Nick Saban To Alabama

As Terrell Owens and others before him have proved time and time again, talent will always have a job. How long does this guy get to change his mind before he pays for his lack of dedication to a particular program? Here's his history:

In 1995, Saban headed to Michigan State, the first major stepping stone in his career after previous coaching stints at Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, and Navy in some capacity. He helped turn around a program mired in NCAA infractions which culminated in a 10-2 season, his last, in 1999. After declaring his allegiance to MSU, he jumped ship to join LSU. I didn't mind that sort of decision because all coaches use success at "lesser" programs to build their resume in order to land a job at a college football powerhouse.

He took over a LSU team in the midst of a downwards landslide, but combining the talent the school still had along with his coaching prowess, he launched them back into the national championship race, culiminating with a national title in 2003. Saban spent one more season at LSU in 1994 and finished a disappointing 9-3 after starting the season ranked #4. He then left his self-proclaimed dream job only 4 years later to take the Miami Dolphins head coaching job.

He's done a solid job with the Dolphins, leading them to a 9-7 record in 2005, which included the controversial decision to allow Ricky Williams to return to the team after quitting on them a year before. I guess no one knows a quitter quite like another quitter, huh? After signing Daunte Culpepper this offseason, the Dolphins were talked about as the favorites for the AFC East title. Unfortunately, Culpepper's knee never healed, and given the severity of the injury which included multiple ligament tears this was not surprising. Further magnifying this decision was that they didn't sign Brees due to injury concerns about his shoulder. I know in hindsight it looks like a horrible decision, but at the time signing the QB with the injury not related to his throwing arm seemed like the wiser decision.

Back on topic, he just left the Dolphins to head back to the college ranks and take the Alabama job, which was made official this morning. That makes 3 major coaching changes in the past 11 years, which seems a bit ridiculous considering he wasn't fired or let go at any of them. He left MSU for his "dream job" at LSU, and then turned his back on his dream job when offered the money, prestige, and power he wanted with the Dolphins organization. 2 years later he bolts the job he left his dream job for to head to Alabama.

To me, this seems unprecedented in football. I know money talks, and that programs don't show loyalty either to the contracts coaches sign, but Saban keeps bouncing back and forth to the highest bidder and has destroyed the Dolphins chain of command with his latest move. The thing is that most coach's contracts aren't terminated unless there's a good reason for it to be done, whether it's through poor team performance or poor coach behavior. Saban just bolted for more power, more prestige, more money, or some combination each time. The Dolphins believed in Saban and they were willing to give him ample time to get the team turned around. They gave him the personel power he craved in order to have a large amount of control with everything related to the Dolphins football team, and he quit on them because after 2 years he changed his mind on which level of football he wanted to coach.

I feel bad for Dolphins fans. Ricky Williams, their entire offense at the time, quit on them after the 2003 season. He returned to mixed fan reactions in 2005, only to be lost again for the following year due to another illegal substance suspension. Their prized 2006 offseason acquisition, Daunte Culpepper, was rushed back to the field before he was ready. Now, their promising young coach has quit on them after only 2 season, leaving a destroyed chain of command in his wake. For the sake of the Alabama program, I hope he's found what he's looking for, at least until the next lucrative offer comes his way.

Fantasy Impact: Culpepper is already a high risk commodity for 2007, but Saban was committed to him. The new coach might not offer that same sort of commitment. Given Harrington's sub-par performance taking over for him, he's not a risk to take the job. Cleo Lemon had an solid finish and at least solidified a backup job, if not an audition for the starting job next year should Culpepper suffer another setback. I think this solidifies the value of Ronnie Brown. With Saban gone, it makes it far less likely the Dolphins try to bring back Ricky Williams again as he claimed they would do, which would have created a timeshare situation similar to 2005, dulling the value of both players. Chambers was a disaster last year with Harrington at the helm, but a healthy Culpepper would create a bigtime boost in his 2007 value and solidify him as a solid sleeper as he'll likely come valued as no greater than a WR3.