There comes a time in a professional athlete's career where they still think they are at the top of their game, but everyone else knows they aren't as good as they once were. Yet no one has the heart to tell him so. Well that's the way I am starting to feel about the whole coaching situation at Alabama. The Tide fans and School Administration think they are still an elite school, but no one outside of Alabama (well maybe Auburn) has the heart to tell them that their vacant head coaching position isn't as attractive as it once was. Since their last National Title the Tide are 98-83 with seasons of 12, 9, 8, and 7 losses.
First we had the whole Rich Rodriquez saga. Every paper in Alabama said he was taking the job, then he came out and said he was staying at West Virginia. That had to be a big blow to the Tide's ego, to have a coach spurn their school for West Virginia. But in reality why would he want to leave? He has a nice situation in Morgantown with two Heisman Trophy Candidates returning on offense, in a conference with a BCS bowl bid, and a good shot of winning it next year. He'll make the same amount of money and not have to worry about getting fired after a 6-6 season.
I am going to be honest here, there have been so many names thrown out for this job that I probably will forget a few. Now I am reading from
The Football Scoop that Nick Saban is still the man for the job, but if he doesn't take it Bret Bielema, Jack Del Rio, or Paul Johnson are next. Bielema is the favorite among some prominent alumni. Again, why would Bielema leave Madison for Tuscaloosa? The Badgers are routinely in the top third of the Big Ten, and as much as SEC fans want to think their conference is the greatest, the Big Ten is just as good of a conference. I can say the same thing for Tommy Bowden who has been rumored in this whole ordeal. Is moving from Clemson to Alabama a step up?
I think the only way Saban (or even Del Rio) takes the job is if he admits that he wasn't cut out for the NFL. It's alright, Pete Carroll did the same thing and look how USC has won 1 1/2 titles with him as head coach, and the same goes with Spurrier. It takes a lot for a NFL coach to admit that, but if they can look past that ego they can still succeed.
Paul Johnson wouldn't be a bad choice but is he really any better than what they had? He has done wonders with Navy and has turned the Midshipmen's program back to respectability. There are plenty of other coaches that fit Johnson's profile but none have the name value that Alabama wants. The longer they wait, the tougher it will be on the program's ego and their recruiting class for next year. Because what recruit is going to commit to a school when they don't even know what offense/defense they will run?
What is going to be next? Jim Tressel, Lloyd Carr, Pete Carroll? Or better yet maybe Joe Paterno or Bobby Bowden might be interested. I think when it is all said and done, the Tide will have wished they kept Mike Shula because whoever will take his place will not be as good as him.
