News Article: How it Went Down, CNS's Decision, Deboer's Hire

[Ledsteplin]

"They" wanted fair, and this is what fair looks like. Oh those unintended consequences. My guess is CNS is just the first of tenured coaches who've "made their money" that we'll see begin to bow out over the next several years.

I think you're right. It's only going to get worse before it gets worse.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I think you're right. It's only going to get worse before it gets worse.

Yep, there's zero doubt this is going to go from bad to worse to "worst". The genie is out of the bottle and unfortunately, I don't see a legal path to reel it back in.

 

[TideEngineer08]

I really don't care about Norvell. I vastly prefer DeBoer over him anyway. People can think what they want about who was offered and not offered; I think we ended up with the best possible guy since Sark and Kirby were off the table.

As for the team reaction after the Rose Bowl, and how it affected Coach Saban, well... that's why they are losing me as a fan.

And by the way, that's why they lost the game.

 

[PA Tide Fan]

NIL started on July 1 2021 so Saban coached 3 seasons after NIL started (2021, 2022, 2023) and it was the only 3 year drought without a NC for him at Bama. Now one could say we had some below average Coordinators in that stretch (Golding , BoB) but I have to believe that player attitudes had something to do with the drought. It's possible the OC and DC had some bad game plans but it could be the players just weren't dedicated enough to learn the concepts the coaches were trying to teach them.

 

[teamplayer]

I really don't care about Norvell. I vastly prefer DeBoer over him anyway. People can think what they want about who was offered and not offered; I think we ended up with the best possible guy since Sark and Kirby were off the table.

As for the team reaction after the Rose Bowl, and how it affected Coach Saban, well... that's why they are losing me as a fan.

And by the way, that's why they lost the game.

I like DeBoer much better than Sark. I think Kirby is now the best in the business, but I like DeBoer a lot. He may not work out, but I am hoping he can win big.

 

[CrimSonami]

Did it say anywhere he was offered? Or that he decided to stay put. They may have have just sent out feelers, but didn't offer him. Word I got in January, was DeBoer was the only offer.

I don’t know if an actual offer was presented but his agent is Jimmy Sexton so,,,,,

 

[BearFoot]

Large numbers of players were no longer buying into his Process and were all about ME and $$$ and it was obviously getting harder to get some of the more elite talent to buy in and do what he wanted them to within the TEAM concept because they all wanted theirs and they wanted it now.

“But I want an Oompah-Loompah right now, Daddy!!!”
”Alright Wonka…how much for an Oompah-Loompah?”

We were all shocked at that character’s insensitive, narcissistic selfishness when the movie first came out…..but now we have a society filled with enabling parents of nasty little Veruca Salts

 

[BearFoot]

There is indeed a reason flat earthers exist. Mass psychosis. People will believe something and convince themselves what they believe is absolute truth.

People are still gonna believe Sark and Lanning were offered....because it'll get said on TV again

Sure…but the moon landing never happened

 

[BearFoot]

As I recall, Chris Low wrote that Norvell would not say if he was offered the job.

Which indicates that he wasn’t…else he would want that feather to be seen atop in his cap.

 

[BearFoot]

Sorry folks…three in a row…I must be feeling that my NIL payment is lower than what I truly deserve on the open market. I might put my name in the transfer portal and see if another board will pony-up the big bucks for my membership!

 

[rtr90]

NIL started on July 1 2021 so Saban coached 3 seasons after NIL started (2021, 2022, 2023) and it was the only 3 year drought without a NC for him at Bama.. Now one could say we had some below average Coordinators in that stretch (Golding , BoB) but I have to believe that player attitudes had something to do with the drought. It's possible the OC and DC had some bad game plans but it could be the players just weren't dedicated enough to learn the concepts the coaches were trying to teach them.

i always felt before national champ game in indy - CNS was off .. i felt then he was retiring

 

[Bama_N_Va]

i always felt before national champ game in indy - CNS was off .. i felt then he was retiring

Lets just suppose for a second your OC and DC were Golding and BoB, wouldn't that alone push you to retire????

 

[Ole Man Dan]

His reasons for going are multi-faceted. As an aging man, his body didn’t recover from the stress of the job as it once had. His body didn’t have the stamina it once had. His ability to get quality assistants had become an issue because of his age. Guys, potential assistants and players wanted assurances he was going to be there 3-4 years down the road. Large numbers of players were no longer buying into his Process and were all about ME and $$$ and it was obviously getting harder to get some of the more elite talent to buy in and do what he wanted them to within the TEAM concept because they all wanted theirs and they wanted it now. Now how much each of these particular things contributed to the decision that was made, is anyone’s guess. Personally, I feel like the hiring of assistants was the proverbial straw on the camel’s back. Everything I’ve read says he was undecided until the very last moment before he went into that room. And what was he doing just before that, he was interviewing for assistants. I have zero inside knowledge, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he had been asked more than once in interviews if he was going to be there down the road because they didn’t want to leave comfort if they might have to find a new job pretty soon.

We should all remember that the AD flew to Washington on Thursday.
I don't think he was there to pick up Apples...

 

[PA Tide Fan]

I hope DeBoer is a long term coach at Alabama but the one thing nobody knows is whether he has any NFL aspirations. The often used description of him is "he wins everywhere he's been". Certainly if he wins a NC at Bama the NFL teams will come calling and we don't know if he'd want to prove he can also win at the NFL level, so having success here does not necessarily mean we will have him for a while. I know this is not a unique problem though since we'd be faced with that possibility with almost anyone Alabama would have hired. In the case of the Saban hiring though we got a coach who already had an NFL job and found it wasn't for him so there was always much less of a chance Saban would go back.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

It blows my mind that players were in Saban's office demanding more money and guaranteed playing time after the Rose Bowl. Even more shocking is that Bond had already decided to go to Texas before the game. It aint college football anymore folks.

So this probably won't be received well but all this stuff is pushing me to almost not caring or being a fan of THIS team anymore.

Which maybe that's not fair to this team because maybe most of those 'Me' guys are gone.

But also they're not because CNS said it was 70-80% of the players!!

So maybe 20-25% transferred of left for the NFL/graduated etc and maybe 20-25% of the current roster are True Freshman...

Well that means at least 50-60% of our remaining roster are still those 'ME' players.

You know... I just really don't care about supporting these type of players.

These guys basically caused the GOAT to hang it up.

I might still follow how the team is doing but I just don't 'care' about them.

I mean they sure as hell don't care about UA.... so why should I care?

 

[92tide]

NIL started on July 1 2021 so Saban coached 3 seasons after NIL started (2021, 2022, 2023) and it was the only 3 year drought without a NC for him at Bama. Now one could say we had some below average Coordinators in that stretch (Golding , BoB) but I have to believe that player attitudes had something to do with the drought. It's possible the OC and DC had some bad game plans but it could be the players just weren't dedicated enough to learn the concepts the coaches were trying to teach them.

on the plus side, we did beat the best team evar for two sec titles

 

[CajunCrimson]

So this probably won't be received well but all this stuff is pushing me to almost not caring or being a fan of THIS team anymore.

Which maybe that's not fair to this team because maybe most of those 'Me' guys are gone.

But also they're not because CNS said it was 70-80% of the players!!

So maybe 20-25% transferred of left for the NFL/graduated etc and maybe 20-25% of the current roster are True Freshman...

Well that means at least 50-60% of our remaining roster are still those 'ME' players.

You know... I just really don't care about supporting these type of players.

These guys basically caused the GOAT to hang it up.

I might still follow how the team is doing but I just don't 'care' about them.

I mean they sure as hell don't care about UA.... so why should I care?

Most athletes are “me” players. It’s in their DNA. What we need are coaches that can play the psychological chess match needed to interact with the new breed of athletes without it breaking their own spirit.

this is why Kiffin will excel. And why DeBoer will too. They are built for this.

 

[CB4]

Coach Saban’s decision was multi factorial. It was a combination of transfers, NIL, coaching turnover, changing player attitudes, less discipline, less dedication, along with many, many others. When you get to the point where the core message of “come here, work hard and we’ll build value for you in the future” gets rejected consistently by attitudes of “pay me now and play me immediately”, then it is time to move on, especially at 72 years of age. You are not reaching them so let someone else try.

I’m in my mid 60’s. Twenty years ago I would absolutely wear myself out to make that “difference” in my job. Today, I’ve had to resolve myself to the notion there are things I can no longer control or influence. I simply do not have the energy any longer (nor the desire) to fight a battle I can’t win. It is the reason I’m strongly considering an early retirement in the next few months. I’m an accomplishment driven, difference driven person. It is a far too frustrating circumstance when you are surrounded by those that are not. I completely understand exactly what Coach Saban is saying.

The narrative by some that Coach Saban blindsided Greg Byrne with his decision is ludicrous. Heck, it was absolutely evident the last several years things were wearing on Coach Saban. Many of us here had remarked that he appeared tired and frustrated the past several years. If we saw it, certainly Byrne did and no AD worth his salt would not have been at least planning or having discussions with Coach Saban about his eventual departure.

College sports has changed and there is more to come. Coach Saban realized simply it was time to pass the torch to those willing to deal with it. Time to go to the lake and watch the ducks.

Good for him. Maybe he has some room on the dock so I can join him in “duck watching” in a few months.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

Most athletes are “me” players. It’s in their DNA. What we need are coaches that can play the psychological chess match needed to interact with the new breed of athletes without it breaking their own spirit.

this is why Kiffin will excel. And why DeBoer will too. They are built for this.

Maybe... I don't know but it's certainly killed CNS's spirit and close to breaking mine too.

It seems like it has happened so fast too.

It feels like things started changing around '21....maybe before then but it became really noticeable in '21

I know many of our former players that are in the NFL aren't impressed with what's been going on because many are vocal with criticism.

Feels like the 2015-2020 teams were the last ones filled with players who took great pride in playing for Alabama and maybe more so for CNS.

Either way at least they were playing for something external to 'getting theirs' like this current group of players.

 

[CajunCrimson]

to cut the kid some slack, is it possible Downs wanted out because of the 80%? Don’t know. Just considering it a possibility

Saban was a fan of the kid. Big fan.