Here We Go Again: Nick Saban To Texas Rumor

Jul 18, 2013; Hoover, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban talks with the media during the 2013 SEC football media days at the Hyatt Regency. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports.

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I love the offseason (sort of). It’s a time to dream big, let your imagination run wild. Vanderbilt winning the SEC? Sure. Iowa State winning a national title? I guess it could happen. Whatever helps you get through the agonizing 9 months of no college football is cool with me. Unfortunately, Tyler Duffy of Bigleadsports.com just couldn’t leave the Nick Saban to Texas storyline alone. Here is why Mr. Duffy says Texas should go for Nick Saban:

"James Franklin could be the hottest coaching commodity in the country next winter. He could also, if Vanderbilt slips a bit in 2013, be Dan Mullen. Franklin would fire people up, possibly a bit too much for an aristocratic place like Texas. A little closer to home? Art Briles seems like a natural fit. Maybe Mike Gundy. We suspect Todd Graham may have family in Austin. Which one of those names scares the crap out of A&M, the Big 12, everyone?Texas can make a run at anyone. They will want a sure thing, who can compete for a national title, recruit at top level, handle the spotlight and immediately reassert their alpha dog status. Why not make a run at Saban?"

Because he is the same age as Mack Brown and Texas doesn’t need to replace Mack Brown with someone his own age. Texas will need someone who can build a program like Mack Brown did and sustain it for over a decade or two. Mack Brown from 1998 to 2009 won 9 games or more each season. From 2001-2009, Mack Brown won 10 or more games each season. Alabama is getting close to that number but still are 4 seasons from even matching that streak. Nick Saban is likely going to step away from coaching in less than 10 years. Why go through another coaching search? That just doesn’t make any sense from the Texas perspective.

Tyler Duffy also mention why Nick Saban would be interested in the job:

"Why would he leave Alabama? The better question may be what more he can do there? Winning again in 2013 would mean four BCS titles in five years. It won’t get better than that. He would spend the rest of his career grinding to maintain that excellence, in the most intense college football environment in the country, and getting pilloried by spoiled fans when he doesn’t. However many titles he wins, he’s still occupying Bear Bryant’s seat.Saban resembles a mechanic who has spent the better part of the past decade restoring a classic car from the ground up. It’s perfect. It’s obsessively detailed. Is he content to just do maintenance the rest of his life? Or, is he already, at least on some level, looking on Auto Trader for his next project? Maybe something a bit less tedious than his first one? If he does look elsewhere, he does not have many options."

I get that angle but he fails to mention that the pressure to win was one of the reasons Darrell K Royal left Texas at the age of 56. Texas fans expect the best as well and with his almost immediate success at Alabama, Texas fans would expect the same thing. The problem is that the roster isn’t suited for a Nick Saban offense or defense. His style might have trouble in the Big 12. Alabama’s only loss last year was to recent Big 12 member Texas A&M. While the Tide were able to have a chance in that game, the Aggies jumped out to an early lead and were able to hang on. That’s how Big 12 offenses work. They strike quickly and without mercy. If you fall behind in a Big 12 game and you don’t have the offense to score quick enough, you are dead in this conference. Does Nick Saban really want that pressure in this stage of his life? I wouldn’t.

It’s a nice idea in fantasyland, but in reality it just wouldn’t work out. So make your prediction about anything, just not anything to do with Nick Saban and Texas.