In comedy, in the courtroom and on the gridiron, timing is everything, and the timing of Saban’s announcement stinks to high heaven!! On Christmas evening, Saban gave LSU a huge lump of coal as he jumped to the No Fun League’s, Miami Dolphins. Saban’s departure was expected and very few were surprised, but on Christmas Day?? Sure, I know, he wanted to tell his players first yada-yada-yada. I get it. I also understand that the Miami gig is a fantastic opportunity and I can’t blame him for moving on to the next level. But his timing was a bummer, and perhaps, unavoidable. I listened to the first few minutes of Saban’s press conference but then I realized, why the hell am I watching a press conference involving the Miami Dolphins head coach? As that fact dawned upon me I quickly turned off the TV and got back to much more important matters, like open the remaining gifts with my family.
I know there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth and plenty of FOOLS cursing Saban’s name. Get a grip. The man won two SEC Championships and a National Title. He has won 48 games over five years and beaten the best in the business. It hurts now, but as time passes and LSU continues to win, the pain will subside. I know some will root against Saban so they can say, “should have stayed at LSU.” Others will cheer for the Dolphins and hope Nick’s success continues at the next level. I’m more ambivalent. 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.
College sports is a business where loyalty takes a back seat to a number of things including, wins, money and ego. Had Saban come in and struggled, folks would be burning up the airwaves with complaints. Look at Ron Zook, before he even coached a game two guys created FireRonZook.com. Remember, Nick Saban was hired for ONE reason, to win football games. Everything else is window dressing. He wasn’t hired to be funny. He wasn’t hired to fall in love with LSU. He wasn’t hired to eventually retire in Baton Rogue and become a symbol of the university. He was paid for W’s, and he delivered big time.
Where to now? I have no idea. I assume Bertman has been working behind the scenes putting together a short list of coaching candidates. LSU is VERY attractive and LSU should do well as long as the process isn’t botched. I hope it happens soon. A new coach must assemble a staff and pick up where Saban left off in recruiting. LSU will be loaded next year, with the right guy, the Tigers will make another run at a National Championship. Let’s hope the next guy is in the Saban mold….not Curley bout Crazy.
PS…Oh yeah, the bowl game! Lost in the saga was the fact that LSU will play Iowa on New Year’s Day. A number of questions come to mind. Will Randall put together consecutive solid games? Will the younger players be distracted by the uncertainty of a new coach? Will the entire team focus on the task at hand when they know the taskmaster will be out the door at game’s end? All we can do is hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.
