As we begin the second season of the Nick Saban era, few critics still deride Saban as the mercenary who left the glorious Dolphins franchise for the backwater environs of Tuscaloosa. This is not to say he has won over those predisposed to hate Alabama football; only that they are resigned to seeing him wearing crimson for the forseeable future.
But Saban’s mercenary ways – if they are that – may actually be part of what makes him a success, and what will help him bring Alabama football back to the top.
Since the end of the Stallings era, Alabama’s football success has been sporadic during the long periods of mediocrity and turmoil. The events of the last several years have been recounted ably elsewhere, but the relative success of the program has been due in no small part to the character of the various coaches who have led the Tide onto the playing field.
In Mike Dubose, Alabama hired a fan favorite, an Alabama alum, and a textbook example of the Peter Principle. Dubose was a fair defensive mind, but was in no way head coach material. In his debut game, Dubose paced the sidelines in a dress shirt and tie, his flop-sweat punctuating his failure to live up either to Stallings’ wardrobe or his leadership skills.
Dubose was a middle-manager in a CEO’s job, and it showed. He had no sense of discipline, either personal or professional, and his attempts to shift blame and avoid accountability eventually led to a team with no heart, fortitude or character. His exile to high school football would surely be the most disappointing end for any Alabama coach, if not for another we will discuss later.
In the wake of NCAA sanctions, Alabama turned to Dennis Franchione, a rising star in the coaching ranks and a break from the “family” mentality that had produced Dubose. Franchione was organized, focused and had a firm grasp on the Crimson Tide mythos, evidenced by the not-so-spontaneous way he leaned, Bryant-style, against a goalpost to the delight of sports photographers.
Alabama won under Franchione, in one case drubbing an LSU team led by one Nick Saban. But with a strong senior class leaving, and sanctions beginning to take effect, Franchione’s true focus was revealed. Coach Fran – who for some years had a personal biographer chronicling his rise to greatness – left an Alabama team that could no longer help his resume. He headed for Texas A&M, where he would doubtless join the pantheon of greats who had coached the Aggies, including a couple of legends who had later coached the Tide.
Franchione found he had gained status, but lost his credibility. His teams never fully trusted him or bought in, and fans were suspicious from the start. When it was revealed he had been courting the favor of powerful people by selling insider information on team injuries, his true nature was revealed to all. It was all about Fran, and in the end, the people he had stepped on in his rise, watched with satisfaction as he fell to earth.
The less said about Mike Price the better. Some people use their newly-elevated position as a reason to work harder than ever before, and others use it to indulge. Price will spend his remaining years considering a fork in the road, and the path he chose.
Mike Shula was a lame duck the day he was announced as Alabama’s head coach. He had been hired hastily, and in a way that alienated at least some fans. Given a pass on his first season, Shula was youthful, handsome and had ties to coaching royalty. How was it possible he had not been offered a head coaching job before?
Shula surrounded himself with older, wiser assistants, like Joe Kines, who put together a fierce, if spotty, defense. Shula also benefited by having Brodie Croyle and Tyrone Prothro combine for more exciting plays than any Tide players in recent memory. The net result of these advantages? A single 10-win season.
Ultimately, Shula can only be remembered as a nice guy who was in over his head. He simply should never have been a head coach. Nice guys can be your pal; they can help you move; but they should never lead your football team into Auburn or Knoxville.
Which leads us to Saban. The very things his critics hate are the things his supporters love. Driven, no-nonsense and relentless, Saban will not settle for moral victories. He will not settle for half measures. And he will not allow mediocre players to prevent him from reaching his goal.
It is Saban’s goal that seems to separate him from his predecessors. Franchione pursued his own myth, cultivating the image of a star in the making. Dubose pursued the trappings of status, and the validation that went with it. Saban seems to pursue excellence for its own sake. Not glory, not power, but the freedom and autonomy to pursue his own inner need to excel. If that makes him mercenary, so be it. I’d rather have a nomad in pursuit of a championship than a lifer who wants to rise to the middle.