Alabama Football: Other programs fail to grasp it’s ‘the guy’ at the top

Alabama Football: An every season post-script is other programs trying to hire coaches to replicate Nick Saban’s success.

The Alabama Football mountain Nick Saban has built in Tuscaloosa grows taller, almost every year. At least it does every couple of years if National Championships are the measurement. Stoking anticipation for an Alabama Football and Nick Saban demise has fueled media debates and opposing fans’ message boards throughout Saban’s Crimson Tide career.

Alabama football fans have lost count of the sports pundits having claimed a certain coach or a certain team had ended the Alabama Football – Nick Saban Dynasty. The old sports adage “everybody loves a winner” has never much applied to Saban. As his personality has softened, college football fans who hate the Crimson Tide for its unparalleled achievements don’t hate on Saban as much now. It is an understatement Nick has earned such begrudging respect.

Almost no one, who knows at least a small amount of college football history, doubts Nick Saban is the GOAT. That does not keep other college football programs from trying to have their very own ‘Nick Saban.’ The most recent example is Texas. Even the deepest of college football booster pockets was never enough to lure Nick to Austin. So, the Longhorns, as Georgia and Tennessee did before them, are hoping they got a ‘the guy’ substitute.

After reportedly failing to get Saban twice, the Horms thought they had a Saban-like, young coach from Urban Meyer’s coaching tree. It did not work out too well for Tom Herman and certainly did not work for Texas. The souring of the relationship between Meyer and Herman did not cause Texas to flounder under the younger head coach. Without delving into suppositions, the results, caused by either Herman or Texas (or both) showed the Horns did not have the right stuff.

Exit Herman and enter Steve Sarkisian. Sark did a tremendous job for Alabama Football. He might work wonders in Austin. He also might not. The problem is not Sarkisian, it is expectations without understanding championship fundamentals. Hiring a Nick Saban protege gives a program inside knowledge of Saban’s famous ‘Process.’ That knowledge can help any program but it is not enough.

What Texas, like Tennessee and Georgia, do not understand is the process is a toolbox. In the hands of a skilled craftsman, the tools can lead to what we have described in the past; a quest for the clarity necessary to win Championships. Before the tarmac touchdown back in 2007, Nick Saban had already put the Crimson Tide on a path to become a champion. Saban made it clear before he left Miami that under him Alabama Football would have one goal setter, one plan developer, one decision-maker and one voice. Considerable credit goes to Mal Moore for the mandate allowing ‘the guy’ to rule.

Ceding control is important but it is not enough. Just like having great infrastructure is important but not enough. More important is having a leader that consistently excels in intelligence and discipline. As important is having a leader who sincerely cares for his players. Nick Saban is ‘the guy’ in college football. He and Alabama Football together are the total package.

More: Nick Saban not afraid to show a softer side

Texas is not spending big money to fail, as Georgia and Tennessee have done. Using the Saban process with a coach not close to being a Saban clone has not worked in Athens or Knoxville. The always big ambitions of Texas will not be realized unless Steve Sarkisian has a lot of ‘the guy’ qualities in him.

A championship ingredient that cannot go unmentioned is provided by Miss Terry. A smart, strong significant other is needed by even the GOAT – to provide reality checks as needed.