most reports of “done deals” never come to fruition, and patience should be shown while the search process works itself out.