TIDE STAFF HAS PLENTY OF DISTRACTIONS AS THEY PREPARE FOR SEC CHAMPIONSHIP, OR DO THEY?
I've known Paul Finebaum from the many years. It was a privilege to do talk radio about Alabama basketball. Some of those appearances were on Paul's show when he was in Birmingham, Alabama. Paul was highly controversial in Birmingham. We played a couple of rounds of golf. Once I even set up an outing with my friend Herb Winches. That attempt to mend some fences between the two was a disaster. That's another story. I have to admit Paul gets under my skin. He is the classic example of what has happened to sports reporters in our country. The reporters want to be the news and not just report the news. I'm well aware that Finebaum is more of a celebrity than a journalist now. There apparently is a low bar for being a celebrity.
Yesterday he crossed a line in my opinion. First, he said that Nick Saban was personally responsible for other SEC coaches losing their jobs. Next, Finebaum suggested that Sabana might find something else to do if he won another national championship. Mark Richt got fired because Georgia continued to lose games their team should have won on an influenza basis. You know, at least once a year one of those games came around and made Georgia fans sick. That was hardly Saban's fault. Les Miles supposedly was on the hot seat because he couldn't beat Saban. I suggest a different reason. Miles refused to understand the need to develop a top quarterback if you want to run the ball effectively. Alabama has a balanced attack. Even the great Leonard Fournette couldn't run against Alabama when the Tide didn't have to worry about a pass. I think that those are the most valid reasons for a couple of coaches getting the boot or catching heat. But that doesn't bring viewers. Paul, it isn't about you. It's about the sports. Just because Finebaum says it doesn't make it true. He made some interesting speculations, but that is all his remarks were.
Colleges are not going to go out and find another Nick Saban. The Alabama coach is a lot like another Alabama coach named Bryant. They come along every so often and are not low hanging fruit. If you want Nick Saban, then outbid the Tide for his services. If sportswriters think that a 60-year-old head coach is going to rebuild another weak team, I find that hard to believe. He is at the pinnacle of success in his profession. It is what he has done at Alabama that defines him in coaching history. In my opinion, that is the end of the story.
Alabama is likely going to beat Florida on Saturday, and then the could win yet another national championship. Let me add that Nick Saban hired Kirby Smart. Smart may well take some of his buddies with him to Georgia. If Saban found quality coaches before he will find them again. He might lose a recruit or two when Smart leaves. He will recruit two more who are dying to play for Bama and Nick Saban. We love Kirby Smart, but players are not coming to Alabama because of Kirby Smart. They come to play for the University of Alabama and Coach Saban. Finebaum has made a career stirring the pot, fanning the flames, throwing red meat to the crowd. He isn't Nick Saban, and he isn't the University of Alabama. Long after Finebaum is gone the name Saban and Alabama will endure. The name Finebaum isn't likely to even be remembered. Even Paul will admit that. I will now step off my soap box.
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