4:40 AM
Football
By Ed Bagley
Unlike the hiring of Dennis Erickson at Arizona State and Mark Dantonio at Michigan State, the hiring of Nick Saban as Alabama's new head coach became a national media event.
It was not just Saban's incredible coaching record that made his signing such a big deal, it was more the fact that his 8-year, $32 million contract made him the highest paid college football coach ever.
Saban paid his dues in the trenches as a defensive assistant and/or defensive coordinator at Kent State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy and Michigan State in the college ranks and with the Houston Oilers in the pros. As a head coach, Saban:
1) Took the Toledo Rockets from a 6-5 record to a 9-2 mark and the Mid-American Conference co-championship before leaving after a year to become Defensive Coordinator for the NFL Cleveland Browns for 4 years under Bill Belichick.
The Browns went from allowing the most points in the NFL (462) prior to Saban's arrival to allowing the fewest points in the league (204) in 2004, the sixth-fewest points surrendered in NFL history at the time. In 4 years of guiding Cleveland, the Browns never allowed an average of 20 points scored for any opponent.
2) Left the Browns to return to Michigan State as its head coach. When he arrived, the Spartans had played one bowl game in the last 5 years. Saban had the Spartans in 4 bowl games in 5 years, becoming the first Spartan coach to lead his team to consecutive bowl appearances in his first 3 seasons.
In 1999, his last year, Michigan State defeated Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State in the same year for the first time since 1965, and recorded 6 home victories for the first time since the 1912 season. The Spartans were ranked 7th nationally as a team, 5th nationally in Rushing Defense and 11th in Total Defense.
3) Served another 5-year stint at Louisiana State (LSU), producing a 48-16 record (.750 winning percentage in the SEC) while winning a national championship in 2003, 2 Southeastern Conference titles, and 3 SEC West Division championships. His 48 victories in 5 years were the 3rd most among Division 1A head coaches at that time.
He was selected as the 2003 National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, and earned both the Paul "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year Award, and the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award by the Football Writers Association of America.
Saban promoted academic success at LSU as well as football success, producing 84 Academic All-SEC honorees in 5 seasons, including 25 members of his 2003 national championship team, which led the national in Scoring Defense and Total Defense. Twenty-eight of his players were selected in the NFL draft. Thirteen of his players from his 2003 national championship team would go on to play in the NFL.
Saban's 2001 team went 10-3 and won the program's first outright SEC title since 1986 and its first victory in a New Year's Day bowl game since 1968. And, yes, he probably could have been elected governor of Louisiana.
4) Spent 2 years as head coach of the Miami Dolphins in the NFL. Miami was 4-12 when he took over and 9-7 in his first season.
5) Moved on to the Alabama job after bolting from the Miami Dolphins 2 years into a 5-year contract. No one has questioned his success on the field but many have questioned his loyalty and coaching methods. Saban is not a big fan of mediocrity, and he does not tolerate false effort. He demands and gets a lot from his players.
He is comfortable under the klieg lights of Hollywood, and some think he is too full of himself. Given a vote at the University of Alabama, I would guess that the Crimson Tide are happy he is on their side of the field.
Among the three first-year coaches being evaluated in this article-Dennis Erickson of Arizona State, Mark Dantonio of Michigan State and Nick Saban of Alabama-Saban has had the least success.
Alabama's offense was Average in Scoring Offense, Total Offense, Rushing Offense and Passing Offense and Poor in Pass Efficiency Offense. Saban's defense, his strong suit, was Good in Scoring Defense (29th nationally), Total Defense and Pass Efficiency Defense (both 28th nationally), and Average in Rushing Defense and Passing Defense.
Overall, Alabama scored 32 of 50 possible points in my rating system, Michigan State scored 33 of 50 and Arizona State 35 of 50.
Alabama was 6-2 this year at its zenith before hitting a downward spiral in its last 4 games, losing by a touchdown to LSU 41-34, getting beat on the road at Mississippi State 17-12 (bad), losing at home by a touchdown to Louisiana-Monroe 21-14 (terrible), and then dropping its last game to Auburn by a touchdown on the road 17-10 (horrific). Friend, you just do not lose to Auburn when you coach Alabama.
Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide will have at least one shot at some redemption when they face Colorado (6-6) in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 30. A more accurate name for this bowl match-up might be the Mediocre Bowl. Despite Saban's first-year record, the smart money will still be on Alabama, at least for this game.
Unlike the hiring of Dennis Erickson at Arizona State and Mark Dantonio at Michigan State, the hiring of Nick Saban as Alabama's new head coach became a national media event.
It was not just Saban's incredible coaching record that made his signing such a big deal, it was more the fact that his 8-year, $32 million contract made him the highest paid college football coach ever.
Saban paid his dues in the trenches as a defensive assistant and/or defensive coordinator at Kent State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy and Michigan State in the college ranks and with the Houston Oilers in the pros. As a head coach, Saban:
1) Took the Toledo Rockets from a 6-5 record to a 9-2 mark and the Mid-American Conference co-championship before leaving after a year to become Defensive Coordinator for the NFL Cleveland Browns for 4 years under Bill Belichick.
The Browns went from allowing the most points in the NFL (462) prior to Saban's arrival to allowing the fewest points in the league (204) in 2004, the sixth-fewest points surrendered in NFL history at the time. In 4 years of guiding Cleveland, the Browns never allowed an average of 20 points scored for any opponent.
2) Left the Browns to return to Michigan State as its head coach. When he arrived, the Spartans had played one bowl game in the last 5 years. Saban had the Spartans in 4 bowl games in 5 years, becoming the first Spartan coach to lead his team to consecutive bowl appearances in his first 3 seasons.
In 1999, his last year, Michigan State defeated Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State in the same year for the first time since 1965, and recorded 6 home victories for the first time since the 1912 season. The Spartans were ranked 7th nationally as a team, 5th nationally in Rushing Defense and 11th in Total Defense.
3) Served another 5-year stint at Louisiana State (LSU), producing a 48-16 record (.750 winning percentage in the SEC) while winning a national championship in 2003, 2 Southeastern Conference titles, and 3 SEC West Division championships. His 48 victories in 5 years were the 3rd most among Division 1A head coaches at that time.
He was selected as the 2003 National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, and earned both the Paul "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year Award, and the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award by the Football Writers Association of America.
Saban promoted academic success at LSU as well as football success, producing 84 Academic All-SEC honorees in 5 seasons, including 25 members of his 2003 national championship team, which led the national in Scoring Defense and Total Defense. Twenty-eight of his players were selected in the NFL draft. Thirteen of his players from his 2003 national championship team would go on to play in the NFL.
Saban's 2001 team went 10-3 and won the program's first outright SEC title since 1986 and its first victory in a New Year's Day bowl game since 1968. And, yes, he probably could have been elected governor of Louisiana.
4) Spent 2 years as head coach of the Miami Dolphins in the NFL. Miami was 4-12 when he took over and 9-7 in his first season.
5) Moved on to the Alabama job after bolting from the Miami Dolphins 2 years into a 5-year contract. No one has questioned his success on the field but many have questioned his loyalty and coaching methods. Saban is not a big fan of mediocrity, and he does not tolerate false effort. He demands and gets a lot from his players.
He is comfortable under the klieg lights of Hollywood, and some think he is too full of himself. Given a vote at the University of Alabama, I would guess that the Crimson Tide are happy he is on their side of the field.
Among the three first-year coaches being evaluated in this article-Dennis Erickson of Arizona State, Mark Dantonio of Michigan State and Nick Saban of Alabama-Saban has had the least success.
Alabama's offense was Average in Scoring Offense, Total Offense, Rushing Offense and Passing Offense and Poor in Pass Efficiency Offense. Saban's defense, his strong suit, was Good in Scoring Defense (29th nationally), Total Defense and Pass Efficiency Defense (both 28th nationally), and Average in Rushing Defense and Passing Defense.
Overall, Alabama scored 32 of 50 possible points in my rating system, Michigan State scored 33 of 50 and Arizona State 35 of 50.
Alabama was 6-2 this year at its zenith before hitting a downward spiral in its last 4 games, losing by a touchdown to LSU 41-34, getting beat on the road at Mississippi State 17-12 (bad), losing at home by a touchdown to Louisiana-Monroe 21-14 (terrible), and then dropping its last game to Auburn by a touchdown on the road 17-10 (horrific). Friend, you just do not lose to Auburn when you coach Alabama.
Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide will have at least one shot at some redemption when they face Colorado (6-6) in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 30. A more accurate name for this bowl match-up might be the Mediocre Bowl. Despite Saban's first-year record, the smart money will still be on Alabama, at least for this game.
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