Wouldn’t Be Great If We Could Somehow Drag Gene Stallings Into This?

Ben Sears

Ben Sears is a writer and restaurant guy in Birmingham, Alabama. He lives quite happily across from a creek with his wife, two sons, and an obligatory dog. You can follow him on Twitter and read his blog, The Columbo Game.

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8 Responses

  1. CJColucci says:

    I always assume that even the cleanest big-time college football coach can be only so clean and still function. Saban has coached three big-time programs, has won national championships at two, and is already being sized up for a spot on the college coaches’ Mt. Rushmore. And as far as I can tell, nobody really likes him. So why have we never heard any dirt on him?Report

    • Michael Cain in reply to CJColucci says:

      My sister occasionally talks about her time spent on the fringes of Osborne’s Nebraska teams in the early 80s. She says that Osborne was one of those quietly charismatic leaders that you don’t want to have be disappointed in your behavior. I understand what she’s saying because I had a high school marching band director like that. Have him mad at you? That was okay. But disappointed? Without cursing or raising his voice he could make you feel lower than dirt. The flip side was that he could get more out of you performance-wise than you thought you could do.

      If Saban’s that kind of guy, his programs will be self-disciplining. People who don’t get “Don’t do that, Coach Saban will be disappointed,” will be squeezed out early. As a result, there would be very little dirt to ever find.Report

  2. Slade the Leveller says:

    So, what was Saban saying about A&M if what Fisher did was perfectly within the rules? Is he in the habit of holding press conferences to state facts?Report

    • He kinda is, but with purpose. He’ll tell the press that he thinks they have been giving his team too much credit and point out problems, but he isn’t talking to the press. He’s talking to his team. I don’t think his comments were directed at Fisher or A&M or Sanders. They were directed at the NCAA. This is a mess right now. He’s telling them to fix it.Report

      • Slade the Leveller in reply to Ben Sears says:

        Eh, it’s just out in the open now. Coaches are notorious in the NCAA for leaving at the drop of a hat, and now they want the NCAA to reinstitute indenture for the players. Seems a bit disingenuous.Report

  3. Kazzy says:

    Wamp wamp wamp. Saban is just bitter than the structure isn’t slanted in his favor anymore. Saying, “But they spent more than us!” is just sour grapes. If it was $25M to $0… if Saban and ‘Bama showed that they think using NIL to recruit players is wrong and they won’t partake in it… okay then… get on your soapbox. But that isn’t what happened. Either using NIL as a recruiting tool is right or wrong… it’s not right up to a certain dollar amount and then wrong. Saban just sounds like a crybaby.Report

    • Ben Sears in reply to Kazzy says:

      When Saban typically objects to rule change we’re told he’s a crybaby. The early signing day, the transfer portal, limiting recruiting days. At every turn he’s adapted and done better using the new rules and before every rule change he asks if this is what we want the game to become. At some point people will have to realize that he’s not complaining. He’s warning. And he’s been right every time.Report