Sep 28, 2013; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban watches his team from the sidelines against the Mississippi Rebels during the fourth quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Mississippi Rebels 25-0. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports Texas Longhorns
Nick Saban has a verbal offer from Alabama to make him the highest paid coach in college.
But Saban hasn’t yet responded to the offer.
That, combined with Alabama AD Bill Battle’s no-comment on Saban/Texas, has Alabama fans frightened and the rest of the SEC excited at the prospect of Saban leaving the conference.
Saban’s non-committal (so far) to another extension from Alabama, has opened a tiny, tiny window for rumors to escape through.
This entire situation is incredibly similar to the Gruden/Tennessee saga a year ago.
While I seriously doubt Saban will leave Alabama, there is at least a small chance that it could be a real possibility.
There’s really no rhyme or reason why Saban would leave Alabama. It certainly wouldn’t be because of money, power or success. He has all of those things at Alabama.
Maybe he’s tired of Tuscaloosa?
Austin is no doubt a better place to live.
Perhaps he needs a challenge?
“Rebuilding” Texas is far from a challenge, considering it’s right in the middle of the most fertile recruiting ground in the nation, but it has been a bit since they’ve been a top five team.
Who knows why Nick Saban would want to leave Alabama. There’s really no logical reason why he’d want to leave.
In fact, who knows if there’s even any real interest, but the thought of Saban leaving for Texas is extremely intriguing and could be great for college football.
Even though Alabama won’t be winning their fourth national championship in five years, there’s still little doubt that they are currently the marquee team in college football.
And itt’s not just Alabama that’s been dominant over the past few seasons.
A parallel of Saban’s success has been the rise of the SEC.
The SEC’s reputation as the best conference in college football — from top to bottom — isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.
However, if Saban were to go to Texas it could put an elite team back in the Big 12, where it’s desperately needed.
In that aspect, it would once again even out the landscape of college football.
That would be a good thing for all college football fans. I mean who doesn’t want more competitiveness across the board? Especially with the new four-team playoff going into effect next season.
Of course all of this hinges on Nick Saban actually having interest in Texas.
Or Texas having interest in Nick Saban.
I know that seems like a crazy thought, but Saban is only two months younger than Mack Brown.
Who says Texas wants to be in this same situation a few years from now?
Surely they can get another (younger) coach for much cheaper that can return Texas to prominence.
It’s not like Texas is that far off from being an elite program again. They don’t necessarily need Nick Saban to get back there.
Then again, it might all be a moot point, considering Mack Brown hasn’t actually resigned — yet.
There’s plenty of national reporters that seem to think that will eventually be the case, but until Brown resigns, nothing will happen with Nick Saban or any other coach.