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The Larry Brown of Football
Nick Saban is not a good football coach. He is a great football coach. Problem is, he always has to be told he is loved. With him, it is not so much the job, but the courtship that counts. He loves to be the hot candidate and to come into town as a hero. What he lacks is the guts to stick out difficult situations. When he is coaching in the pros, he is a college coach at heart. Then when he is coaching in the college ranks, he is a pro coach at heart. Problem is, he lacks loyalty. It is never about the program. It is all about Nick. And he wears out his welcome quickly. He is the ultimate grouch. People tire of being constantly chewed out. And leaves too often under the guise of family circumstance. That part of his act has become disingenuous. He will do well at Alabama, but do not be surprised if he is back in the NFL within four years. It is just the way Saban is.
Random thoughts
- When Lloyd Carr steps down as the football coach at Michigan, there should be little doubt the Wolverines should go after Les Miles of LSU to replace him- . What is there not to like about Miles - including his U-M background.
- Maybe I am missing something, but Brady Quinn does not strike me as being that good. I just do not see him as the first overall pick in the NFL Draft. To me, Troy Smith is a lot better.
- The next great young pitcher will likely be Homer Bailey, a right-hander who figures to make his major league debut with the Reds sometime this season. The Tigers considered taking Bailey with the second overall pick in the 2004 Draft before selecting Justin Verlander. As good as Verlander is, it would not surprise me if Bailey has the better career. He is younger, being drafted out of high school. And yes, I have talked to a number of scouts who have said he is that good.
Random thoughts
- When Lloyd Carr steps down as the football coach at Michigan, there should be little doubt the Wolverines should go after Les Miles of LSU to replace him- . What is there not to like about Miles - including his U-M background.
- Maybe I am missing something, but Brady Quinn does not strike me as being that good. I just do not see him as the first overall pick in the NFL Draft. To me, Troy Smith is a lot better.
- The next great young pitcher will likely be Homer Bailey, a right-hander who figures to make his major league debut with the Reds sometime this season. The Tigers considered taking Bailey with the second overall pick in the 2004 Draft before selecting Justin Verlander. As good as Verlander is, it would not surprise me if Bailey has the better career. He is younger, being drafted out of high school. And yes, I have talked to a number of scouts who have said he is that good.
posted by Pat Caputo at
3:55 AM
7 Comments:
Is there anybody more over rated in the coaching world then Saban. I do not understand what makes him so special and why everyone wants him. I mean is it because he is a good car salesman. Yeah he won co-championship with LSU, but other then that what really has he done. IN my mind he is a coward. His limp wristed flag toss at the beginning of the season. He is all about the money. If I were a kid or a parent I wouldn't trust a word this guys says, because in mind he is all about saban. He didn't care about MSU. He didn't care about LSU. He definately didn't respect his pro team to be honest with them. WHat do kids/parents say when this clown walks in the door. Lets face it the question is not if he leaves Bama but when. I just don't understand the love for the guy.
As far as Quinn. I couldn't agreed more about him being over rated and the Notre Dame program. I like Russell the best out of all the QBs going into the draft. THat kid has one hell of an Arm and I think is the sleeper QB this year. IF I were the lions. First and for most I'd do everything in my power at all costs to convince Cower to come here at some point. Even if it leaves bad blood in the mouths of Marinelli. Latest Mock drafts have the lions grabbing Thomas and Troy Smith with their first two picks. They'd get a A+ in my mind.
ONe thing I sigh on is the thoughts of possibly marshal Faulk coming to town. Give it up. Signings like that is why we are 3-14 every year. I'd take a shot on Micheal Turner who is ready to be turned lose with a team before signing him.
Maddog52,
I don't think Saban is overrated. He did win a national title at LSU and look atwhat MSU became after he left. Had he stayed at MSU, the Spartans would have been much better off. The problem is, you never know when the guy is going to take off. He owed Miami more than two years. He abandoned the Dolphins. That just isn't right.
Caputo
Thinkingman,
With all due respect, I am not going to turn this blog into a radio comment forum. I don't think Jamarcus Russell is going to be a great pro. He is inconsistent. I like Troy Smith as the best QB coming out of college. I still like Quinn better than Russell. LSU has a much, much better defense than Notre Dame.
Caputo
Saban is an ego driven guy who has a much bigger reputation than he has results.
Is he a good coach? Sure he is. But there are a lot of coaches on his level.
Maybe many of the other coaches make the conscious decision to turn their backs so often on their front office, and players.
On the other hand, I would not fault a guy for trying to get as much as he can. Per year he will make slightly less, but he now has more guaranteed money.
Pat, I am pretty sure if someone offered you that type of security, you would have to think about it as well even after telling us all that you were going nowhere and then we see you left for an Alaskan newspaper for double the amount you bring in.
I agree about Brady Quinn. To me he has Rick Mirer written all over him.
I see him being an average QB at best, and the team that "reaches" for him is going to be disappointed.
I agree that Troy Smith is the best QB coming out.
Despite a good (not great) performance by Russell against a poor defense, he has plenty of question marks.
It would be in his best interest to go back to school, and raise his stock while further learning the offense and maturing.
If he came out today, there is a good chance he is the 4th best QB in the draft (at best) behind Smith, Quinn, and Brohm.
Thinkingman,
No big deal. I think you know where I am coming from on this one. I like the fact that we talk sports and debate those issues rather than have it be people shooting from the hip about radio gossip.
Caputo
Sportznut,
It's all about Nick's ego. It is beyond huge. And he was making more money with the Dolphins than he will at Alabama and there is always more money for coaches in the pros than colleges. Plus, he doesn't have to recruit in the NFL. It's all about football. With Nick, he starts to not feel overwhelmingly loved. That's when he bolts.
Caputo
Pat, I agree with you completely about Homer Bailey. I had a Billy Beane moment when the Tigers drafted Verlander. I got very upset, I thought Homer Bailey was the better choice with that selection.
At the time, Verlander had major question marks. He had extreme control problems in college and had an ungodly number of hit batsmen during his career. He did this while playing for a program that wasn't all that good.
Even though generally college players are more reliable than high school, I thought Bailey was a safer pick and I was angry when the Tigers took Verlander.
Fortunately, time has shown that the pick was a great one -- Verlander appears capable of being an all-time great. Yet looking at Bailey's numbers last season at AA, and his current age (younger than Verlander was when he was drafted), I still feel like I was right in believing the Tigers should've drafted him....even though we may not have had our great '06 without Verlander.
I suppose time will tell.
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