Nick Saban … liar, maybe … good coach, absolutely

By Kristian Garic

You have an argument if you say that Nick Saban’s return to college football as the coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide brands him as a “liar” or even “job jumper”. In the same breath you have to say “oh boy” – the Tide just became a formidable opponent in the SEC overnight.Did Nick Saban walk away from unfinished business at Miami? Yep, he sure did! Did he lie about his return to the college coaching ranks when he addressed the Miami media on this topic about a month ago? Yes.

If you were Nick Saban in the midst of an NFL season that hasn’t worked out the way you hoped it would and rumors were swirling about you possibly leaving the organization – would you deny those rumors? I would!

Nick Saban might be a liar and he might be a ship jumper, but the man can flat out coach. I know Louisiana State University Tiger fans are aggravated about Nick Saban’s return to the SEC and to rival Alabama State. It certainly begs the question: Why did you leave in the first place? I will answer that for him…MONEY!

Is college football the place for Nick Saban? Absolutely, the last month of his tenure in the NFL he looked like a college coach, an amateur and a quitter.

What impact will Nick’s return to the Southeast Conference have on the LSU Tigers? Everyone knows the name of the game in college football is recruiting, and that is where Nick will adversely impact the Tigers the most.

He has ties in Louisiana, he knows how to recruit in this state and knows the high school football coaches in this state. Nick will steal some recruits from Louisiana. The thefts won’t occur this recruiting season, but three to four years from now it will have an impact. How much of an impact?

That is yet to be seen, and nobody knows. It will certainly test the recruiting mettle of Les Miles, that’s for sure. What made Nick so successful at LSU was his ability to convince that 18-year-old blue chipper that LSU was the best school to play football.

What’s the future for the Tide? National Championship … maybe. SEC championship … probably. Keeping Nick Saban happy … not likely. Nick Saban staying at Alabama for the duration of his contract … yeah right!