Alabama: Could you even imagine Curt Cignetti at Alabama?

[LittleLexi]

I'm so old I can remember when Danny Ford, Mack Brown, Lou Holtz, Jimmy Johnson, Gary Barnett, Butch Davis, Larry Coker, Jim Tressel, Bob Stoops, Urban Meyer, Will Muschamp, Jimbo Fisher, and Dabo Swinney were all "the next big deal." Kirby Smart's story is still unfolding.

With the exceptions of Meyer and Swinney, not one of those coaches won more than ONE national championship, the same number won by legends like Chizik, Orgeron, Bobby Ross, and Lloyd Carr.

And that's when it was EASIER to win a national championship than now.

Cignetti may win it all this year, he may not.

But we're going to find out how much of it has to do with HIS ACTUAL COACHING when we see how well they handle success next year. Indiana will never be able to sneak up on anyone ever again. Saban said (this was prior to the 2011 championship IIRC) that the most miserable year of his coaching life was at LSU in 2004 (and played a bit of a role in him leaving), saying that it was nearly impossible to motivate the guys who had won a championship into understanding they had to start all over with the Process at square one again.

Counting ONLY the AP recognized poll (starting in 1936) plus the UPI (1950) and then the modern BCS/CFP polls, TEN coaches have won THREE or more national championships, and they're all legends like Saban, Bryant, Switzer, Osborne, McKay, Woody, etc.

So how many OTHERS have won even TWO national titles?
Earl Blaik - Army during WW2 (which hardly merits consideration)
Duffy Daugherty - Michigan State
Bobby Bowden
Dennis Erickson
Pete Carroll

And how many won titles at two different schools?
Just two legends, Saban and Meyer

Subtracting the legends, that means FIVE coaches have won at least two national championships.

Coaches fired within five seasons of winning a national championship (poll era only):
Jimbo Fisher
Ed Orgeron
Gene Chizik
Urban Meyer (technically he wasn't fired - but since he wasn't going to be permitted to stay....same thing)
Larry Coker

And Switzer resigned under duress after a series of embarrassing incidents at OU that were costing them alumni donations until he left. In short, Cignetti is as likely to get canned in the next five years as he is to win another national title in the next ten. (And save for the legends, the two-time champs won in a rather narrow window, six years being the furthest removed).

Cignetti looks great now, but John Wooden was invited to the Final Four in 1991 when UNLV was on a run that looked to net them a second straight title for the first time since UCLA in the mid-70s. When the Rebels lost a stunner to Duke, Wooden was asked what he thought of UNLV: "A lot of teams have won one in a row."


I understand things have changed with NIL and the portal
What hasn't changed? Human nature.

Man, you just don't get it. This is the same frustration I get with the NIL dept. The game has changed; there is no turning back. They, Indiana, were the worst college football NCAA in history, just went 30-1 the last 2 seasons because of 2 people. It is so sad to see how people just can't get with how things are and move forward but want to say how thing were once before. It is completely crazy having plenty of money to give to the NIL, but this type of mindset is like a virus at Bama.

 

[LittleLexi]

Indiana will have seven defensive starters returning and five starters returning on offense.

Imagine that’s about the norm for a ranked team these days.

So what, they have 10 times the amount or NIL Bama has. Get with the times.

 

[The Ols]

So what, they have 10 times the amount or NIL Bama has. Get with the times.

A little pent up frustration…maybe get out after the storm? Some solid points but few will read them with the constant negativity. Roll Tide!

 

[Bamabuzzard]

So what, they have 10 times the amount or NIL Bama has. Get with the times.

Ohio St, Texas, Texas A&M , Texas Tech, and other programs who spent more money than Alabama in NIL either didnt make the playoffs at all or got eliminated in the playoffs before Bama. Indiana spent about the same in NIL in 2025 as Bama did. So it seems like you're the one that doesn't "get it".

 

[arthurdawg]

NIL at Indiana, Texas, TAM, OSU, Michigan, Oregon, Miami, Texas Tech, LSU or even Ole Miss are very much different than at Bama. You better get accustomed to it. Bama is now an afterthought with "our" current NIL program and will not even come close to sniffing a Natty until it changes with real-world leadership. These above programs are light years ahead of us. It took 2 people to make Indiana 30-1 the last 2 seasons.

In that those programs have more cash than us? Use it more wisely?

I see things indicating we are top ten in NIL money and that we are groundbreakers... But I haven't really seen anything that really breaks it down and compares and contrasts with the top 15 or so.

 

[dtgreg]

NIL at Indiana, Texas, TAM, OSU, Michigan, Oregon, Miami, Texas Tech, LSU or even Ole Miss are very much different than at Bama. You better get accustomed to it. Bama is now an afterthought with "our" current NIL program and will not even come close to sniffing a Natty until it changes with real-world leadership. These above programs are light years ahead of us. It took 2 people to make Indiana 30-1 the last 2 seasons.

Mooo

 

[Bamabuzzard]

In that those programs have more cash than us? Use it more wisely?

I see things indicating we are top ten in NIL money and that we are groundbreakers... But I haven't really seen anything that really breaks it down and compares and contrasts with the top 15 or so.

Money isn't and won't be what takes teams to the top. Money may get you access to better raw talent, which is good, but it isn't a guarantee it's going to work.

The Texas Tech booster ulimately wants all P4 schools under the same TV contract and the revenue split equally. You know why he wants that? So he doesn't have to keep dumping $30-$40 million of his own money into the football program just to have a shot at making the playoffs. These billionaires, though they have money, aren't going to keep giving that type of money every year, ESPECIALLY if it's not producing NC's. It has nothing to do with whether they can afford it or not, because certainly they can. But even the money Mark Cuban gave to Indiana is not going to be an endless stream of funds. I listened to an interview with Cuban and he was asked about his monetary participation and his answer didn't lead me to believe he was just giving them an open and endless checkbook.

 

[LittleLexi]

Ohio St, Texas, Texas A&M , Texas Tech, and other programs who spent more money than Alabama in NIL either didnt make the playoffs at all or got eliminated in the playoffs before Bama. Indiana spent about the same in NIL in 2025 as Bama did. So it seems like you're the one that doesn't "get it".

No, you don't get it. This is the same ole Bama comeback. We are way behind the times. Mark my word, until the NIL at Bama is run with an open mind, we will be an afterthought not only in Football, but all other sports.

 

[LittleLexi]

Money isn't and won't be what takes teams to the top. Money may get you access to better raw talent, which is good, but it isn't a guarantee it's going to work.

The Texas Tech booster ulimately wants all P4 schools under the same TV contract and the revenue split equally. You know why he wants that? So he doesn't have to keep dumping $30-$40 million of his own money into the football program just to have a shot at making the playoffs. These billionaires, though they have money, aren't going to keep giving that type of money every year, ESPECIALLY if it's not producing NC's. It has nothing to do with whether they can afford it or not, because certainly they can. But even the money Mark Cuban gave to Indiana is not going to be an endless stream of funds. I listened to an interview with Cuban and he was asked about his monetary participation and his answer didn't lead me to believe he was just giving them an open and endless checkbook.

It's really sad to see the state of Bama fans in this day in age, defying what is right in from of them.

 

[M Squires]

No, you don't get it. This is the same ole Bama comeback. We are way behind the times. Mark my word, until the NIL at Bama is run with an open mind, we will be an afterthought not only in Football, but all other sports.

I’m going off memory and non accounting quality info, but the general take is that Bama spent far more than Indiana in NIL last season, and that Indiana was top-half of the big ten this season; about the same as Bama.

During this season? Their big money like Cuban finally believed and kicked in, so going forward they are higher than Bama, for now.

 

[BamaInCummingGA]

It's really sad to see the state of Bama fans in this day in age, defying what is right in from of them.

How much of your money have you thrown in?

 

[Bamabuzzard]

No, you don't get it. This is the same ole Bama comeback. We are way behind the times. Mark my word, until the NIL at Bama is run with an open mind, we will be an afterthought not only in Football, but all other sports.

Im all ears for you to explain to me how Alabama is behind the times in the NIL.