The truth comes out

[AU alum 2]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/stor...&id=3090645

Saban still under fire for taking helm of Tide

By Ivan Maisel

ESPN.com

(Archive)

Updated: November 2, 2007

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Admit it, Nick Saban. You have built a career on your ability to focus on the task at hand. You have won a national championship. You earn $4 million a year, the highest salary in your sport. You have written a book extolling the virtue of the many working toward the one common goal ("How Good Do You Want to Be? A Champion's Tips on How to Lead and Succeed at Work and in Life," Ballantine Books, $13.95).

Marc Serota/Getty Images

Nick Saban hasn't paid much attention to the venom from LSU fans upset by his decision to coach their rival.

But even this is a bit much. Saban's current team, No. 17 Alabama (6-2, 4-1 SEC), will host No. 3 LSU (7-1, 4-1), the university where he won that glorious BCS national championship four years ago. It doesn't matter to LSU fans that Saban traveled from Baton Rouge to Tuscaloosa through Miami, where he coached the Dolphins in 2005 and 2006. All they know is that he is coaching one of their archrivals, a school that until this decade owned the Tigers on the football field.

That's why The Birmingham News splashed above the fold on the front page of its sports section Thursday a photo of Saban with darts sticking out of it. The photo hung in Free Speech Alley on the LSU campus, where students donated to charity for the right to throw the darts.

If nothing else, it's not much of a birthday present for Saban, who turned 56 on Wednesday. Don't the darts puncture that wall you have built around you? Do the long-distance calls of "traitor" really fall on deaf ears?

Saban looked at the photo, shrugged and smiled.

"Too bad," he said.

That's it? You have darts in your face and you say, "Too bad"? If they prick you, do you not bleed? If they wrong you, shall you not revenge?

"Ten minutes," Saban said.

That's how long he opens the gate in his wall.

"Terry and I," Saban said, referring to his wife, "always have our little 10-minute coffee in the morning when we get up at 6:15. We talked about it a few times."

A smile crept across his face.

"Ten minutes. In my house, with the dogs, and that's it. The kids are still sleeping. I don't even let them hear about it. And the dogs don't talk."

Terry Saban is not as cryptic. It is clear that she has considered the subject for more than 10 minutes a day. Nick Saban puts up a wall in part because he has Terry as an ambassador.

"The passion of both programs is so high," she said. "I don't know that that will ever abate. If you're not passionately involved in it, it's great for the game. … Unfortunately, people are taking it personally. [LSU fans] call Nick a deserter. We gave five years of our life! Anyone involved in the coaching profession knows. It's not a job. It's your life. It's every pore of your body. You have to live it day in and day out. It's unfortunate that it's become a personal thing. It shouldn't be the team against Nick Saban. It's two great universities going head to head."

The public discourse is coarser these days. There are "Geaux to Hell Saban" T-shirts in Louisiana, and others more vulgar.

Saban gets it. He explains how he left LSU thinking he wanted a bigger challenge, like winning the Super Bowl. He explains how he realized that he would rather work with college-age athletes, and how the unrelenting demands of the NFL wore down even a workaholic like him.

AP Photo/Rob Carr

Terry Saban has provided constant support to her husband.

Saban has explained that before. He knows that's not what this is about. Feelings are hurt.

"I loved LSU when I was there," Saban said. "I love the people. It was a special time for us, and I may never have another opportunity to ever experience winning a national championship in the Sugar Bowl in your home state. How could you write the script? It was created by the togetherness that everyone had: the administration, the leadership from the [former] chancellor, Mark Emmert, all kinds of stuff and all kinds of people, including the fans. That's why we had that success there. It wasn't my success. It was LSU's success."

One of Saban's most prominent players at LSU hasn't let emotion cloud his perspective. Matt Mauck, the quarterback of the 2003 national championship team, has not taken a fan's view of the game now that he is out of football.

"People have a hard time understanding how he could separate himself," Mauck said. "A friend of mine asked me, 'Can you believe he went to Alabama?' Heck, yeah. He didn't form a relationship with his school. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I don't know how you do that. Do I like that he's at Alabama? Not really. I'm not surprised. He's looks at it like a job."

Exactly.

"I understand the emotional part of it," Saban said. "But I had the feeling that I wanted to come back to college football. It wasn't anything about LSU. It wasn't anything about Alabama. It's, 'What's available at the time?'"

Alabama became available. LSU did not. Les Miles is 29-5 in two-plus seasons in Baton Rouge. He won an SEC Western Division title.

"[saban is] really hurt that some people in Baton Rouge are just so mad at what he did," said Michael Bonnette, LSU's associate athletic director and sports information director, who worked for both Saban and Miles. "Look at what he did for LSU. You look at the impact and on the state of Louisiana. … It sent us to a whole other level. We're still reaping the benefits. You can't turn on the TV without seeing us. LSU is a power nationally. Before he got here, you couldn't say that. We've won 70 football games in the last seven years [2000-2006]. That's impressive in this day and age. He started it. Now Les has continued it and taken us to even another level with the type of success that we are experiencing around here."

The relationship between Miles and Saban started well. Saban left him a legal pad full of notes about the players Miles would take over and the recruits that Saban hoped to sign. They talked on the phone a couple of times afterward.

They are not so friendly anymore. Some of it may be a result of recruiting wars last spring. Some of it may be posturing by Miles, preaching to his LSU choir. He went schoolyard on Saban at SEC media days in July, refusing to refer to his predecessor by name, calling Saban "that coach."

But by this week, Miles played it well, praising Saban for what he did while "passing through Louisiana." Maybe Miles realizes that he has the better team. LSU is a touchdown favorite to beat Alabama for the seventh time in eight seasons.

The LSU game is the task at hand, which is all Saban professes to care about. But it is LSU. The word in the coaches' offices is that Saban has been unusually calm and focused this week.

Tigers fans want to be at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. The Sabans have gotten more ticket requests for this game than any Nick can remember. LSU received 33,000 ticket requests, a school record, for its allotment of 7,000.

"I'd like to think all those friends wish us well who are calling us for tickets," Terry said, a smile in her voice.

Her husband is reasonably confident of that.

"You know," Saban said, "contrary to what everybody thinks, we still have some very good friends in Louisiana who really probably like us for who we are, not what we do, or did or didn't do. We respect that they are LSU fans. But they're still our friends."

You're sure of that?

"Last time I checked," Saban said.

Kickoff is at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday. Ask Saban again around 8:30 p.m.

Ivan Maisel is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Send your questions and comments to Ivan at ivan.maisel@espn3.com.

$aban finally shows that he doesn't give a damn about SPUAT. It is just the money.

[WarTim 3,457]

Ouch. That's gonna' leave mark.

[WinCrimson 61]

Not necessarily, Tim.

Unless you grew up bleeding the colors of a particular school, most jobs would just be "the one that came available at the time." Call me a homer, but I don't blame him.

Les Miles, a Michigan native, didn't grow up yearning for LSU. Arkansas' Tommy Tuberville didn't aspire to coach Auburn some day. Steve Spurrier, growing up in Tennessee, wasn't dreaming of being a Gamecock. If you don't have an emotional connection to a school, as we all do, then you would likely look at most jobs in the same light. What's the difference in Purdue and Indiana? Little to none, in my eyes.

Saban moved up the ladder at a fast pace, and for good reason. Each move he's made has been to his benefit, from Toledo to Michigan State to LSU. It's worth noting that nobody blames the CEO who moves from LA Gear to Nike. It's a good business move, no?

I think fans get way too involved in creating loyalties between coaches and their schools that in actuality don't exist. Just because he wears your logo on the sideline doesn't mean he's "one of us."

For what it's worth, I have no animosity towards Franchione. He saw the writing on the wall and left for what he saw, at the time, was the better job. Yes, it eventually backfired on him, but at least he got one more year of millions than he would have received here.

[Legionfield 0]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/stor...&id=3090645

"I understand the emotional part of it," Saban said. "But I had the feeling that I wanted to come back to college football. It wasn't anything about LSU. It wasn't anything about Alabama. It's, 'What's available at the time?'"

Alabama became available. LSU did not. Les Miles is 29-5 in two-plus seasons in Baton Rouge. He won an SEC Western Division title.

$aban finally shows that he doesn't give a damn about SPUAT. It is just the money.

You realize Ivan Maisel said that "Alabama became available. LSU did not" part.....right? And Tuberville really loves Auburn....what's your point?

[AU alum 2]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/stor...&id=3090645

"I understand the emotional part of it," Saban said. "But I had the feeling that I wanted to come back to college football. It wasn't anything about LSU. It wasn't anything about Alabama. It's, 'What's available at the time?'"

Alabama became available. LSU did not. Les Miles is 29-5 in two-plus seasons in Baton Rouge. He won an SEC Western Division title.

$aban finally shows that he doesn't give a damn about SPUAT. It is just the money.

You realize Ivan Maisel said that "Alabama became available. LSU did not" part.....right? And Tuberville really loves Auburn....what's your point?

My only point was that $aban doesn't bleed crimson and white and does not see SPUAT the same as the fan base.

[SouthLink02 8]

Saban wouldn't have gone back to LSU even if he had a choice between LSU/Alabama.

I know, I know...call me crazy....but I have heard enough people at LSU tell me stories of how he so easily pissed people off even before he left and that it was already wearing thin on them....players/coaches/facility. Add in him leaving....I think even Saban knows going back to LSU would have been suspect.

Alabama will soon understand what I mean....he will win some....and with that some will be a lot of annoyances.

Good friend of mine who works for the Sugar Bowl Committee remembers Saban after their Sugar Bowl win....he had just won the National Title and he is walking off the field and into a sponsers zone for a few minutes (with some players family members) and he says Saban was this stone-faced prick even right after winning the freakin NC game....and this guy is an avid LSU fan.

[TexasTiger 12,998]

Florida fans don't hate Spurrier for going to SC. LSU fans take it very personally for some reason.

[WinCrimson 61]

Saban wouldn't have gone back to LSU even if he had a choice between LSU/Alabama.

I know, I know...call me crazy....but I have heard enough people at LSU tell me stories of how he so easily pissed people off even before he left and that it was already wearing thin on them....players/coaches/facility. Add in him leaving....I think even Saban knows going back to LSU would have been suspect.

Alabama will soon understand what I mean....he will win some....and with that some will be a lot of annoyances.

Good friend of mine who works for the Sugar Bowl Committee remembers Saban after their Sugar Bowl win....he had just won the National Title and he is walking off the field and into a sponsers zone for a few minutes (with some players family members) and he says Saban was this stone-faced prick even right after winning the freakin NC game....and this guy is an avid LSU fan.

I tell you what...

If he wins a national championship, he can flip us off for all I care

I'm not accusing you of this in any way, Slink, but why do people see Saban as the only "stone-faced prick" in sports? Or, better yet, actually seem to care about his personality?

[SouthLink02 8]

I tell you what...

If he wins a national championship, he can flip us off for all I care

As a fan of school that he is coaching at (and winning at), I don't think you or the fans should care. Nothing wrong with that either....as long as he wins and isn't getting arrested, it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

I'm not accusing you of this in any way, Slink, but why do people see Saban as the only "stone-faced prick" in sports? Or, better yet, actually seem to care about his personality?

Legitimate question

I don't think people look at Saban as the only one but maybe the biggest one. He is not easy whatsoever to be with for years....some people/players can take it...others can't. When Miles came to LSU, players screamed how much they liked being able to finally talk to their HC on and off the field without being screamed at. But you know what, win? As much of a prick as Saban is....the kids will work their asses off for him and he gets the best out of a lot of players...so, maybe it works

I think a reason why we SHOULD talk about it is because this Saban attitude WILL eventually put a strain on the Bama-Saban relationship. I don't expect any bama fans to agree with me but I really, really think it happens within 2-3 years....and I will be interested to see how it comes out.

[AU alum 2]

Saban wouldn't have gone back to LSU even if he had a choice between LSU/Alabama.

I know, I know...call me crazy....but I have heard enough people at LSU tell me stories of how he so easily pissed people off even before he left and that it was already wearing thin on them....players/coaches/facility. Add in him leaving....I think even Saban knows going back to LSU would have been suspect.

Alabama will soon understand what I mean....he will win some....and with that some will be a lot of annoyances.

Good friend of mine who works for the Sugar Bowl Committee remembers Saban after their Sugar Bowl win....he had just won the National Title and he is walking off the field and into a sponsers zone for a few minutes (with some players family members) and he says Saban was this stone-faced prick even right after winning the freakin NC game....and this guy is an avid LSU fan.

I tell you what...

If he wins a national championship, he can flip us off for all I care

I'm not accusing you of this in any way, Slink, but why do people see Saban as the only "stone-faced prick" in sports? Or, better yet, actually seem to care about his personality?

I'm not sure I really understand what you mean, Win. You are making it sound as though there are multiple "stone-faced prick". Who else might they be?

[BZ770 2]

Homers may have finally realized with Shula, Dubose, and Fran that if they start winning again they can probably deal with Saban. IE keeping their mouth shut and keep on with whats working. Things are changing down there, but some people don't know it.

[BAMMERPERRY 0]

Tubervilles dream has been to be the HC at TAMU.

[DKW 86 7,439]

And what happens if becomes available and has no buyout to keep him there?

This could be a really interesting off season.

[WinCrimson 61]

And what happens if becomes available and has no buyout to keep him there?

This could be a really interesting off season.

Yeah, something about the fanbase referring to you as "Nick Satan" can just really call a fella.

Same goes for the "Geaux to hell Saban!" shirts and website. Warms ya heart, don't it?

This will be an interesting off season, but just not for Alabama.

[WarTiger 3,916]

Tubervilles dream has been to be the HC at TAMU.

buttplug, you're thinking of Fran, you know him, the one that bailed on uat.

[townhallsavoy 2]

And what happens if becomes available and has no buyout to keep him there?

This could be a really interesting off season.

Yeah, something about the fanbase referring to you as "Nick Satan" can just really call a fella.

Same goes for the "Geaux to hell Saban!" shirts and website. Warms ya heart, don't it?

This will be an interesting off season, but just not for Alabama.

I agree.

However, in today's day and age, the "Nick Satan" and "Geaux to hell Saban!" won't influence anything. Just look at Terrell Owens. Dallas absolutely despised that guy, but now he's one of their premiere players.

[BamaFanOnBeach 4]

Florida fans don't hate Spurrier for going to SC. LSU fans take it very personally for some reason.

The difference with Spurrier is he wanted to return to Florida - he is also an alumnus and a heisman trophy winner...Saban and Spurrier situations are really not comparable.

Do I or any other Bama fans think Sabans "bleeds crimson"? Absolutely not. Are we thinking "will he finish his career at Bama"? No, But we do think while he is at Bama, however long that will be, that the program will improve every year as long as he is there

[mowegl 4]

This might belong in another thread, but to me I just dont see what has changed in Tuscaloser. They are doing the same things they did under Shula. Theyve had a easy schedule this year - with tough games coming at home (so far). They still can't man up with anybody on the offensive and defensive lines and the red zone offense tds havent seemed to improve much either - mainly because they cant run the ball on anyone when forced to. I love how every year they think they have the answer at RB. A couple years ago it was supposed to be Darby and Johns. Now its supposed to be Grant and Coffee.

[AUdaREALsecTigers 2]

I agree. Didn't Shula coach this schedule (or similar) to 10 wins? If Shula only had "a process", a "fourth quarter program" or some other catchy slogan maybe he'd still be there.

[DKW 86 7,439]

I agree. Didn't Shula coach this schedule (or similar) to 10 wins? If Shula only had "a process", a "fourth quarter program" or some other catchy slogan maybe he'd still be there.

That is what a lot of the rest of the world is seeing too. Close losses, are well, just close losses.