Why is Bama so feared? Because its coach scares us to death
The cult of Nick congregates in the lobby of the Wynfrey Hotel. (Photo by M. Bradley)
Hoover, Ala. – Alabama was the choice of the assembled media here to win the 2011 SEC championship, which was no shock. Everybody exalts Alabama nowadays. It was in January 2010, after the Crimson Tide won the first of what would be one consecutive BCS title, that Sports Illustrated proclaimed it “a dynasty,” and it was only last fall we were wondering if Bama was unbeatable.
Then it lost to South Carolina, to LSU and to Auburn (after leading 24-0 in Tuscaloosa), and suddenly we media folks were grasping: How did the program newly seen as the nation’s flagship finish in the bottom half of the SEC West? Didn’t another school from Alabama take the BCS title? Was it possible the dynastic Tide had been overblown?
Guess not. Because we media types are doing it again. The Tide figures to start the season ranked no worse than No. 2 (behind Oklahoma and nobody else) in the polls, and in the conference-sanctioned balloting for SEC champ it drew 62.4 percent of the 157 votes cast. This despite losing four first-round NFL draftees (Marcell Dareus, Julio Jones, James Carpenter and Mark Ingram) and starting quarterback Greg McElroy.
Asked Friday about this apparent incongruity, Alabama’s coach said: “From a logical standpoint, I know there’s a couple other teams in our division — forget about the league — that have just as many returning starters and their quarterback. So even though [sarcasm alert] I have a tremendous amount of respect for the intelligence level and your ability to prognosticate … I don’t understand how you come to the decisions you do.”
The answer, this correspondent of limited intellect would submit, has to do with Alabama’s coach. Nick Saban is considered the best collegiate coach now working by as great a distance as Dwight Howard is regarded as the NBA’s top center. Saban has won BCS titles at different SEC outposts, which proved his black magic was transferable. And it isn’t so much that folks believe Saban is smarter than everyone else but that we know he’ll work his 30-hour days until he figures things out.
Alabama fans are difficult to please — a guy bearing an ursine nickname won pretty big in Tuscaloosa — but they’ve venerated Saban from the moment he arrived. Indeed, a cult of personality has arisen around this coach, and that’s something you don’t often see in SEC football. There was one surrounding Paul W. Bryant and also about Steve Spurrier (though he qualified as an Evil Genius only at Florida), but Vince Dooley (six SEC titles, one national championship) and Urban Meyer (two BCS titles) never had one.
With Saban, it’s really a cult of impersonality. Sometimes it seems the sole difference between Saban and his near-namesake Satan is that the devil has a sense of humor. It was Saban who famously spent the press briefing after Alabama’s breakthrough victory over No. 3-ranked Georgia in 2008 — the Tide led 31-0 after two quarters on the road — raging about how his team had been outscored by 20 points in the second half.
“I know I don’t look happy,” Saban said that night, “but I am.”
Saban never looks happy. The man is so driven you wonder how he hasn’t yet driven himself, and those who work under him, insane. He cracked one smile during his half-hour appearance before the print media Friday, and then only to make fun of Baton Rouge writer Glenn Guilbeau, whom Saban described as “a friend.” (Coach Satan has friends? Who knew?)
As odd as it sounds, the glowers have become Saban’s stock in trade. He appears to take football more seriously than anyone else in his industry, and this plays well in the South, where college football is taken most seriously, and in his state, which is mad for the game.
Another incongruity: The manically intense Saban spent a couple of minutes Friday suggesting that Auburn-Alabama rivalry has grown too intense. “We can be all be a little more respectful to each other and still have just as a fierce a competition on the field as we’ve ever had,” he said.
But that was it for moderation. Saban devoted most of his time to the boilerplate stuff — focus, commitment, all that jazz — and then he stalked away, the smell of sulfur in his wake. Gazing on him, we thought to ourselves, “What mortal can possibly stand against such fury?”
Les Miles, maybe?
By Mark Bradley
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391 comments Add your comment
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 22nd, 2011
3:39 pm
Great analogy involving Vick! That is the Bammer fans the rest of us all know. Toothless, trashy and classless.
Also, RTR, you go ahead and circle a game in 2012. Must mean we are getting to you.
Stay classy Tuscaloosa….
fayncdawg
July 22nd, 2011
3:40 pm
Saban is a very good coach and seems to be clearly more dedicated his craft than Richt (AT THE MOMENT!) But there are some flaws with Saban that people should note. VERY #1 how did he blow a 24 point lead with a team as talented as he had last season?. #2 how come the only player off his LSU NC team that’s doing very well in the NFL Laron Landry? (the same Laron Landry who Michael Vick made a complete fool of on national TV last season) .
One thing for certain; Falcon fans should not get their hopes up too high if Julio Jones doesn’t have a greater impact in the NFL than Landry. If Jones does not prove to be worth what the Falcons traded to get him, then I will have write a whole blog page about Saban’s flaws, not just the half page I could do right now!
Whoa Nellie
July 22nd, 2011
3:43 pm
SABAN > Rest of SEC
Congrats, you win the worst POTD award in a landslide. Good grief.
JB
July 22nd, 2011
3:44 pm
My brown eyes are peeking out from under the porch……….Is it safe to come out…LOL
Tide Rising
July 22nd, 2011
3:44 pm
Lowcountry bulldog,
Too funny. So Saban passed on and was not a candidate for the following jobs- cowboys steelers, Ohio state, USC, Michigan, Miami, FSU, UF, Notre Dame, etc. but you think he’s going somewhere after this year. You are wayyyyyyyy too funny. You can always hope though can’t you? That’s a pretty pathetic existence waiting year after year hoping he’ll leave. Get ready to be disappointed another 5-7 years.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 22nd, 2011
3:47 pm
Tide Rising,
According to our rival bloggers isnt that a Georgia Bulldog fans existence? Wait till next year! So why not focus on that in terms of rival coaches leaving!
Tide Rising
July 22nd, 2011
3:47 pm
Lowcountrybulldawg,
Alabama fans are trashy? Perhaps you didn’t see all those pics from the AJC of the Athens campus being completely and totally trashed after a game. Wayyyy toooo funnnny. Keep up the comedy routine. Its great entertainment. And clean up the north campus would ya? Too many Milwaukees best beer cans and mad dog 20/20 bottles there.
JB
July 22nd, 2011
3:50 pm
Tide Rising…I’m afraid you are correct….He’s making close to 5 mil a year and having a good time………….And the SEC is a great place to play and coach. Peterson At Boise playing Trade schools 10 games or so a year in front of 30,000 can’t be fun……Ask Tech.
Tide Rising
July 22nd, 2011
3:51 pm
lowcountry,
Waste of time worrying about other programs. You should just concentrate on Richt righting the ship.
Paul N Destin
July 22nd, 2011
3:53 pm
UGA …the best college football team …from March until August. Nick driving you folks crazy again. Just remember you have played the worst Alabama teams you will face!!!! All the players are Nick’s selections now. Bama will in he hunt each year and you folks will have to raise your game or be left behind and you dogs know a lot about behind…so lick it!
Elite Bama
July 22nd, 2011
3:54 pm
Georgia hasn’t been relevant since 1980. Bama’s the big horse in the SEC—2010 was a fluke. Nick’s got the talent he needs to make another BCS title run. Alabama wins the west going away and probably plays south carolina for the SEC title.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 22nd, 2011
3:55 pm
I do not worry about any other program outside of UGA. The only school that matters is UGA. Regardless if we go 6-7 or 12-0 I still will be a UGA fan and under the same handle. I don’t run so no worrys if crow is to be ate I will have a dose of it.
JB
July 22nd, 2011
3:56 pm
Speaking of Peterson…………He will never….and I mean never play for the NC at Boise going 12-0 because they play 9 or 10 patsy’s every year. He’ll have to leave from out there and be tested somewhere to play for it. SEC,Big 10,even the ACC.
PreyDawg
July 22nd, 2011
3:56 pm
Don’t let up on em Lowcountry. I am a UGA grad who spent one very long semester in Tuscaloooooosa. When I got tired of stealing Bama women from the pencil necks over there I came to Athens and never wanted to be anywhere else. While I was there some Auburn pukes snuck over (apparently during summer) and planted WAR EAGLE in some other strain of grass all across the quad at Bama. It was real apparent from a distance what it said. Pretty well done prank.
I actually kind of like Alabama because I did have some good times there. It was Bear Bryants last year so that shows how old I am. But these unwelcom Bama invaders on here are starting to change my mind. Oh well…at least they are not the Auburn Thugocracy. At least they didn’t steal a title with a felon at Nose Tackle who tried to cripple a defenseless QB 20 seconds after the whistle. Boy I hate Auburn.
Tide Rising
July 22nd, 2011
3:56 pm
JB,
My feeling is that he simply retires in another 5-7 years. His wife and he have said this is the last stop, he has a daughter who is a soph at UA, and he has a committment of 100k a year to the scholarship fund for another 5 years. We certainly won’t win it every year or dominate for a long stretch. Too much balance and power in the SEC for anyone to stay on top forever- those days are over. We just want to be consistently good and every few years have the magic to vault to the top. That’s all anyone can realistically ask for and this year will be especially difficult because there are 3 other damn good teams in the west. Ark may win the division- they are looking tough as is LSU which is a top 3 team. Miss state would win a conference title if they played anywhere else. It will just be another brutal season in the sec and hard to see anyone emerge unscathed. I’m looking forward mainly to the Ark and LSU games myself- going to be great ones.
JB
July 22nd, 2011
3:59 pm
Paul N Destin………you are on here a lot….because I am……..You have never…and I mean never written anything but hate and dribble. please contribute something meaningful every now and then. We know you sleep in Bear Bryant pajamas, but damn son, talk some football now and then.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 22nd, 2011
4:00 pm
I have confidence the ship will be righted. Also could care less about any other program not name UGA. I though say lets not circle a game in 2012. Lets circle the Championship game this year and try to settle it. If I have crow to eat then so be it.
PreyDawg o these fans of Bammer have no idea how some of these fans act on our blogs. Like the one poster who said somehting to the effect that why do you think they are writing about Bammer and not UGA? That was to damn funny. Hell this paper has 5 blogs a day about UGA, go ask Tech fans. That all that gripe and moan about!!!!
RTR
July 22nd, 2011
4:02 pm
Lowcountry, what exactly is there about UGA that would get to us? Offense? Bobo is a joke. So is your line. Saw that you got a commitment that chose UGA over Georgia State and South Alabama. Awesome. Defense? Grantham is a snake oil salesman without anything to back it up. You spend more time picking out uniforms than you do worrying about what it takes to win.
Please, please, please wear your little black unis. It’ll be another funeral.
Les W. Moore
July 22nd, 2011
4:02 pm
The Alabama football program runs a fairly routine cycle of: cheating to win followed by penalties and probation. Be patient.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 22nd, 2011
4:02 pm
Where is Tide Roll? He is such a fan of Bama I cannot believe he is not here beating the drum of Saban!
O thats right he only visits UGA blogs….He must be a closet UGA fan only explanation.
JB
July 22nd, 2011
4:04 pm
Elite………….I think Georgia has beaten Bama more than once since 80. IF you’re comparing your program to God, I think that’s pretty good for an ole irrelevant football program, just say’n
Terry
July 22nd, 2011
4:05 pm
SEC Fact Finder
July 22nd, 2011
2:22 pm
Just a comment about Trailers, as a guy who now resides in Florida.
According to Census numbers by rank of Trailers:
Florida
Texas
North Carolina
Georgia
South Carolina
Alabama
but here is the link…
good laughing…..
http://www.census.gov/apsd/www/statbrief/sb94_10.pdf
Good luck to your Schools.
And Go SEC!
==============================================
SEC Fact Finder, Georgia’s Population: 8,684,715 – Trailers – 297,741 Alabama’s Population: 4,779,736 – Trailers – 217,784 – everyone of those states you have listed has double the Population of Alabama except South Carolina – Population: 4,625,384 – Trailers – 235,863 – Also, that is a 1990 census link.T alking Ratio Trailer per person South Carolina and Alabama would be ranked first and Second on that list.
ozzfest
July 22nd, 2011
4:07 pm
The thing about Saban is that he would not have had talent like Stafford, Knowshon, MoMas, and AJ on the same team…and not won the SEC.
There is something a little soft about Richt…that makes him an inferior coach to Mr. Saban.
Go Dogs!
DIT
July 22nd, 2011
4:08 pm
Head to Head combat the past 10 years CMR is 3-1 against Bama. Give Bama credit for a NC though.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 22nd, 2011
4:08 pm
That night when we got down 31-0. That was a complete joke of a performance. I give you that. The year before what happened? You got beat. So talk all you want teams lay eggs. If you dont believe it what happened against Directional Louisiana whatever school Saban got beat by? It happens, its football. Its why you play the game as Herm said. Does it still bother me? No, but boy I bet you still have some private moments with it on DVR as you got so fired up by it.
UGAKev
July 22nd, 2011
4:09 pm
RTR,
Will never measure up to the tradition off the field???? Are you kidding me!? Nothing is appealing about Alabama except winning. When Georgia is talked about it goes beyond winning. Athens Georgia is the greatest college town on earth. Sanford Stadium is the greatest stadium on earth. UGA is the number one mascot in college football. Georgia had the greastest college football player to ever step on the field. Georgia had the greatest college football announcer to ever call a game. The list goes on and on. How could you possibly say we dont stack up to your off field tradition? Your arrogance and ignorance offends me, go to your room and clean up before mama gets home.
JB
July 22nd, 2011
4:10 pm
Stallings to Saban= a period of time lost….with a lot less Bama bloggers………….you would think they could remember longer than 3-4 years back, just say’n. irrelevant comes in a lot of different ways.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 22nd, 2011
4:12 pm
Yes JB a Bammer blogger brought up Red Panties? Well didn’t they have a 60 year old new hire coach named Price get fired before a game for “making it rain” at a strip club?
UGAKev
July 22nd, 2011
4:12 pm
Saban lost to
JB
July 22nd, 2011
4:14 pm
Price blew a stripper before he ever blew a whistle………..LOL
UGAKev
July 22nd, 2011
4:14 pm
Saban lost to LA Monroe , doesnt matter what players he had then. Georgia has spanked Saban before and will do it again.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 22nd, 2011
4:14 pm
Every team has a bad game. UGA lost to Bama in a embarassing manor, but didnt Bama lose to a Louisiana team that was a directional school or somehting? So every team is bound to lay a egg. So if that is how you want to compare the schools go ahead.
JB
July 22nd, 2011
4:15 pm
They ought to put a statue of that out front…LOL
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 22nd, 2011
4:16 pm
Florida fans think football began in 1990
Alabam fans of this generation think football began 4 years ago…
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 22nd, 2011
4:17 pm
Dolla bills flying out of the hand of a Mike Price with out stretched hands…maybe a G-String in one hand.
rx-dawg
July 22nd, 2011
4:18 pm
To all the Bama fans who said UGA would drool over a 10-3 season after being preseason #1. We didn’t in 2008 and your 2010 compares similarly. One critical difference being you were the DEFENDING national champions. Nobody knew if we had what it took, we all knew you guys did. Feels good knowing that 08 UGA is no longer the biggest season long choke act. Go Dawgs, and despite the barb, please win the west ‘Bama….
JB
July 22nd, 2011
4:19 pm
OK, all kidding aside…I will tip my hat to Saban and his wife Teri for all the money they are raising for the tornado victims…..god bless’em
Whoa Nellie
July 22nd, 2011
4:20 pm
Though they don’t play each other a lot, the ‘94 and ‘07 Georgia-Bama games were two of the best games I’ve ever seen. I thought we had the ‘94 game won but lost (I’ll never forget Zeier coming off the field) and the ‘07 game lost but won (Bobo’s best play he ever called). How much longer until kickoff?
Bama Bill
July 22nd, 2011
4:22 pm
Coach Saban is a true professional and appears to manage every aspect of the game in a superb manner – just like the Bear. But he did coach his team into a defeat against Auburn in Tuscaloosa after a first half blow-out. This did happen and even happened to the Bear on occasion. I would not trade Coach Saban for any other coach in the profession and hopefully he will have a record, and bring fame to Bama, over time just like Coach Bryant. The SEC is loaded and it’s going to be a fantastic year of football – Roll Tide !
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 22nd, 2011
4:23 pm
Heck what about the game in ‘91! Bammer won 10-0. They have had some slugfests. Thats why I do respect the program.
Whoa Nellie
July 22nd, 2011
4:26 pm
Good Post JB and I agree about Nick & Terri Saban’s work, including “Nick’s Kid’s”. And a special shout-out to Taylor Swift, she just contributed 250k!
tell the truth
July 22nd, 2011
4:26 pm
Lowcountry Bulldawg Go play with your herschel doll and count your losses from the past several years. You should be so lucky to have a team that will compete every year for titles. Can you say jealous much???
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 22nd, 2011
4:28 pm
Nope, not jealous at all. I would say reading comprehension and following the posts may give you a clearer idea. Thanks for playing…
UGA Insider
July 22nd, 2011
4:40 pm
Muschamp introduced me to Saban one time before a UGA/LSU game. I must say….. He has the biggest case of “little man’s syndrome” I have ever seen. It’s true. They guy is 5′7″ at the most. Hellova coach however.
Joey
July 22nd, 2011
4:43 pm
JB was obviously talking about footall programs. UGA football has been on probation for major football violations 1 time, in the mid-80s.
That’s 1.
And even then, the infractions were not about recruiting, but about remedial studies (yes, Techies, Jan Kemp) programs for student-athletes. That mess cost our president his job, and ended the remedial studies program.
To try and compare our football program to Bama’s endless probations is silly.
AvgDawgFan
July 22nd, 2011
4:44 pm
bamaguy
July 22nd, 2011
2:03 pm
“Lowcountry Bulldawg; have you seen the average UGA fan? Seriously? Not alumnus, just fan. You know, the kind that beat up that disabled man in Florida. And as as far as Alabama goes, since Georgia outside Atlanta is Mississippi without the casinos, I wouldn’t throw that stone.”
Too Funny,Fan but true!
black sheep
July 22nd, 2011
4:51 pm
Joey Or to compare the success of Bama to the success of Georgia.
Silly indeed
phillip
July 22nd, 2011
4:52 pm
I’m an Alabama fan, and appreciate what he has done. His first couple of years were actually fun. He said some funny things….believe it or not I think he does have a great sense of humor, and it was interesting seeing his energy on the sidelines. The last two years however, especially last year, were a grind. He got boring, and slunk into a horrific ‘coachspeak’ mode. His press conferences are full of psychobabble, and everything is a chore.
I think Alabama will be average this year. Losing to Penn State, LSU, Florida and horrors Auburn.
Young quarterbacks will be factors in all of those losses.
My next prediction is that Saban gets a lot more criticism than he is accumstomed to and leaves. As successful as he’s been….and again…..I appreciate him…..but everything is a chore for him, and he saps some, if not a lot of the fun out of the game. But Roll Tide anyway.
black sheep
July 22nd, 2011
4:53 pm
UGAKev Yep- when you think Dawgs you think- whining!!! Man we got robbed!!!
It’s just awful.
Terry
July 22nd, 2011
4:56 pm
Bama fans, Talk about UGA fans living in the past, but the fact is, since Georgia won their National Championship in 1980, Bama has only won two NC’s 1992,2009. This is a different time were living in, with different rules, if Bear Bryant would have had to deal with what these coaches have to deal with now, he would not have been so successful, and Bama will never be as successful as they where back in the 1960’s and 70’s.