After winning the 2020 National Championship as the Alabama Crimson Tide Offensive Coordinator, Steve Sarkisian hit the ground running in Austin. He immediately won over the Burnt Orange fanbase by saying that his plan for Texas was "All gas and no brakes."
Sark's first two Texas teams produced rather timid results: 13-12. In the three seasons since they were 35-8.
In what feels almost like ancient college football history, Nick Saban stated in May 2022 that Jimbo Fisher had "bought every player on the (Aggies) team." The NIL explosion was only building in 2022. In November 2023, when Texas A&M paid Fisher in excess of $75M to not coach the Aggies, the termination was considered a cautionary tale about how not to build championship success.
It turns out the Texas A&M story wasn't even a speed bump in the race to buy college football's most talented roster. Quickly, only programs lacking financial resources questioned whether championships could be bought. Where college football is today is that billionaires most influence the game, and their 'all gas no brakes' mentality is about just two things: money and championships.
Alabama Crimson Tide fans received a reality check when Texas snatched from Alabama an enrolled transfer commit and a former 5-star prize transfer from the state of Alabama. It appears that the decisions by Hollywood Smothers and Cam Coleman were money-driven.
It is believed that Alabama offered to pay Coleman in excess of $2M. That is huge money for a wide receiver. Texas was willing to pay more, a figure believed to have exceeded $3M.
Alabama Football Fans Face New Reality
Alabama Crimson Tide fans are having difficulty coping. Alabama has money to use, but the Crimson Tide was not a bidding war program under Nick Saban. Kalen DeBoer began his Alabama tenure with the same mindset. So far, it appears that he and Alabama are unchanged.
Alabama gets outspent, and the number of programs that appear to have more financial resources has grown. Clint Lamb explained the situation well: "Alabama’s coaching staff doesn’t believe in starting conversations with money. Whether you like it or not, it’s not who they are and not how they want to operate. Trust me, you don’t want them playing that game anyways — because it’s a game they’ll lose. That’s the reality."
It is not an easy reality to accept.