Back to School...

A man and woman were sitting at a bar when the man turned and said to the woman, “would you sleep with me for thirty-two million dollars?” The woman thought a moment and said, “why yes, I would.” The man then asked, “well, would you sleep with me for 20 bucks?” The woman replied incredulously, “What do you think I am? A whore?” The man quickly replied, “We’ve already established that, now we’re just negotiating price.”

Upon taking the Dolphins job, Saban said, "This is something that I’ve worked for 30-something years in this profession to have an opportunity like this with an organization like this that has such great tradition, a great owner and an opportunity to be more successful…It's a tremendous challenge for me and a great opportunity for me and my family."

Evidently, after two years, Saban decided the challenge was too tremendous and the opportunity not so great. Here is another nugget from Saban’s opening statements with the Dolphins:

“…there are some words like respect, trust and working together that are very important in team dynamics which is going to be very important for this team and organization moving forward…”

A man walks into a Tuscaloosa group therapy session and stands at the podium. “Hi, my name is Nick Saban and I have ZERO credibility.” The other attendees at the meeting, all dressed in red and white, reply in unison, “Hi, Nick.”

I will never begrudge anyone for making money. But don’t tell me it’s not about the money when it is all about the money. Remember, Alabama approached Saban before Christmas about the job and he turned them down. At the time, the pot wasn’t sweet enough. The Tide then offered the job to Rich Rodriguez who used the offer to extort more money from West Virginia. Alabama then made another run at Saban, this time offering an ungodly sum of money, which Saban accepted. In taking the Bama job, Saban said college was where he wanted to be and blah, blah, blah. If that was true, why turn down Bama the first go around? Clearly there was a chance Bama could have landed Rodriguez or someone else and Saban would still be with the Dolphins. The reason Saban said “yes” the second time around was because the offer almost doubled.

The Random House Dictionary defines mercenary as “working or acting merely for money or other reward; venal.” Sound familiar?

Saban is a great example of the difference between “family” and “the hired help.” He was a guy LSU hired to do a job, which he did VERY well. Nothing more. No scholarships will be named after him, there will be no statues with his likeness, and no facilities bearing his name. Twenty years from now, he will be a footnote in the LSU media guide.

One of the local radio talking heads made a great point about the Saban situation. He doesn’t have a problem with Saban going to Bama, but rather with Saban’s condescending attitude, the way he handled the media and the way he treats people. I would also add to that the question of credibility and oversized ego. This is the same guy who said he’s always wanted to go the pros yet leaves after two years. This is the same guy who told the leader of the free world that he was “too busy” to have lunch. Are you kidding me? You are a freaking football coach.

Saban will win at Alabama. The question is how much is enough? Just a heads up to Bama fans, Saban is 2-3 versus Auburn and 0-3 in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Guess where the 2007 Iron Bowl is being played. LSU and Alabama are different situations and I think Saban will find the sledding more difficult than his time with the Tigers. He will battle Auburn for in-state recruits and the rivalry games (Auburn and Tennessee) will skew fan’s perception of his success.

I’m not nearly as upset as many other LSU fans. As I said when Saban left to go to the Dolphins:

I’m ambivalent [about Saban leaving]. I don’t know Saban personally. He seems like a good guy. He worked very hard while he was at LSU earning every dollar thrown at him. He won a bunch of football games and I was able to watch LSU win a National Title because of his hard work. But our relationship is over, because the only thing we shared was LSU football. Now that the link is broken, we can go our separate ways.

Nothing has really changed with my view. But it does make playing the Tide a little juicier each year. Now I can root against him and wish him heartbreaking losses with a clear conscience. I am already looking forward to the Tide’s 2008 trip to Baton Rouge.