Saban gets a statue? Is his birthday a holiday now, too?
A "Bear" Bryant statue at Alabama is understandable ...
All hail, Nick Saban.
After only three seasons, Alabama is building a statue for its football coach. Can’t imagine what he gets if the Crimson Tide wins another championship. Does the school attempt a hostile takeover of neighboring states and give him parts of Mississippi and south Georgia? Maybe some coastline, between Pensacola and Panama City? Or was that already included in his original contract?
Alabama, coming off its BCS title in Saban’s third season, confirmed that a bronze statue of the coach already is in the works. It is expected to be completed by April 17, the day of the annual “A Day” spring game, when all banks and Walmarts will be closed.
Plans are for Saban to be carried into the stadium that day by servants, with
... But isn't it a little early for a statue of Nick Saban?
trumpets blaring and angels singing. OK. Might’ve made that part up.
Three years and you get a statue? Most jobs, you don’t even get vested for 10.
“We are sculpting clay right now and we have pretty good direction on what they want for the look of it,” project manager Corey Beltz said. “Coach Saban’s love of student-athletes, his love of being a teacher, that is what we have been asked to emphasize. He won’t be in a suit and tie — that’s not his style. It will reflect more of his role as an encourager, a director, that’s the general direction. They’re sculpting the face right now.”
The eyes. There’s something about those haunting eyes . . .
The 12-foot statue will stand outside of Bryant-Denny Stadium, along with those of four other coaches who won championships: Paul “Bear” Bryant, Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas and Gene Stallings.
Alabama moves quickly to celebrate its football coaches. I don’t believe alumnus Harper Lee has a statue outside the stadium. But all she did was win a Pulitzer Prize for writing, “To Kill A Mockingbird” and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Bernard Madoff attended Alabama for a while. He never got a statue, either.
It took 31 years (28 years as a head coach) before Bobby Bowden received a statue at Florida State.
Urban Meyer is still waiting. Maybe Florida just wants to see if he coaches the spring game first.
Georgia erected a statue for Vince Dooley in 2008 — 28 years after the Bulldogs’ national championship.
I think Bobby Ross is still waiting for his at Georgia Tech.
Come to think of it, so is Bobby Dodd.
Silly other schools. They must have other priorities.
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394 comments Add your comment
Tom Ames
January 29th, 2010
1:08 pm
Green isn’t your best color, Jeff…
Art Fern
January 29th, 2010
1:11 pm
Yes Jeff it does have benefits (to those of us in Atlanta). It gets you out of town
Brad
January 29th, 2010
1:11 pm
I thought they erected Gene Stallings statue in celebration of being the BAMA coach who had to forfeit for more wins than any other coach in college football history for cheating.
Neutral
January 29th, 2010
1:15 pm
Everyone here knows that IF Georgia ever won anything significant under CMR, he would be sainted and there would be a statue (complete with staff and rod) on every street corner in Athens.
Tom Ames
January 29th, 2010
1:16 pm
Wow, Brad that is SO funny! You should write a book of jokes!
Paul in RDU
January 29th, 2010
1:17 pm
To be fair to U ALA – it is actually one of the better academic institutions in the SEC
US News and World Report Rankings
ACC SEC
Duke 10 Vandy 17
UVA 24 FLA 47
UNC 28 tie UGA 58
WF 28 tie Aub 88
BC 34 ALA 96
GT 35 UT 106
UM 50 SC 110
MD 53 LSU 128 tie
CU 61 ARK 128 tie
VT 71 UK 128 tie
NCSU 88 Miss tier 3 (>150)
FSU 102 MSU tier 3 (>150)
Vandy and FSU should swap conferences
Capstone61
January 29th, 2010
1:17 pm
Jealous much? Great recruiting tool by the BEST recruiter in football! The TIDE is king! Get used to it! Stick to writing about UGA’s next ‘blackout’.
LAdawg
January 29th, 2010
1:18 pm
“Coach Saban’s love of student-athletes…?” Oh, he mistakenly thought the Miami Dolphins were the Miami Hurricanes. Taking jobs, sight unseen, is how you wind up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Unknown Stuntman
January 29th, 2010
1:19 pm
Yes, putting up a statue of Harper Lee outside of the football stadium makes all the sense in the world. It would certainly be more appropriate than the road that is named after him, right? And by all means Alabama should follow UGA’s direction when it comes to football matters. Great ideas!
Tom Ames
January 29th, 2010
1:19 pm
Neutral, it’s a good thing Georgia fans are happy with regular 9-win seasons & fighting for #2 in the East.
Eric94
January 29th, 2010
1:19 pm
LOL at you Jawja fans. Like you guys are above caring more about football than the Math department. You can hate and be jealous all you want but that won’t change the fact that Saban made Rihct his bitch during “Blackout” 2008. Or the fact that Bama just completed the most accomplished season in the history of NCAA football. Good luck with your annual butt reaming from Florida next year.
daddo
January 29th, 2010
1:19 pm
I know this may be tough for Georgia fans to understand because, let’s be frank, you are never in a position to even consider a Walk of Champions of national championship winning coaches. And never will be.
Sanford Drive
January 29th, 2010
1:21 pm
Oh Jeff, let them be. The only thing the state of Alabama brings to the table is football and the annual mullet toss in Gulf Shores. Let them live the dream.
Joe Hall
January 29th, 2010
1:22 pm
UT is on the RISE after Lame Kitten Left be ready
toga
January 29th, 2010
1:22 pm
Saban is the best coach in the country, period. He deserves all the money, statues and beach front property he wants. If you look at the numbers, Saban is a great investment for Alabama and you could pay him 30m a year and still make a nice profit. There is not one school in the country that would not trade coaches for Saban. Saban would not have Richt as the waterboy on his staff. That is why we will win.
He is building a machine that will DOMINATE the conference for many years to come. We will blow through the SEC this year on our way to another NC.
Don’t worry dogs, you will always have your 90 in 9, and next year.
ROLL TIDE
FALCON JOSH
January 29th, 2010
1:24 pm
After they get done building their statue maybe they can work on supplying their own water by building reservoir!!!
M. Goodwin
January 29th, 2010
1:24 pm
Jeff and 99% of uga fans are nothing but jealous, you can’t stand it cause some other team won a national championship, and yall can’t even beat florida, so get back in your dog houses.
Joe Hall
January 29th, 2010
1:25 pm
Long Live Dooley
Dr. Phil
January 29th, 2010
1:26 pm
They better build it fast, before Nick moves on to greener pastures, like Michigan.
MH
January 29th, 2010
1:26 pm
Jeff, Good article. “when all banks and walmarts will be closed” — ha! classic!. Thanks for making this Bama fan laugh.
On a different note…So three years ago I would rarely see any Bama material on AJC or hear anything ‘Bama’ on ATL sportstalk. Hell, UGA was even recognized on AL sportstalk as having a better program than UA or AU. Fast forward three years and now I see 3 or 4 articles per week about Bama on AJC, I hear Bama talked about on ATL sportstalk, I see GA high school recruits heading to Bama. FINALLY, Bama finally woke up and realized the GA market (especially ATL) was an opportunity worth pursuing. Bama has played 5 games over the past 2 years in the state of GA, and 4 games in the heart of ATL at the GA Dome. Bama alumni activities have picked up in GA and recruitment (for students, not just football) has picked up in GA as well. Frankly, it’s great to see the extra Bama coverage from the ATL media as it only stands to help the Bama cause in the GA market.
Eric94
January 29th, 2010
1:27 pm
I know Tim Tebow claims to be a Virgin, but I know that’s not true. I saw him bend Richt over uga’s dog house and give him a good rogering back in the Fall.
Joe Hall
January 29th, 2010
1:27 pm
GO VOLS!
On Ward to the top!
Arthur Pflug
January 29th, 2010
1:31 pm
Schultzie,
Is this the best you can do for a column? Wow! Pitiful and abysmal are two kind words used for this effort. As lazy of an attempt at a column as I’ve seen in major newspaper. Ever! Shows a lack of talent and interest, too. The paper the column is printed on will be better used as garbage can liner or toliet paper. Anyone can write something that!
Mike the Tiger
January 29th, 2010
1:31 pm
When they build the statue, don’t forget the horns and tail.
Dawgs88
January 29th, 2010
1:32 pm
I think the people over in Tuscaloosa need to get life.
cajdawg
January 29th, 2010
1:33 pm
Is the statue anatomically correct? Maybe Alabama fans could move from goats to the statue. For Alabama fans, I apologize for using a big word, anatomically. Google the word if necessary.
LAdawg
January 29th, 2010
1:33 pm
Good work, Jeff. You’ve turned your blog into an Alabama rant. Good for your numbers. There is not another state in the union where Paul Finebaum can make a living. All he has to do is say “Roll Tide” and let the lunatics who never finished high school, much less college, take over.
Makes Sense
January 29th, 2010
1:33 pm
Schultz is jealous because no one will remember his sports columns 2 years from now….not to mention twenty. A pitiful little man journalist with no legacy. Boohoo.
RTR
January 29th, 2010
1:35 pm
Leg humpers,
You play football. We live it.
Sincerely,
National Champions
Dawg stuck in Bham
January 29th, 2010
1:35 pm
Pray for me Jeff….I have to live over here among these idiots. 3/4 of them saw the word “erect” in your column title and immdiately thought of their sister. The other 1/4 were in the midst of their 10 am prayer chants to St. Nick…
Jackie Howell
January 29th, 2010
1:35 pm
I don’t understand why it bothers folks so much that the UA Athletic Dept is putting up this statue. There IS ONE THERE FOR EVERY COACH THAT WON A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AT ALABMA! It isn’t like this is a new idea. So if they have one for Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Paul Bryant and Gene Stallings…AND if the reason they are there is because they won a national championship…AND Nick Saban won a national championship as the head coach at Alabama….THEN WHY WOULDN’T THEY PUT ONE UP???? duhh…what reason could they come with NOT to put one up? It would be different if the others were not already there.
And it isn’t the University doing it….it is the athletic department. There are no other statues of people on campus…and there are many, many distinguished alumni of UA. BUT! There is a Hall of Fame in every college. These Halls of Fame have plaques with busts of each honoree – like in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. And yes, Harper Lee is in the one for the UA College of Communication.
This is a non-issue. It only irritates folks that can’t win championships but want to.
16 and counting
January 29th, 2010
1:36 pm
A 12 ft. statue of Napoleon+2″?? being only 2″ taller than Terry Bowden, give us a break. How tall is the Bear’s statue 18′? Don’t bammers count all their titles, what about the 08 and 09 NWAAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP awarded by The Tuscalossa Times for the Northwest Alabama Athletic Association National Champtions and then of course the special national champtionship awarded by the NCAA to Alabama mid year 2009 for their “Extensive recent history of infractions cases..UNMATCHED by ANY OTHER member institution in the NCAA” This special award recognizes Alabama for being a “serial repeat offender” with an “abysmal infractions track record” and lastly, “an institution with an APPALLING and UNPRRCEDENTED recent infractions history.”
waw
January 29th, 2010
1:37 pm
So Harper Lee has a road named after “him.” Roll Tide.
Capstone61
January 29th, 2010
1:38 pm
Maybe UGA could erect a dumpster so your slob fans have a place to put their gameday garbage. Other schools are so ’silly’ like that. Beautiful campus , statues and silly stuff like that….wish we had a dumping ground on campus…that’s so cool!
Makes Sense
January 29th, 2010
1:38 pm
Do they not teach you puppy dogs how to spell? Good Lord. “UNPRRCEDENTED and immdiately”
Is it time for another blackout yet? You guys are so jealous.
Bama Sam
January 29th, 2010
1:39 pm
Shultz, you punk. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.
Capstone
January 29th, 2010
1:39 pm
I have lived in Athens and Tuscaloosa. Both are fine places. Tuscaloosa is just where the champions live.
Lunchtime links: Saban statue could be up soon | SportsCentral Arkansas
January 29th, 2010
1:40 pm
[...] Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wonders what comes next for Nick Saban if he wins another national title … maybe some coastline between Pensacola and Panama [...]
UGA sux
January 29th, 2010
1:42 pm
Hey. You can’t get our coaches so you bag on our statues? I am sorry our athletics complex can’t come up with a classy name like BUTT SMEAR.
Bama Pride
January 29th, 2010
1:43 pm
WOW. Don’t you people have a friggin dog to bury? You wanna talk trash when your HC couldn’t even hire Kirby Smart to come back home?! Better get to know Kirby Smart. He’s gonna be your next head coach after Richt gets fired. In case you “Jaw-juh” fans couldn’t “figgur” it out, THAT’S why Smart elected to stay on with Saban. Why help Richt keep his job when you can take his job soon, anyway? Get ready for at least a few more mediocre seasons, Georgia fans! ROLL TIDE ON BEHALF OF THE 2009 SEC (AND NATIONAL) CHAMPS!
Friggin black out. heh. Still shake my head and laugh at that one. How embarassing.
UGA sux
January 29th, 2010
1:43 pm
Hey now, Schultz can rub Chris Low’s fat belly while he rubs your bald head. Bunch of douchebags.
Joe Hall
January 29th, 2010
1:44 pm
The peopele in Knoxville are trying to have the sewage treatment plant renamed in Honor of Lane Kiffen. NOW THAT IS HONOR
NCAA Agent for change.
January 29th, 2010
1:45 pm
Not bad, $60 million, I think total cost. Hell we can all raise that if nc2a is gonna turn their heads. Let’s all get ready for a bevy of statues and obama style exceptions, and glass footballs.
No NFL here, thanks bear, we got our own semi-pro team!! Hell let’s all do it. True meaning of champs, the measure of disciples(bryant’s) that got slapped. Name one that didn’t. Repaet offender status for us all, not just bammer! Just makes ya’ feel good that title has such wonderful meaning! Atlas just Shrugged……….
Capstone
January 29th, 2010
1:45 pm
I have information that Schultz is actually hated around the confines of the AJC. No one likes his smarmy little attitude and he should be gone soon. Inside info.
Capstone61
January 29th, 2010
1:45 pm
THE KING OF THE SEC…..is back! Get used to it!
Bama baby
January 29th, 2010
1:47 pm
2009 National Champion——-Alabama Crimson Tide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dawgs are rediculous
January 29th, 2010
1:47 pm
What does anyone care what Bama does, sounds like nothing but Dawg jealousy. 10 years of talent under richt and they haven’t even played for a NC, 3 years of Saban and we got another NC. Georgians say people in Alabama are pathetic, I say it is pretty pathetic to spend so much time criticizing Bam them with such transparent jealousy. Maybe if you lame a$$es, fire Richt you can get Kirby Smart and see what it is like to be able to win the big one.
Blue
January 29th, 2010
1:48 pm
Eric94; and what about this past season makes it “the most accomplished season” in NCAA history above other teams (including other AL teams) who went undefeated and won national championships? Please quantify it for all of the rest of us dolts.
Brian
January 29th, 2010
1:48 pm
Saban jokes! HA! How unique! You could write for Leno with your keen sense of comedic ingenuity!
Sportswriters have the easiest writing gig around. One banal observation will lead to all sportswriters writing hundreds and hundreds of the same columns.
Schultz = Douche
January 29th, 2010
1:49 pm
So 28 years after winning a championship is the standard wait time for a statue? I suppose UA should take down Stallings statue for 11 more years since it’s only been 17 years since he won the ‘92 championship coaching the Tide. Plain and simple, you hate the Tide and hate the fact that they are a force again. Get over it buddy!