"I will not be the next SEC Champion Coach!"Nick Saban, love him or hate him, you have to give him one thing, he does have immaculate hair. But that is not the reason the University of Alabama Board of Trustees is paying him 4 million a year on a contract that is guaranteed for five years. No. They hired him to win football games.
So how will Nick fare his first year back in the SEC? The Alabama faithful would have you believe that he will win an SEC championship in only his first year, but as Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast, my friend!"
He is taking over a team that went 6-7 lst year and barely qualified for the Independence bowl against Oklahoma State which they promptly lost.
To say that new Offensive Coordinator Major Applewhite is unproven is an understatement. He is 28 years old and only has two years of coaching experiance, one with Syracuse as QB coach in 2005 (in which the Orange posted a 1-10 record), and one last year as the Offensive Coordinator at Rice University. His record you ask? One must have an impeccable record to become Offensive Coordinator under the Nation's top-paid college coach, right? Wrong. 6-7, the same record Mike Shula was fired from Bama for last season.
Saban is being forced into running a 3-4 under defensive scheme this year because of the lack of quality defensive linemen. In fact he had to move Red-shirt Freshman Center Brian Motley to Defensive Tackle one day before Spring practice began for depth and the guy figures to be in the mix to fight for a starting spot at nose tackle. Don't Defensive Tackles generally move to the Offensive Line at the college level and not the other way around? This guy's stats? 6'1" 284lbs. He is hardly the mountain that you need in a Nose Tackle to anchor that defensive line in a 3-4 scheme. Scout.com had this to say about Motley in their preview of the 2007 Alabama defense:
"Is Brian Motley the key to the team's season? In the new 3-4 alignment, a stud is needed at tackle to be the anchor everything else works around, and the former center appeared to be a good one this spring. The coaching staff has raved about him, but at 6-1 and 284 pounds, he'll have to play big on the nose."
A Bama fan will tell you that Saban is good for at least 2-3 additional wins over what Mike Shula wouldv'e done and somehow that math comes out to a 9 or 10 win season. I just don't think that is in the cards for Bama this year, and honestly, I think that when recruits see Bama struggle, they will turn to other schools such as Iron Bowl rival Auburn.
Think of it this way. Most would consider Steve Spurrier a superior coach to Nick Saban, right? I know I for one do. Saban is 91-42-1 (that's 68% for those of you as bad at math as I am) as a collegiate head coach, 3-6 in bowls, has one MNC and two SEC Championships. Spurrier is 157-50-2 currently (76%), 7-7 in bowls, and has 1 MNC, 1 ACCC, and 6 SECC. He has been Coach of the Year 8 times in his respective conference. So it is safe to say that Spurrier is the superior coach.
When Spurrier was hired at South Carolina he improved the record from 6-5 the previous year to 7-5 in his first season. I wouldn't say Alabama has much more talent than did South Carolina at that point
Many say leave the Bammers to their delusions, but I contend that the delusion of the Bammer Nation is harmful to thoughtful and productive conversations about SEC football and must be stopped. How long until they are driving their new found idol out of town like they did Mike Shula, or throwing bricks through his window as they did to Bill Curry?
Thoughts of an SEC title are somewhat far-fetched for Alabama both this year and in the foreseeable future. Save the world, tell a Bammer.
7 comments:
The majority of Bama folks are NOT looking for an SEC Championship in the near future.There are a few that their elevators don't go all the way up are talking National Championship but I regress.I have no idea where the author got all his info but he didn't from the boards I go to.
And the "rock and window" incident with Curry was fabricated.There was no glass on the inside. Make your own conclusions.
if crimsonnation says it then I believe it whole-hearedly!
But seriously, I would like to know the origin of the info provided in this fine looking blog made by Sabannochio. I would say it was from a Barner site. I would challenge him to look at any highly regarded Bama site and, not the AL.Com free forums where the kiddies are but places like BOL, Clays Bama Page, TideFans.com etc. I could easily say things that were unfounded like the rumbling that is going on with Phyllis Fulmer and his job security, did he really accidentally eat some kid's parents, etc. SOmetimes where there is smoke, there is a huge pile of Cow dung.
Ha, Ha! I know the majority don't think that way. This was directed at the minority that are. You two are more of the sensible variety Bama fans. It just wouldn't be interesting otherwise. Thanks for the comments.
Oh, and Fulmer really did eat some dudes kids. That's not made up. =)
SECorBust: Enter Minority: Expectations are high for the new coach, anything less than the SEC Championship will be dissapointing. It's not like THE BAMA NATION changed our expectations just because we are now paying the next coach to win the NC at Alabama. Sure we are bound to be dissapointed, but you can expect whatever you want in the preseason. I expect perfection,and I'm not ashamed to admit it!!! Roll Tide Roll!!
P.S. Brian Motley was switched/tried out at NT before one of the scrimages(he had 11 tackles in the scrimage), not before the A-Day game.
I am reading now that it was the day before Spring practice began that Motley made the switch. I'll fix that.
Quote from Scout: "Is Brian Motley the key to the team's season? In the new 3-4 alignment, a stud is needed at tackle to be the anchor everything else works around, and the former center appeared to be a good one this spring. The coaching staff has raved about him, but at 6-1 and 284 pounds, he'll have to play big on the nose."
Quote by Bill Curry in response to a question about the "brick" incident: "Strange things happen to coaches everywhere," Curry says. "That was the least of it at Alabama, I can assure you."
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