Nick Saban is retiring

[Dawg83]

1 hour ago, NoWammies said:

Well you’re not a fortune teller just a State fan. 

I think my record of terrible predictions year after year speaks for itself

[s1nglewing]

Kiffin gonna raid the Bama portal players if they don't offer him fast.

[Former Coach]

I honestly don't think Kiffin goes anywhere. He can do anything he wants at OM, and not just with the football program. Also, as successful as he has been at OM, I just don't think any of the big time programs are ready to turn their program over to him. And that is good for OM because he has built a good program there. If he can sustain success with the year to year turnover with portal guys, why would he ever leave?

 

[MSTSatchmo]

14 hours ago, NoWammies said:

Well you’re not a fortune teller just a State fan. 

 
That’s probably the take that most college football fans and the “experts” have except OM fans.  OM fans said similar statements after Houston Nutt’s first two seasons at OM.   If Kiffin had added the portal players he just got to a team at Bama instead of OM, they would be early favorites to be preseason #1, but since it’s OM most are thinking #5 at the highest.  
 

Of course that perception could change.  Maybe OM will add 40k seats to Vaught-Hemingway, and Kiffin will stay until he’s 70.   

[MSTSatchmo]

11 hours ago, s1nglewing said:

Kiffin gonna raid the Bama portal players if they don't offer him fast.

And it could be just rumors, but late last night some with “inside info” said expect to hear who the new coach is TODAY!  If that’s the case, it isn’t Kiffin, but more likely Lanning.  

[Dawg83]

Unfortunately for the rest of us, Bama’s AD is the ninja himself so the odds of them screwing this up are low.

[Insideradvantage]

30 minutes ago, MSTSatchmo said:

And it could be just rumors, but late last night some with “inside info” said expect to hear who the new coach is TODAY!  If that’s the case, it isn’t Kiffin, but more likely Lanning.  

And if it is Lanning to Alabama, the speculation of Kiffin to Oregon can really heat up. It just never ends. 

[hasbeen67]

Are the traditional blue bloods going to continue to hold as much weight with NIL and portal? I'd image that played into Saban's decision to get out now. It's like the wild west out there - kill or be killed.

[Dawg83]

7 minutes ago, Insideradvantage said:

And if it is Lanning to Alabama, the speculation of Kiffin to Oregon can really heat up. It just never ends. 

The Oregon job is so interesting to me. They are Nike University with a ton of resources and top shelf facilities, and they have won a lot. But then they’ve also had multiple head coaches leave them for other jobs (Kelly, Taggart, Cristobal). And none of those guys have been as good afterward as they were at Oregon.

[Dawg83]

It appears Lanning is staying put. Now is the point where I’d start sweating it a little on Kiffin if I was an Ole Miss fan, though he still may be a little ways down the list.

 

Perhaps Norvell or Sark are options? Maybe DeBoer.

[MSTSatchmo]

11 minutes ago, Dawg83 said:

It appears Lanning is staying put. Now is the point where I’d start sweating it a little on Kiffin if I was an Ole Miss fan, though he still may be a little ways down the list.

 

Perhaps Norvell or Sark are options? Maybe DeBoer.

I would bet DeBoer would be.   Norvell I’m not sold on him being on Bama’s list that high, and Sark, I would imagine would stay at Texas.  Dabo’s stock has dropped like a rock the last few years.  Does anyone think Riley would be considered?  

[Insideradvantage]

Not gonna be Kiffin. 

[maroontide06]

42 minutes ago, Insideradvantage said:

Not gonna be Kiffin. 

Got a link you can post?

[Bulldogs4]

3 hours ago, Dawg83 said:

Unfortunately for the rest of us, Bama’s AD is the ninja himself so the odds of them screwing this up are low.

Regardless of who is hired, the intimidation factor will be gone. After Bear retired, Bama still won but the dominance was gone and intimidation factor was gone. A team will no longer feel they are defeated before the opening kick off. 
So that is biggest factor here. They are going to still win but the days of getting off the bus having already won the game are over. Conference teams will play Bama with a different mindset going forward. 

Byrne will no doubt hire a good HC but the other intangibles will never be duplicated. 

[Dawg83]

5 minutes ago, Bulldogs4 said:

Regardless of who is hired, the intimidation factor will be gone. After Bear retired, Bama still won but the dominance was gone and intimidation factor was gone. A team will no longer feel they are defeated before the opening kick off. 
So that is biggest factor here. They are going to still win but the days of getting off the bus having already won the game are over. Conference teams will play Bama with a different mindset going forward. 

Byrne will no doubt hire a good HC but the other intangibles will never be duplicated. 

You’re not wrong. I will admit that when I heard the news yesterday, my first thought was OK, the days of State having a zero percent chance against Bama every year may be over soon.

 

Now it may only be a 5 or 10 percent chance most years. But there was definitely an intimidation factor with Saban that made him feel invincible to most teams. I convinced myself a long time ago that State just wasn’t beating Bama again until Saban was gone and maybe they slipped in some places. Remains to be seen what the future looks like, but the door has cracked open just a little bit for a bunch of teams.

[Dawg83]

To me, Saban’s greatest strength was his ability to blend talent and culture.

 

Several teams recruit at a very high level, but have inconsistencies in various areas.

 

Other teams have a great culture, but don’t have the talent to win championships.

 

Saban had all of it. Built it at LSU, then built it even stronger at Bama.

Edited January 11, 2024 by Dawg83

[coastfootballfanman]

In all seriousness, I believe Kiffin would be the best candidate to replace Saban. He has the ego to not be afraid to follow the greatest to ever do it. He would bring energy, charisma and enthusiasm (sarcasm as well LOL). He’s ahead of the curve compared to others with NIL and the transfer portal. Give him Bama resources and money and I think he would dominate. All of that said, a lot of talk I have seen on Twitter does not have him listed as a main candidate right now. 

[Dawg83]

I think outside of Oxford, the perception of Kiffin is like a drunk uncle. You want to hear stories and have fun with him every once in a while but you’re scared of what would happen if he moved in with you. Leach had a similar perception, honestly. Very different way of doing things, but similar in how he was viewed.

 

Ole Miss has come to accept and in many cases embrace some of the Kiffin traits that others stick their nose up at. It’s been a really good fit for both parties. I have no idea if that same dynamic would exist at other places.

[MSTSatchmo]

42 minutes ago, Dawg83 said:

I think outside of Oxford, the perception of Kiffin is like a drunk uncle. You want to hear stories and have fun with him every once in a while but you’re scared of what would happen if he moved in with you. Leach had a similar perception, honestly. Very different way of doing things, but similar in how he was viewed.

 

Ole Miss has come to accept and in many cases embrace some of the Kiffin traits that others stick their nose up at. It’s been a really good fit for both parties. I have no idea if that same dynamic would exist at other places.

That’s unfortunate because he’s a hell of an offensive coach, has improved dramatically as a head coach, and sells recruiting as well as anyone.  
He still tweets (or whatever it’s called) like a teenager, but he is far from that dude who got jobs because of who is dad was.  

[NoWammies]

What exactly has he done wrong since he’s been at Ole Miss though? Troll on Twitter is about it. People on social media keep bringing up his past but all he’s done lately is win two conference championships at FAU and now make Ole Miss relevant. 

[Insideradvantage]

3 hours ago, maroontide06 said:

Got a link you can post?

You want my integrity or my sources?

[Dawg83]

23 minutes ago, NoWammies said:

What exactly has he done wrong since he’s been at Ole Miss though? Troll on Twitter is about it. People on social media keep bringing up his past but all he’s done lately is win two conference championships at FAU and now make Ole Miss relevant. 

I do think some schools wouldn’t be a fan of the Twitter schtick. While some of his more immature behavior was years ago before Ole Miss, it does seem like he burned some bridges at different stops.

 

Which again, if you’re Ole Miss, that’s not your problem as long as he is having success for you.

[hasbeen67]

Saban told the players he'll still be around and have an office. So I'd think the hire would have to be someone he could get along with. It'd make me think he's already signed off on who they have in mind. 

[rebmus]

A name I haven't seen rumored and I doubt it happens... but what about Urban Meyer? 

 

I feel Meyer ruined his coaching career with his stunts before being fired by Jacksonville... but he did win NCs for 2 different college programs. 

 

The baggage of his past is likely too much for Bama to gamble on, but interesting thought. 

 

I'm guessing Norvell is the top guy left on the list right now. 

 

Sark, Kiffin, DeBoer are likely on the list... probably in about that order after Norvell. 

 

 

[maroontide06]

2 hours ago, Insideradvantage said:

You want my integrity or my sources?

I’m like Radio, “Give me both.” LOL!  But I just figured if Kiffin was a definite no on the Alabama job, then something official would have been posted as a statement from him stating such.  Just like how Lanning got a statement out today.