Time for Saban to head off into the Sunset

[bamaga]

tantrums are destructive but some level of catharsis is a helpful part of recovery

I don't mind posts like the OP's because I then see the 50 responses after it and know I'm in good company and the 2% who are unreasonable are countered by the 98%.

That said, we'll move any similar threads/posts to this thread. I hate catch-all threads, but if any is deserving of catch-all treatment, it's this.

Thanks boss for the understanding and I agree, this is mild compared to some of the tantrums in the last year of Dubose, Fran and Shula years. But, at the same time it’s worse because of the Coach involved this time.

 

[davefrat]

I’m in full agreement. This should be deleted ASAP. Nick Saban knows what’s best for the program and he and his family. The sheer utterance of things like this is preposterous. Think back to the condition of this program before he arrived in the spring of 2007. RTR.

Please let it remain forever as a testament to fanatical idiocy.

 

[RollTide82]

I used to laugh at these types of posts/comments in the past but now not so much. The past couple seasons this team has been routinely outcoached and undisciplined. Again last night they just looked unprepared for whatever reason. I don’t think Saban has lost his touch as much as his style isn’t cut out for this era. Players just don’t seem to want to listen to coaches much anymore and are just worried about NIL money and pro contracts. Player development has been a huge issue as our recruiting rankings are staying at #1 or #2 but that’s not translating to the field. There’s just a multitude of things going on that signals we are at the end of this era. Saban is no doubt the greatest to ever do it but it eventually passes everyone by.

What I’m afraid of is this Saban can stay as long as he wants attitude. I don’t want Alabama to go through what FSU did with Bowden. They still haven’t recovered from that extended farewell. I do think Nick steps away long before that happens.

 

[BigAlinKnoxville]

In the late 60's, people were saying the same thing about Coach Bryant after he adopted the pro-style passing game.

Give me a break.

 

[Tidewater]

I was teaching at Va Tech in the waning years of the Beamer administration.
Beamer had built Va Tech into a very good program and even played for a national championship during his tenure. Then things started to slide.
Va Tech was paying Beamer too much for him to quit and had had done too much for the program for Va Tech to fire him.
Va Tech went 11-1, then 11-3, then 8-5, 7-6, 7-6, etc.
Eventually, they agreed to part ways, but the damage had been done to the program (they went 3-8 last year).

Coach Saban having won six championships at Alabama, I am inclined to give him as long as he wants.

 

[GulfCoastTider]

"Dial the Gate, Sam. We're on the wrong planet."

 

[HighlandOak]

We have some terrible fans in our fanbase.

Everybody does. It's not terrible to think that other programs are using Saban's age as a recruiting tool. And, if they are, it will only get worse each year.

 

[HighlandOak]

I was teaching at Va Tech in the waning years of the Beamer administration.
Beamer had built Va Tech into a very good program and even played for a national championship during his tenure. Then things started to slide.
Va Tech was paying Beamer too much for him to quit and had had done too much for the program for Va Tech to fire him.
Va Tech went 11-1, then 11-3, then 8-5, 7-6, 7-6, etc.
Eventually, they agreed to part ways, but the damage had been done to the program (they went 3-8 last year).

Coach Saban having won six championships at Alabama, I am inclined to give him as long as he wants.

I think the days of allowing a coach to stay as long as he wants in big money college football are over. If Byrne feels Saban is letting it slip, he has to have that conversation. It's his job.

 

[Slowpoke Catracho]

Bama fans after the game (perception):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1700819162388664746

 

[CHATTBRIT]

Did I enjoy watching Texas beat Bama last night? Of course not! I'm surprised it was only by 10 points to be honest. That being said, none of us, none of us fans who have been spoiled these good many years past with the wins and national championships have the right or the temerity to even suggest its time for Coach to go. He has earned that right to make that decision. His former top level assistants are either head coaches in college or coordinators in the NFL so there is a dearth of talent in that department and that was very evident last night.

Coach is not the type to hang on beyond his time. He will know when it's time to go and he has earned the right to make that decision. So unless you think you can do the job better yourself, you may want to firmez votre bouche.

 

[jcabama]

One other thing, do we as Bama fans not think that Sark is brilliant at exploiting and creating mismatches? On the flip, he knows how a defense will attack so he can exploit those mismatches. Sark is Nick’s nightmare, being that Sark helped design the offense that we run, and was on the inside so he knows how the program thinks. I know we have moved away from some of the west coast tendencies in the program, especially the perimeter game. But by designing plays For Nick he knows what Nick wants to do, thus he has an inside track on how to defend it. Throw in a QB with little confidence , and you have the makings for yesterday.

While Sark certainly knows our tendencies, knowing them and having the horses to exploit them to advantage are still different things. Last night, he had the horses that whipped us on both LOS and a QB who made fewer mistakes. For whatever reason, we aren't as tough or deep as we thought and only a lot of hard work deep into the depth chart is going to change that scenario. In addition, our inexperience at key positions (LT, Safety and QB most specifically) helped seal our fate. Experience comes with repetitions and I believe that both LT and especially Safety will be in the good-to-great category in the not too distant future. I have less confidence in the QB making that progress and that will remain our Achilles heel for the remainder of this season I'm afraid. Perhaps we'd be better off determining where the greatest potential at QB lies and take our lumps while gaining it.
PS: Not to lose touch with the title of the thread, I’d say Nick stays as long as Nick wants to stay—he’s earned it on the field and what he does for the young men who play(ed) for him and the community at large gives him a lifetime of credit in my ledger.

 

[crimsonaudio]

I'm currently leaving this thread open as an example of how NOT to react to a loss.

 

[We_are_Bama]

I used to laugh at these types of posts/comments in the past but now not so much. The past couple seasons this team has been routinely outcoached and undisciplined. Again last night they just looked unprepared for whatever reason. I don’t think Saban has lost his touch as much as his style isn’t cut out for this era. Players just don’t seem to want to listen to coaches much anymore and are just worried about NIL money and pro contracts. Player development has been a huge issue as our recruiting rankings are staying at #1 or #2 but that’s not translating to the field. There’s just a multitude of things going on that signals we are at the end of this era. Saban is no doubt the greatest to ever do it but it eventually passes everyone by.

What I’m afraid of is this Saban can stay as long as he wants attitude. I don’t want Alabama to go through what FSU did with Bowden. They still haven’t recovered from that extended farewell. I do think Nick steps away long before that happens.

Thank you! You absolutely nailed the situation. Too many are in the "Saban can stay as long as he wants camp" and that is NOT good for the long term health of the program. If we do an extended farewell like Florida State did with the late Bobby Bowden, it will hurt us, just like it has FSU.I love Saban. I appreciate everything he has ever done. I just can't bear (no pun intended) to watch the program regress. I also have to wonder, let's say that Saban started having Shula type seasons. Not 4-9 or 6-6, but what if he turns in a few 7-5 years. What will be the overall feeling then, even amongst the most ardent Saban supporters

 

[Ole Man Dan]

Who do you want to replace Saban? Dabo or some of the other would be’s that fizzled out ?

No Go With Dabo.

 

[bamaga]

I think the days of allowing a coach to stay as long as he wants in big money college football are over. If Byrne feels Saban is letting it slip, he has to have that conversation. It's his job.

Byrne doesn’t have to have that conversation . I guarantee Nick will know when he doesn’t have the fire anymore And will step aside.

 

[denver]

Should Saban go, no...but should have someone reminding him of how he built the program and that he can get back to that. I think he has changed from the Saban of old...in your face, demanding and ruthless, to a more "modern" mindset of understanding and being gentler with the players..responding to the NIL/Transfer situation...maybe he has over rotated...we seem to have lost our mean streak...we need to get that back. We have outstanding talent, yet we get beat by lesser players when one on one who have more desire. Whatever it takes we need to find that drive again...OL/DL for sure...but all over we need that killer instinct mentality back. The season is still in front of us, time to get angry

 

[westide]

People get concerned and frustrated when there have been some glaring problems over the last few years that even with changes have not been fixed. It seems a lot of very talented assistant coaches do not want to coach at Bama for whatever reasons and CNS is left filling the spots with warm bodies. Fans can quickly grow tired of old cliches and coach speak.

 

[bamadws56]

I understand the sentiment; I don't think any reasonable observer would disagree that ours is a program in decline.

Maybe CNS is just too old for this. A tattered coat upon a stick commands little respect from players and assistants.

With that said, even a past-his-prime Saban is a mighty big pair of shoes to fill. It would be quite hubristic to assume that the best HCs will be beating down the door to be the GOAT's following act.

Regardless, and for better or worse, I don't see CNS hanging around more than a couple more seasons in any case.

I think people who believe Saban is too old to...relate to players, his scheme is too old, etc. miss something. The big thing that strikes me is:
Over the years, Saban has replaced coaches with equal or better. Since 2017, with the acknowledgement 2020 is one of the best of all time, I don't think he has been bringing the same level coaches. This has impacted every phase of our program more than anything else.

 

[Gallowglas]

Respectfully, this is a really skewed and shortsighted perspective. We had a natty in 2020. In the intervening 3 years, we’ve been contenders and had a Heisman winner. It’s an impossible standard.

Who do you think we’re going to get to replace CNS that will even approach his success? Let’s compare the record of the guy who just beat us with Saban’s record…want to trade places with Texas? They dropped four games last year. There has been one coach in the last three years that consistently favorably compared with CNS. ONE. Name one coach other than Smart that you’d trade outcomes with across all three years, much less the last five? Especially against the same competition.

I get the criticism about the places where we need to improve, but let’s be realistic and rational.

 

[64met]

Good grief, the program was a mess when CNS took over. And now after all the man has done are calling for him to retire. It's one loss. Win with class/ loose with class. We got beat. Move on, but this thread is beyond ridiculous.