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Finebaum - caller's comments on GCS remarks about Saban's contract...

Dixiedawg

Dixiedawg

1st Team
Oct 13, 1999
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Mobile, Ala
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I was bored this afternoon and tuned into the Vulture of the Month club in time to catch one of our fans raking Paul over the coals for baiting or bringing up something CGS had to say about CNS contract. When the idiot (caller) was through he pretty much thought CGS was out of line with his comments about how long CNS would stay here. I have to admit PF should be cited for hunting Bama (or Barner or UT or insert team) Fans over a baited field, since all he has is say something negative and they come our snarling and snapping like wounded lemmings. I'll have to (gulp) agree with the vulture on this one CGS has a right to express an opinion just as anyone else on the circus he calls a show, but to get your blood pressure up is just not worth it. I only listen to it anyway for the comic relief and former coaches comments including Pat Dye's; Brother Oliver and Coach Stallings all three men actually know what THEY are talking about and have actually coached a college football team something most of the callers haven't. So to the nut who called in and was so PO'd at CGS take a chill pill and get a life, from what I've read about Coach Stallings he is an honorable person and since he dosen't know your mad at him all your doing is harm to your self. ;)
 
Re: PF; Coach StalliCoach Saban's contractngs Comment on

And it was mainly just Coach Stallings supplying us with another reminder that he lived up to every contract he ever signed .
 
Sure it's Stallings' "right" to say whatever, however unfortunate it might be that he did. IMO, he was showing petty jealousy as well as speaking about situations he knows little about. I was disappointed that he fell prey to Finebaum's trap. OTOH, it sounded like he was waiting for the chance.
 
I think Paul really respects Coach Stallings, and I'm not sure he was trying to bait him, so much as he was trying to bring up a topic. I don't think he wanted the issue he got.

I respect Coach a whole lot, but things just aren't like they used to be. If you have a buyout, then you're not really breaking an agreement. It may be disappointing and even misleading to the fans, but if both sides agree to the buyout, it's part of the contract. If everyone agrees to it in good faith, there's no reason to complain.
 
BamaInBham said:
Sure it's Stallings' "right" to say whatever, however unfortunate it might be that he did. IMO, he was showing petty jealousy as well as speaking about situations he knows little about. I was disappointed that he fell prey to Finebaum's trap. OTOH, it sounded like he was waiting for the chance.
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This is how I felt about the whole thing.

All men make mistakes, and Coach Stallings made his fair share, whether he upheld every contract he signed or not. Some of his mistakes caused Alabama a great deal of harm.

Either way, it is nonsense. Let's just play football.
 
CrimsonProf said:
...I respect Coach a whole lot, but things just aren't like they used to be. If you have a buyout, then you're not really breaking an agreement. It may be disappointing and even misleading to the fans, but if both sides agree to the buyout, it's part of the contract. If everyone agrees to it in good faith, there's no reason to complain.
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In the end, we no longer hold people accountable. I do not care what may be deemed "acceptable" in today's culture. IMO, if you sign a contract, you fulfill that contract.

I have many people in my close circle who are professional coaches. This is the one area that we disagree about the most. They feel that, because they can be fired in the middle of a contract, they should also be free to leave in the middle of a contract. Institutions write in buyouts and stay bonuses to create incentives for a coach to stay, but why should that ever come into play? Would a man of honor break a contract?

If a coach is fired, he will be paid the remainder of his contract. The school (or team) is legally obligated to pay out the term of the contract while he sits at home on his couch (if he wishes). IMO, if a coach leaves before the end of his contract, he should be forced to refund every cent paid to date under that contract.

There are exceptions where both parties agree to part, but most contracts are broken by one side with no regard for the other. The problem, only teams have a real incentive to honor the contract. Why the legal system hasn't come up with a better answer for this is beyond me. And why it is necessary is even more so...
 
Dawg, if you check this thread, I'd be curious also as to what he said. BTW, this is as good as I could do for a new title...
 
TIDE-HSV said:
Dawg, if you check this thread, I'd be curious also as to what he said. BTW, this is as good as I could do for a new title...
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You can listen here: link

He was asked what made Saban a great college coach. He answered in a few minutes, but indicated that Saban's real strong point is his ability to recruit. Then he simply said that players should not go to a school just for the coach (any coach except CPB). He said that the coaches come and go. They die or retire or move on. Finebaum pointed out that Saban had broken contracts with Michigan State, LSU and Miami. Stallings then said that a coach should be able to stand on his track record for this kind of thing (saying that Saban could not, but without actually saying the words).

He did not criticize Saban for his contract, but you could tell that he doesn't think much of Saban's decisions in this area or agree with his propensity to "move on" while under contract. He asked, "Well, so what makes you think that it might not happen at Alabama?"

BTW, Stallings also criticized Bama for firing Shula while still under contract. In this area, he has been consistent...
 
Just because you CAN say something, doesn't mean you should. Sure, CGS had the right to his opinion, but stating it the way he did does nothing to help the program. I am not saying it necessarily hurts, but it could. The topic of CNS's willingness to stay in one place too long has been discussed ad nauseum a couple years ago and is a dead issue.

What I found most disgusting was the number of supposed Bama fans calling in and saying this like "I am glad Saban is our coach, but he will never be as good a man as Gene Stallings was." Which, of course, caused other callers to make statements blaming CGS for everything from the Holocaust to the current financial crisis, and a rolling snowball ensued. A responsible host could have kept that from ever getting started, but we all know PF knows nothing of being responsible.

By the way, I love CGS as much as the next guy, but how can we be certain that CNS is not as good a man, or won't be by the time all is said and done?
 
It sounds like Coach Stallings' comments about Coach Saban's longevity at Bama were taken out of context. Stallings was trying to make the point that you don't send your son to a college because of a coach--the goal of attending college is to get a degree, not to play football for a particular individual.

Edit to answer Earle's question: He said that CPB was about the only individual who you'd want to go to a school to play for. He said coaches leave, they retire, they die, they get fired and then what? You're at a school because of a particular individual, and now that individual is no longer there, then what?

It was Finebaum who said Saban broke all of his previous contracts, to which Stallings replied "Who's to say it won't happen at Alabama?"

I didn't have a problem with either what he said, or how he said it. I believe he's right, and I believe all the hullaballoo is about a few sentences that were taken out of the context of answering why you would send your children to a particular university.
 
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GulfCoastTider said:
It sounds like Coach Stallings' comments about Coach Saban's longevity at Bama were taken out of context. Stallings was trying to make the point that you don't send your son to a college because of a coach--the goal of attending college is to get a degree, not to play football for a particular individual.

Edit to answer Earle's question: He said that CPB was about the only individual who you'd want to go to a school to play for. He said coaches leave, they retire, they die, they get fired and then what? You're at a school because of a particular individual, and now that individual is no longer there, then what?

It was Finebaum who said Saban broke all of his previous contracts, to which Stallings replied "Who's to say it won't happen at Alabama?"

I didn't have a problem with either what he said, or how he said it. I believe he's right, and I believe all the hullaballoo is about a few sentences that were taken out of the context of answering why you would send your children to a particular university.
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That was his point, but he said all of the other things, too. To paraphrase CGS, he said, "If you come to Bama just to play for Saban, how do you know that he will still be around to coach you?"
 
I don't listen to Finebaum because during the 20 minutes it takes me to drive home, its always just idiots calling in that have no business on radio.

However, I have the utmost respect for Coach Stallings. He believes a "man's word" should be honored. I admire that kind of philosophy. But after Coach Stallings threw Bockrath out of the dressing room, he turned in his notice, right?

Coach Saban considers a contract as having an out on either end. We have become a very litigious society. If I no longer wanted my job, I would find a way to leave for something better. Most of us would...
 
A Finebaum caller posed the following two questions to Coach Stallings:

1) What makes Nick Saban a winner?

2) If it were your son, why would you want to send him to play for Saban?


As someone mentioned, Stallings said that Saban was a very good recruiter - but then he said something like, "But he hasn't won everywhere he's been. What was his record in the NFL?" I thought that was funny point to make, considering CGS's own record as a head coach in the NFL.

Gene then addressed the second question by stating that a player should never sign with a school just because of who the coach is. (With Bryant having been the only exception ever to that rule.) That's when the comment was made that lifetime contracts don't mean anything and that Saban's track record backed that up.
 
It started with Finebaum asking Stallings to comment on the McClain incident. He was critical, saying he was "surprised that Alabama put up with that". And that "you don't reward bad behavior" in reference to his receiving an award for the game. He did admit, "i'm looking from afar". IMO, since the game refs did not suspend him and the SEC office confirmed their decision based on review of that incident, why would a sympathetic supporter make such hardball comments ? It was unfortunate.

When a caller said, "what makes Coach Saban such a winner", Stallings bristled, "he didn't win at Miami". The petty jealousy was dripping. Made me sick, but all of these coaches have massive egos. He did say later that he thought that Coach Saban was a great coach.

In response to a Stallings' question Finebaum said that Saban had broken all of his contracts. In reality, we don't know that that is the case because in many, probably most, coaches' contracts there are provisions for either side to bail. In fact, as we know, Saban has never had a buyout, at least from MSU forward. So, Stallings' general criticism regarding this issue, which of course was at the very least somewhat, directed toward Coach Saban, was IMO, out of place. He doesn't even know that he has broken a contract.

It was not terrible, but it showed Coach Stallings in a bad light and threw unnecessary cold water on an imperfect but fine showing in the VT game and put a bit of chill in the atmosphere. Some who are a deserving part of past glory are beginning to begrudge Saban's current standing. Yes, there is a great past, but they need to remember the pit from which Saban has dug the Bama program.

I hope the massive egos of some of the old timers like Stallings, Oliver, as well as Bryant supporters, do not unnecessarily provoke Saban's massive ego :). They all have them. It would be comical and somewhat charming if it weren't so potentially destructive.

I've contributed to making it a bigger deal than it was, but it was unfortunate, IMO.
 
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