Offseason Question: When Saban Retires.....Who?

GrayTide

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At this point Dabo has everything he needs, financial support from the school, respect, job security, ample personal compensation and from what I know his family loves Clemson. This is everything a coach needs. Can Alabama top this, probably not, but there maybe something Clemson cannot compete with, Alabama football and what it means to him. Would it be enough for him to return to Tuscaloosa, don't think any of us know the answer to this.
 

bamacpa

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I just don't like Franklin because of the ugliness and ugly exit at Vandy.
I don't care for Jimbo, because of how he didn't reign in Jameis.
I'd probably nitpick every candidate. I'd hate to be the immediate successor here.
 

CullmanTide

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I think a young coach would struggle being the guy that replaced the greatest coach ever. I think a more likely scenario is an older coach with a good but not great record who was never able for whatever reason to coach top tier talent. Someone who could handle the pressure and wants to pursue his dream of coaching a national championship team. I'm thinking of a Gene Stallings type of coach. In 10 years or so after Saban hangs it up, most guys mentioned will have already retired or been fired.
 

edwd58

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I could not support Franklin, under any circumstances. I'd have to give up my tickets.

I still think there are powerful factions that would be against hiring Dabo. Personally, I'm not his biggest fan but I could tolerate him - maybe.
 

4Q Basket Case

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I just don't like Franklin because of the ugliness and ugly exit at Vandy.
I don't care for Jimbo, because of how he didn't reign in Jameis.
I'd probably nitpick every candidate. I'd hate to be the immediate successor here.
Yeah, there are no perfect candidates. Shoot, we forget that even Saban had alienated some people before he came -- too hard to work with, nobody followed him from Michigan State to Baton Rough, an itinerant coach, forever seeing greener grass elsewhere, jerk, impossible to get along with, thinks only of himself, etc., etc.

Now, we all know that's either way overblown or flat-out not true. But that was the downside of his reputation at the time.

One of my points in asking the question is to point out that when you hire a new coach, it's a crapshoot. You just never know. We had proven coaches fail due to poor emotional fit (Fran), insiders fail due to being hopelessly in over their heads (Dubose, and to a lesser extent, Shula), outsiders not understand the demands of the job (Price), and outsiders out of their depth (Curry). Saban was the ultimate outsider, and has succeeded beyond anybody's wildest dreams.

The very thing that made Stallings a success -- an unshakeable belief in his approach to the game -- also gave him a short shelf life as the game evolved, and left him behind. I firmly believe he would have been our version of Les Miles had he not left when he did.

I do think Perkins would have been a success had he stayed, but he was hard to get along with, and the NFL places less of a premium on interpersonal skills. Bryant dying when he did was a real blow to him -- I always thought, had he lived, Bryant would have smoothed out some of Perkins' rough spots in the PR department, and he would have had an easier time in Tuscaloosa, and maybe stayed for the long haul.

But as often happens, I digress. There are no guarantees, and there is no perfect candidate out there. Whoever the next guy is, will have nits that detractors can pick. I do not envy Greg Byrne on this.
 

selmaborntidefan

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I know the issues from Dabo from long ago, but the question is whether it constitutes a youthful indiscretion that he learned from.
As Clemson hasn't had any NCAA major issues I'm aware of, I think he HAS to be the first call.


Make it off the record. He might have that Coach Bryant hankering for "Mama called." Or he might not, I don't know. But I think
you have to call him first unless he's so toxic that there's no way to do so. He doesn't have the long-term baggage of a Jackie Sherrill
or a Lou Holtz so....

If Tom Herman turns out to be the real deal at Texas, I think we go for it.


Why not? It would be amusing to watch the whole, "We have all the money in the world" meltdown tbh with you.


Other names?

Chris Peterson? I think his religion (Scientology) and home (Yuba City, CA, where I used to live btw) make this a strange fit.

Matt Campbell looks like an up and coming coach. Maybe him.


I want to restate what I've said a hundred times: we DON'T want a first-time head college football coach. I said this in opposition to Kirby Smart.
Right now he's looking pretty good, but it's still more often than not he doesn't.

I also think we call Kirby even though I'm sure the answer is no. I wound up going to the senior prom with one of the hottest girls in my
high school, even though I assumed the answer would be no. You still ask.

Otherwise - right now - I have no idea.
 

bamamick

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I disagree with the poster who Dabo doesn't bleed crimson any more. For a guy who has coached against us for the highest stakes I think he has shown more love for us than most people not coaching at their alma mater would do. I just remember hearing Roger Shultz say that he had talked with Dabo about this and that Dabo indicated that he would not be the one to follow CNS.

rtr
 

81usaf92

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I had been wondering what people were talking about in regards to his religion. I assumed it was something else. Yikes.
I’ve heard rumors about Scientology, FLDS, and LDS. But I think the Scientologist one was another Chris Petersen that someone confused him with. But it’s pretty out there stuff for a guy coming to Alabama. To each their own but Alabama is highly Protestant state which is funny because we have a Catholic coach. But that is still a form of main Christian beliefs whereas LDS isn’t.
 
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NationalTitles18

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Think carefully before posting about anyone's religion. The subject is not completely off limits, but TideFans has a very strict rule against disparaging statements. No one has crossed the line yet but let's be careful not to go there.
 

GrayTide

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Coaches will come and go, succeed and fail by the time we will need to replace CNS. I believe Greg Byrne is one of the best ADs in college sports and I feel he will do things the right way and make the best hire possible. If he wants CNS's input I don't believe anyone would object.
 

RedWave

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Think carefully before posting about anyone's religion. The subject is not completely off limits, but TideFans has a very strict rule against disparaging statements. No one has crossed the line yet but let's be careful not to go there.
Yeah. I am not sure what it has to do with coaching at all. But being agnostic in the deep south, I understand that it may not always be the best fit in the Bible Belt to not fit into a more common Christian mold. Southerners are not very accepting in this regard.
 

selmaborntidefan

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Let me backtrack because I was not aware that this was a debunked rumor (I first heard it years ago).

Petersen is NOT a Scientologist, he is, in fact, Catholic.

I don't care the color, religious, or for that matter sexual orientation of the head football coach.
I just want one who will win games fairly and not have a #metoo problem.
 

81usaf92

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Let me backtrack because I was not aware that this was a debunked rumor (I first heard it years ago).

Petersen is NOT a Scientologist, he is, in fact, Catholic.

I don't care the color, religious, or for that matter sexual orientation of the head football coach.
I just want one who will win games fairly and not have a #metoo problem.

I heard that he might be a catholic but it seems that every so often some rumor always pops up about his worship. Again I could care less if there is any truth of these rumors as long he is a winner , but you can see how the good country boy nation would raise hell if there was any truth to them or the rumors persisted.

My overall point is I think he values the west coast life more than being the man at Alabama.
 

RollTide_HTTR

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Let me backtrack because I was not aware that this was a debunked rumor (I first heard it years ago).

Petersen is NOT a Scientologist, he is, in fact, Catholic.

I don't care the color, religious, or for that matter sexual orientation of the head football coach.
I just want one who will win games fairly and not have a #metoo problem
.
Agreed. Win me some games (a national title or 2?) and don't be a terrible person.
 

BamaMoon

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I don't necessarily Disagree with anything you say.

But my post was premised on this hire taking place in Five years. So, my point is - looking at some of the "Better" recent hires in CFB - what did those guys look like FIVE years before they were hired?

I think most LSu fans would still admit that hiring Nick Saban in 2000 was a pretty good hire for them. But who was Nick Saban Five years prior? He was a DC for a Middling NFL team that was mostly mediocre for most of his time as DC. His one College HC job was at a lower division school, and he left after just one year.

Florida fans would tell you that hiring Urban Meyer in 2005 was a pretty good hire. Five years prior to taking the UF job, Urban was a WR coach at Notre Dame, and they never won 10 games in any season he coached there.

Clemson fans think hiring Dabo was a pretty sweet deal. Five years before he took over as Interim HC, he had spent one year as Clem's WR coach, after taking 3 years off from coaching and selling Real Estate. (Not exactly a dazzling resume....)

FSu fans thought Jimbo Fisher was a good hire up until about 9 months ago. ;) He spent three years "hanging out" as "Coach in Waiting" - but Five years before they hired Jimbo for that Heir Apparent position, he only had about 4 years under his belt as an OC, 3 at LSu on very defensive oriented teams, and the best team he'd worked on did win an SEC Title, but also lost three games.

OU fans probably think Lincoln Riley was a pretty good hire - making the Playoffs in his first season. Five years prior, he only had 2 years experience as an OC on some mediocre East Carolina teams..

Just sayin'.... :)
I agree we can't see who might become a great coach, but the methodology you seem to be embracing is to find a young, up and coming coach who's had some limited success somewhere else.

The problem with this is kinda repeats what we did after Coach Bryant and Coach Stallings. And Coach Stallings actually fits the characteristics too. While he won a NC, there was really no evidence he could. So taking younger, promising looking coaches is just too risky because most guys like that aren't championship caliber coaches, as the records usually indicate after 5 or 10 years.

Right now, the only coach that might fit into this "gambling philosophy" is Lincoln Riley and as bad as I hate to say it Gus Malzhan. And even acknowleging they've gotten their teams deep into the NC hunt, neither have won it.

So, I go back to the earlier point, we should make Dabo turn it down because he's proven he can build, maintain and actually win a NC and play for multiple others.

If he turns it down, we start with other very experienced coaches who have shown the capability of long-term success with conference championships and as many playoff appearences as possible.

If we strike out there, then looking for a guy who's an up and coming guy may have to be resorted to then. In that case, I'd look to someone who's a defensive specialist like Jeremy Pruit who hopefully has put together a few successful years of winning and hiring good offensive coaches.

At this point Dabo has everything he needs, financial support from the school, respect, job security, ample personal compensation and from what I know his family loves Clemson. This is everything a coach needs. Can Alabama top this, probably not, but there maybe something Clemson cannot compete with, Alabama football and what it means to him. Would it be enough for him to return to Tuscaloosa, don't think any of us know the answer to this.
I agree. Who knows, but at this stage of his career, you'd think that he wouldn't have a whole lot to lose and a whole lot to gain. If he followed CNS and won just a couple of SEC crowns and 1 NC he's Alabama coaching royalty. If he doesn't, he's still considered a top college football coach for what he's already done at Clemson.
 
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TomFromBama

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I hope CNS does not make the hire. His advice should be sought, but he should not have an inordinate amount of influence. He does not seem the type to insist, and even then he would never do it directly. Though if he insists who could turn him down? We owe him more than we could ever repay, including one hire, but only if he insists. The ideal would be that Greg Byrne makes the hire - that's his job. Though fit matters, it should have nothing to do with Alabama or Saban ties and he should be given the freedom to run the program as he sees fit.
This just leaves me speechless. I mean - words fail me.

The UNDISPUTED BEST COACH IN THE HISTORY OF THE GAME, if not unanimously held so today, then certainly by the time he retires no one anywhere will be able to deny it. But he's too stupid to pick his successor???? To Biased to pick the best choice regardless of pedigree?

Seems like he's got a pretty good record of hiring assistants and coordinators? How many of the coaches he's hired have left UA without a NC ring? 5 or 6 maybe?, out of what? 15-20 that have worked on our staffs the past 10+ years????
 

RTR91

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This just leaves me speechless. I mean - words fail me.

The UNDISPUTED BEST COACH IN THE HISTORY OF THE GAME, if not unanimously held so today, then certainly by the time he retires no one anywhere will be able to deny it. But he's too stupid to pick his successor???? To Biased to pick the best choice regardless of pedigree?

Seems like he's got a pretty good record of hiring assistants and coordinators? How many of the coaches he's hired have left UA without a NC ring? 5 or 6 maybe?, out of what? 15-20 that have worked on our staffs the past 10+ years????
Well he did tell LSU to hire Houston Nutt when he left for Miami...
 

bamamick

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Don't worry about it, Tom. Coach will have a huge say in who follows him. It is just the way things are. AD's are always asking around for ideas, and who better to influence this hire than the GOAT?

rtr
 

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