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Alabama Football: What is next when good is not good enough

By Ronald Evans

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide is escorted off the field after his teams 44-16 loss to the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide is escorted off the field after his teams 44-16 loss to the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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After the shocking national championship loss, Alabama football is going to change. What is next and how quickly change will occur is not yet known.

While most Alabama football fans are trying to not overreact (some are exercising no such caution), Nick Saban is reacting with a new plan. What that plan is may not be fully known for weeks. Coaching changes may or may not be escalated or delayed because of the February recruiting calendar.

Nick Saban will act decisively both because it is his nature, but also because of the domination by Clemson. Alabama football had a very good season in 2018. By any reasonable standard, it was a great year; 14-1, SEC Championship, CFP semi-final win. But Alabama football rightly or wrongly has one ultimate standard and that is national championships.

The loss to Clemson was doubly damning. Almost as bad as losing a national championship game, was being dominated. Nick Saban has had a couple of larger losing deficits in his coaching career but never with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

A four-touchdown beatdown on the biggest stage could be lethal to most coaches. Fortunately for Alabama football, Nick Saban will not only not wither, he will be driven to overcome and conquer a suddenly new challenge.

When Tua Tagovailoa summed up the 2018 season by saying “Good is not good enough,” he established the new mantra for the 2019 Alabama Crimson Tide. Those five words could also perfectly describe not just Nick Saban’s career, but his life as well. Nick Saban will lead Alabama football back up the mountain again in relentless pursuit of CFB’s tallest peak. Nothing short of failing belief he can lead the Tide to the mountain top again will derail Nick’s drive. Even at 67, Nick is too young for any failing belief now.

Over the next few days or weeks, coaches will leave and be replaced. Not all of them will leave of their own accord. Players too will exit as transfers and early entries into the NFL Draft. There will be lots of change. Two constants will remain. One is the indomitable Nick Saban. The other is for Alabama football, the measurement of a great season will always be a national championship.

Rumors of changes are already exploding. The hottest one being Nick Saban and Dave Aranda having mutual interest in a Baton Rouge to Tuscaloosa move. Aranda would be a home run hire but it is too soon to know if the idea is real or a pipe dream driven by fans.

dark. Next. Climbing the mountain again.

Change is coming for Alabama football. It is as inevitable as ‘Winter is Coming’ for Game of Thrones fans.

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