rexbo 104 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 $aban and Bama $aban & Bama: Nick Gets More, Moore Gets NickBy Matt Zemek Staff Columnist Posted Jan 3, 2007 Nick $aban got more money, Mal Moore got Nick $aban. It's a perfect marriage in Alabama, and as a result, the SEC West will have the hottest holy wars in all of college football over the next few seasons. First and foremost, results speak for themselves. Tossing aside the larger social and ethical dimensions of this move (more on them in just a bit), one has to tip the houndstooth hat to Bama athletic director Mal Moore, who bagged his boy and corralled a coveted coach when a strikeout would have been devastating to the Tide program. Moore was under a ridiculous amount of pressure to land a very big fish in Tuscaloosa, and he reeled in the Miami Dolphins' coach just in the Nick of time. If you want to give credit where credit is due in a bottom-line business, Moore and the Bama backers who ponied up the dough deserve accolades for succeeding when a lot of people thought they wouldn't. (This columnist, for the record, was one of the doubters. That much must be acknowledged.) Now that the deal is done, though, it's hard to expunge a sour taste from one's mouth if you live outside the world of the SEC or care about academics and ethics more than winning games on Saturdays. This is, in many ways, a perfect marriage, but not for the best possible reasons. While giving all due credit to Mal Moore and others at Alabama who brokered this bold and big-league deal with Mr. $aban, one can't ignore the social and ethical stains associated with this development. On a social level, this deal serves to rapidly escalate and accelerate the dollars involved in college football's nuclear arms race for on-field success. A few days after the University of Minnesota--throwing huge money into a new stadium and other football upgrades--caved in to fan (read: luxury suite buyer) pressure and sacked Glen Mason, Alabama has shown that money is no object when it comes to winning football games. A minimum of $35 million, combined with incentives that could make the deal more lucrative, represents a lavish and extravagant package to a coach who succeeded at LSU, but didn't sustain that success only because he was unwilling to stay in Baton Rouge for an extended period of time. This will have considerable consequences on other coaching salaries across the country, and in most cases, the dollars will spill out of university coffers with even greater frequency. If Ohio State coach Jim Tressel wins the BCS title game this upcoming Monday, his current contract has a provision which stipulates that it must be torn up, and that a new arrangement needs to be negotiated. If the Buckeyes do indeed defeat Florida on Jan. 8, you can bet that Tressel will receive money that's comparable to this Alabama deal. Much as Steve Spurrier pulled yearly coaching salaries up to the $2 million mark in the 1990s, this Nick $aban deal will pull coaching salaries still higher. This trend of rapid upward escalation in coaching salaries--while evidently necessary to land or keep big-name coaches, as this Alabama deal proves--is simply not a healthy development in American society. While loads of problems exist in the world of primary education, this country's secondary institutions are throwing around ungodly sums of cash so that King Football will succeed on Saturdays. One hastens to say that this is not Alabama's fault; the whole college football industry is collectively responsible. Nevertheless, a healthier society would be devoting a greater share of enormous financial resources to more noble goals and ends. That's the dreary socioeconomic undercurrent to Nick $aban's money grab in Tuscaloosa. Speaking of $aban, the eternally restless coach--quickly becoming to football what Larry Brown is in basketball--has no personal, moral or ethical credibility left in his pocket. Near the end of another season of coaching carousel madness, $aban has exceeded all of his colleagues--in the pros and the NCAA--as a flat-out liar who leaves organizations in the lurch. Nick $aban professed his love for LSU, and then bolted to Miami at Christmastime to give Bayou Bengal backers a big lump of coal in their stockings two years ago. Now, after saying , "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach," $aban is Alabama's coach. The man might as well keep his mouth shut. Let's hope that coaches--in football and, for that matter, in basketball--will finally learn to be truthful and honorable when they consider new jobs. It's not that hard, guys: if someone makes an incredible offer, you need to think about your financial security and your family, and you can safely say that to the world. No one would doubt your sincerity or question your desire to look at something that might prove to be personally beneficial. At the same time, you--as a coach--can say that you like a lot of the elements of your current position, and that you'll simply need time to make an informed decision between your great current job and a very attractive offer from another school or NFL organization. That's not exactly rocket science. Hopefully, the pathetic and loudly false comments by Nick $aban over the past month will get his brother coaches to learn, once and for all, how to handle a coaching transition or the mere prospect of one. Before putting this event to bed, however, one has to throw in a final word about the significance of this deal on the football field. Plainly put, SEC West football will now possess the most emotional and riveting matchups of the next few seasons. When Alabama plays LSU and Auburn in the near future, it might not be safe to even attend games involving these teams. How much must LSU fans despise $aban and Bama right about now? Thank goodness the new Crimson Tide coach doesn't have to go to Baton Rouge until 2008. And as huge as the Iron Bowl has always been in the state of Alabama, it's likely that a hellaciously hot holy war will acquire exponentially more heat in future years. $aban will now coach against Will Muschamp, his former defensive coordinator at both LSU and the Dolphins, in future Iron Bowls. An Auburn program with straight-shooting Tommy Tuberville (who poorly handled his Ole Miss exit but has since cleaned up his reputation by surviving a crazy Auburn administration that nearly approached Bama-level insanity a few years ago) will fiercely hunger to beat the money-grabbing and truth-avoiding coach in Tuscaloosa. Bama fans--with the swagger and reputation of their program now restored to a substantial degree--will finally feel that in the post-Mike Shula era, they can return to a golden age in which they terrorize and tame Tuberville's Tigers. One can already hear Alabamans discussing the Iron Bowl with noticeably increased intensity right now. In a series known for promoting every classic Biblical sin in the book, one might want to find a safe house when the next Iron Bowl kicks off... and stay locked in that safe place for at least two weeks. That's how intense the next Auburn-Alabama armageddon could prove to be, thanks to Nick $aban's arrival in Tuscaloosa. It's funny in a strange but undeniable sense: on the morning of LSU's proud return to the Sugar Bowl and the Louisiana Superdome, the only thing Bayou Bengals fans might be talking about is the fact that the coach of their last Sugar Bowl-winning team is now sitting in the same chair Bear Bryant occupied for a quarter of a century. College sports cash is flowing wildly out of control, and Nick $aban's ethical compass might be nonexistent, but you have to admit that even if you dislike the social and moral elements of this move, it's sure going to make Alabama better... and SEC West football fabulously fun. Buckle up in Alabama and Louisiana: gridiron grudge matches just became a lot nastier with Nick $aban as the coach at the Capstone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUHansel 0 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 In a series known for promoting every classic Biblical sin in the book, one might want to find a safe house when the next Iron Bowl kicks off... and stay locked in that safe place for at least two weeks. That's how intense the next Auburn-Alabama armageddon could prove to be, thanks to Nick $aban's arrival in Tuscaloosa. Auburn-Alabama armageddon??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaReAgLe83 0 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Every classic Biblical sin? Easy on the hyperbole there, Matt... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weagle98 119 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 In a series known for promoting every classic Biblical sin in the book, one might want to find a safe house when the next Iron Bowl kicks off... and stay locked in that safe place for at least two weeks. That's how intense the next Auburn-Alabama armageddon could prove to be, thanks to Nick $aban's arrival in Tuscaloosa. Auburn-Alabama armageddon??? Yeah if you know the bible you know that the armageddon is really one sided too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obike 1 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 In a series known for promoting every classic Biblical sin in the book, one might want to find a safe house when the next Iron Bowl kicks off... and stay locked in that safe place for at least two weeks. That's how intense the next Auburn-Alabama armageddon could prove to be, thanks to Nick $aban's arrival in Tuscaloosa. Auburn-Alabama armageddon??? Yeah if you know the bible you know that the armageddon is really one sided too. Thanks for making me spit perfectly good root beer on my screen and keyboard. Well worth it for that comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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