Saban Speaks

Nick Saban was at his passive aggressive best today in Hoover before the SEC media. It was a typical Saban appearance: terse, tense, and professional. Saban does his best to both ingratiate himself to the viewer and deftly conceal the considerable cracks in his image. Today was no different. If you had never heard of Nick Saban, he would have come off as professional and diligent, like your doctor or priest. He began by thanking the media for the job they do. He also said he welcomed the outrageous expectations he faces on the Capstone and enjoyed being at a place where the standards were high.

The reporters, having heard of Nick Saban, quickly pounced on the obvious questions. What happened with Miami?

Saban gave what every lawyer would have told him to say: at the time he had no intention of leaving the Dolphins and he believed all his statements were true. The problem is that that is a lawyer's answer. If you were even considering, even for a moment, that you might leave for another job, you don't use the future tense. Hell, no coach should ever talk about his job, past, present, or future, in the future tense. It invites problems. Plus, if he even thought he might be the slightest bit interested, you don't make those kinds of statements. The Dolphins job isn't like a college job where you have to maintain the illusion of stability for recruiting, so he doesn't have a ready made excuse for lying. He said he wasn't going to be Alabama's coach in dramatic fashion and should pay the price for it. Tubs got hammered for his pine box comments at Ole Miss, but Saban is a bigger deal because of his past success. Saban just messed up and he deserves the flack.

What about LSU? Saban gave the same response to every LSU question: I respect the people of Louisiana, LSU, and the he loved his time there. He would have loved to come back to LSU, but the job wasn't open. Well Nick, it doesn't matter. LSU fan hates everything that isn't LSU. You've known this and you've now taunted the irritable, angry, and crazy LSU fan base. Get ready for batteries, rolls of pennies, urine, and raw meat when you come to Baton Rouge. Nick also had a line about Miles saying that he had "arguably the best team in the conference" (that Nick thinks Nick built).

Is it me or does a Saban press conference sounds like a management consulting speech? The terms chemistry, responsibility, mission statement, positive energy, and buy-in were all used today. Does Nick have an MBA?

One other surprise. Nick talked about his golf game today. Saban plays golf? Doesn't golf require time that Nick could spend watching tape or ignoring administrative staff?