Amen ! Urban is sleazy and creepy. The Hernandez thing at Fla is plenty all by itself. He wins nattys but I cant pay the cost.
Who is Saban's replacement?
- Thread starter DawgAlum2054
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Probably because it was the litmus that got us Nick Saban. And I distinctly recall over the years on this board that there was pretty broad agreement that this was a good litmus test and that Bama should “never again†take a chance on a hot name.
The simple fact of the matter is that hiring a football coach that can sustain championship success can be a crap shoot. Promising guys go nowhere. Proven guys drop off. Would hiring a guy who has already won an NC guarantee success at Bama? No, but people are hardly out of their minds for preferring it.
Personally, I like Norvell. I’ve followed him a bit since he was at Memphis. Seems to do things the right way. I wouldn’t be mad about that hire, nor DeBoer or Kiffin.
Aside from Dabo I don’t think I’m very against anyone being presented currently. I pretty much have always seen this hire as always going to be one that there was going to be a very vocal side for and against who eventually gets it because it’s highly unlikely we get a rockstar hire to follow Saban. I think even if Sark were to be named there would be a lot that would have suggest that he might be too unproven of a hire.
The truth is Byrne was always going to hire someone that he felt was going to run the program 10-15 years and someone that he can attach his name to. Someone young and ascending. Meaning…. A lot of people are not going to instantly say it’s a good hire. But everyone should have a little patience and optimism because Byrne’s track record of hiring coaches is very good. Plus we really don’t know how much a guy is truly hampered by his job’s limitations and how much he could thrive with Alabama’s advantages of resources without seeing it.
While we are at it I think it’s also important to get some things out of the way since it’s been since 2007 since we did this.
1) interviewing coaches in person for jobs like Alabama really don’t happen anymore. The idea that a guy has to be in Tuscaloosa or the AD has to fly to them is something that doesn’t happen in the post Saban age. You either go through an agent or zoom the guy. Tracking flights don’t really tell you what Byrne is doing. If a guy is in Tuscaloosa and not on the Alabama staff currently then that means he’s taking the job 9.99/10.
2) There has been some sort of plan in place for Saban. Saban may or may not have officially decided a few days ago but with the massive amount of prominent media folks and other head coaches hinting at it all year you can be assured that there was more than a little indication from Saban to certain people that this year could have been the end. Names like Kalen Deboer don’t just get linked to the Alabama job out or desperation from an AD scrambling to replace a legendary coach all of the sudden. There have clearly been some sorta plan in place for sometime by Byrne, whether that has been having a guy officially locked down or grooming someone for the job is the more appropriate question than “was there a planâ€Â.
We don't need a preacher but we also don't need someone with the morals of a snake either. The way he left Tenn. and his actions when we were playing for a national championship should be enough to tell you this guy doesn't really care about his teams. It is all about him. How do you rehab a selfish narcissist? Saban tried and failed. So. Cal. left him at the airport and it wasn't just because he just lost a game.
After a little reflection, the guy who still scares me the most is DeBoer.
He seems like the antithesis of Saban in terms of he seems like a great game day coach, but his program actually experienced a strong decline in recruiting once he joined.
Sark, Dabo, Kiffin, Norvell, at least all those guys not only have ties to the southeast but have also recruited 5 stars and show at least some acumen in that area. The current players and recruits are going to know those guys and they have shown the ability to develop relationships with high ranked recruits. Remember, the next coach is going to have to try to keep guys out of the portal and maintain current recruits.
Make no mistake about it, DeBoer would have to learn on the job when it comes to recruiting at a high level, and that's a risk that bothered me when Shula had to learn on the job and when Golding had to learn on the job.
There's a ton of recency bias with DeBoer. Yes, he's coming off a great season, but his power conference success is tied to Penix, and really a lot of players he inherited. Yes he can coach, but if you talk 5, 10 years down the road, is Shula level recruiting going to cut it in the SEC (it never has really)? I don't see how you magically flip a switch and become a great recruiter and who wins in the SEC without that?
Also, I'm not sure what measure we are using to judge a head coach. If we're measuring coaches according to their peak, it's Smart, Urban, and Dabo, then DeBoer, Norvell, and Kiffin. I'm not sure why DeBoer's great season seems to mean so much more than everyone else's great seasons.
If we're going by recruiting, even just current class (which in theory should be a great class for DeBoer), it's Smart, Sark, Lanning, Norvell, Dabo, Kiffin, then DeBoer in a distant last place. To reiterate, DeBoer inherited a program that was actually recruiting better than Ole Miss, and on an equal level of Clemson prior to Dabo.
So he's the only one on that list that didn't maintain recruiting levels or improve on them.
He seems like the antithesis of Saban in terms of he seems like a great game day coach, but his program actually experienced a strong decline in recruiting once he joined.
Sark, Dabo, Kiffin, Norvell, at least all those guys not only have ties to the southeast but have also recruited 5 stars and show at least some acumen in that area. The current players and recruits are going to know those guys and they have shown the ability to develop relationships with high ranked recruits. Remember, the next coach is going to have to try to keep guys out of the portal and maintain current recruits.
Make no mistake about it, DeBoer would have to learn on the job when it comes to recruiting at a high level, and that's a risk that bothered me when Shula had to learn on the job and when Golding had to learn on the job.
There's a ton of recency bias with DeBoer. Yes, he's coming off a great season, but his power conference success is tied to Penix, and really a lot of players he inherited. Yes he can coach, but if you talk 5, 10 years down the road, is Shula level recruiting going to cut it in the SEC (it never has really)? I don't see how you magically flip a switch and become a great recruiter and who wins in the SEC without that?
Also, I'm not sure what measure we are using to judge a head coach. If we're measuring coaches according to their peak, it's Smart, Urban, and Dabo, then DeBoer, Norvell, and Kiffin. I'm not sure why DeBoer's great season seems to mean so much more than everyone else's great seasons.
If we're going by recruiting, even just current class (which in theory should be a great class for DeBoer), it's Smart, Sark, Lanning, Norvell, Dabo, Kiffin, then DeBoer in a distant last place. To reiterate, DeBoer inherited a program that was actually recruiting better than Ole Miss, and on an equal level of Clemson prior to Dabo.
So he's the only one on that list that didn't maintain recruiting levels or improve on them.
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Coach Nate Oates wouldn't have been my first pick as basketball coach and he is doing a great job so I'm going to trust Greg Byrne on this if we do hire Kalen DeBoer. Keep in mind that we're only about 3 years into NIL and that has changed things dramatically in that some schools have deep resources to tap into for signing recruits and others do not. I have no idea about UW so perhaps they don't have the resources that Oregon, for example, has. In that area of the country the top recruits are mostly in California, Arizona, etc so you have to recruit a wide area which would include other school with deeper pockets. I have not done any research on that but is just a guess. If he is a hard worker then he'll do just fine recruiting in the south.
I really think that "knowledge of the Southeast/culture of the Southeast" no longer factors in recruiting. Because of the internet, the Alabama brand, NIL, and social media the world is a lot smaller. Last years roster only had 38% of our players are from the state of Alabama. I think that factor in a coach is overrated. Too many older people are using that as a factor for a coach. This isn't the world of print media anymore. Players from Alabama that grow up in the State want to play at Alabama or the school formally known as API anyway.
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A name I haven't heard but that could make a lot of sense is Glenn Schumann. Current DC at UGA, on Saban's staff for 8 years, Bama grad, etc. No HC experience but his track is very similar to Kirby's in a lot of ways.
DeBoer will supposedly be on the AM radio station at 8AM/10 Central this morning in Seattle. I don't believe it is a regular scheduled program. It seems if he was announcing he was leaving it would be at a press conference or team meeting. Maybe he will announce he isn't a candidate. Some Mizzou fans think they are going after Drinkwitz. His agent is also Sexton and he has a 5 mil buyout.
I actually think that plane from Athens may have been Schumann for DC.
Sexton loves playing this game. He'll use this to get Drink a larger contract. There is a reason why so many coaches use Sexton as their agent.
A lesson learned in being a fan of Alabama or any fan for that matter: Coaches the caliber of Coach Bryant and Coach Saban are far and few in-between. Consider yourself fortunate for the entertainment that you have witnessed.
I thought about him for that role too but wasn't sure what head coach he'd be willing to make that move for.
I have no doubt that when Schumann gets a head coaching job he will do well. He is a very good recruiter and has studied under two of the best coaches. Kirby never had any head coaching experience either before he became the head coach at Georgia. The difference from when Kirby was picked and now is the emergence of NIL. No one knows how some of our best players would perceive the hiring of someone that has never been a head coach.
You are going to have a number of schools going after Bama’s top players. It would be a gamble. If Bama loses a number of its top players, it could take a while to build the roster back up and Bama would go through a painful time. The risk with Schumann is not his ability, but the perception of the players and the potential negative consequences of that.
And Greg Byrne has said, The next coach has to be a good recruiter!
Agreed. I think it's about how hard a coach is willing to work and if he loves recruiting or not. I've always said that Saban could have gone to Northeastern Alaska Tech and recruited well. He was the ultimate hard worker and loved recruiting.
thanks for posting. GB alluded to it from the start and JP hints at it here. It's likely not one of the standard 5-6 names everyone is floating w/ no information. Doesn't mean it will be an "off the wall" hire but just not Kiffin, Smart, Lanning, etc.
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