If you want to know why Saban was a winner…

Lowdog

Senior
Jan 1, 2019
473
454
63
Way before Saban came to Bama they were spending big $$’s on players. That bought them some notoriety among 5star recruits that if you go play at Bama you’ll end up in the NFL. Then Saban rolled into town and just kept the same going. The SEC refused to do anything because Bama was the cash cow, premier team of the league. Punish Bama = hurt the conference.
 

patdog

Heisman
May 28, 2007
60,841
32,192
113
$$$ and I didn't have to watch the series. Pay players. Have more off field staff to review footage.

The problem with state is we expect to win before putting money in. In reality that's not how it works.
Don’t kid yourself. Alabama wasn’t doing anything all the other big schools werent doing in recruiting. It was all about the coaching
 

Dawgzilla2

All-Conference
Oct 9, 2022
2,751
3,133
113
Saban brought Bama their first ever Heisman winner.* And their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. You want to believe Bama was just paying more than everyone, go ahead. Saban had his own set of metrics for every position that recruits had to meet, and he knew how to get players ready for the NFL. The high schoolers with real NFL aspirations had to put Bama high on their list.

But, Saban said openly he didn't like having to re-recruit his own players every year. At 70, who would want to adapt to this new chaos in their career?

*Bryant refused to promote players for the Heisman because he thought it was too much of a distraction. So, thats one reason the school did not have a Heisman before Saban.
 

Drebin

Heisman
Aug 22, 2012
22,708
28,000
113
Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better. He got out because he was 70 years old & was tired. He had no competitive advantage over LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Ohio State, Clemson etc.
I'll keep telling myself that because it's true. The evidence to support my argument is there and it's obvious.

Might he have eventually found another edge somewhere? Maybe. But at his age, he wasn't willing to go back to work that much to do it. And he lost an element of control when the portal rules softened.
 

OG Goat Holder

Heisman
Sep 30, 2022
14,362
13,195
113
I'll keep telling myself that because it's true. The evidence to support my argument is there and it's obvious.

Might he have eventually found another edge somewhere? Maybe. But at his age, he wasn't willing to go back to work that much to do it. And he lost an element of control when the portal rules softened.
This is why discussions go haywire. Multiple things can be true. But more to the point, the question is not why Saban retired - we all know that he was old and did not want to adapt to the changes. Keep in mind he wasn't exactly losing when he retired.

The issue is why he was a winner. And every bit of access he had to 'cheating', could have been done anywhere else, so to say he paid players better than anyone (and not just Bama, at Sparty and LSU) and that was the main reason for his success is simply asinine.
 
Dec 9, 2018
936
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Don’t kid yourself. Alabama wasn’t doing anything all the other big schools werent doing in recruiting. It was all about the coaching
When I was in high school, a star running back for a rival school came back from his Allahbama recruiting visit with a brand new AMC Javelin, now a much sought after classic muscle car, filled with new clothes. Signed with them and started for 3 years. Meanwhile MSU gets sanctioned by the NCAA for a $16.47 discount, 10% of a $164.70 purchase, on clothes bought by a recruit in Starkville during a recuiting visit (sworn Congressional committee testimony). This was standard practice at the time.

Allahbama has always paid players. The SEC and the NCAA has always turned a blind eye for certain schools. Saban just continued what already existed, and improved on it. Yes, player evaluation and coaching made a difference, but don't tell me buying players you want when no one else could didn't make a much bigger difference.

This is why I have totally changed my mind on the NIL and transfers. Let it be wide open. Let them transfer at will. I don't want to go back to the Allahbama/ Thee Ohio State protection racket that we had. Yes the same schools will dominate. But maybe smaller schools can pick up some needed players along the way. And we won't be getting hammered by the NCAA while some others get away with murder.

The only thing I would like to see is about a 65 player roster limit. Certain schools must be stopped from stockpiling talent.
 
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patdog

Heisman
May 28, 2007
60,841
32,192
113
When I was in high school, a star running back for a rival school came back from his Allahbama recruiting visit with a brand new AMC Javelin, now a much sought after classic muscle car, filled with new clothes. Signed with them and started for 3 years. Meanwhile MSU gets sanctioned by the NCAA for a $16.47 discount, 10% of a $164.70 purchase, on clothes bought by a recruit in Starkville during a recuiting visit (sworn Congressional committee testimony). This was standard practice at the time.

Allahbama has always paid players. The SEC and the NCAA has always turned a blind eye for certain schools. Saban just continued what already existed, and improved on it. Yes, player evaluation and coaching made a difference, but don't tell me buying players you want when no one else could didn't make a much bigger difference.

This is why I have totally changed my mind on the NIL and transfers. Let it be wide open. Let them transfer at will. I don't wat to go back to the Allahbama/ Thee Ohio State protection racket that we had. Yes the same schools will dominate. But maybe smaller schools can pick up some needed players along the way. And we won't be getting hammered by the NCAA while some others get away with murder.

The only thing I would like to see is about a 65 player roster limit. Certain schools must be stopped from stockpiling talent.
A former teacher & friend worked part time for a car dealership in mobile delivering cars after he retired. He made several deliveries to the Alabama athletic complex. No different than what Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Florida & Auburn were doing. And everyone else to a lesser extent.
 
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patdog

Heisman
May 28, 2007
60,841
32,192
113
I'll keep telling myself that because it's true. The evidence to support my argument is there and it's obvious.

Might he have eventually found another edge somewhere? Maybe. But at his age, he wasn't willing to go back to work that much to do it. And he lost an element of control when the portal rules softened.
This is an insult to all the other schools. But keep on believing everyone but Alabama was following all the rules.
 
Sep 15, 2009
517
312
63
Way before Saban came to Bama they were spending big $$’s on players. That bought them some notoriety among 5star recruits that if you go play at Bama you’ll end up in the NFL. Then Saban rolled into town and just kept the same going. The SEC refused to do anything because Bama was the cash cow, premier team of the league. Punish Bama = hurt the conference.
Notoriety doesn't mean what you think it does.
 

OG Goat Holder

Heisman
Sep 30, 2022
14,362
13,195
113
When I was in high school, a star running back for a rival school came back from his Allahbama recruiting visit with a brand new AMC Javelin, now a much sought after classic muscle car, filled with new clothes. Signed with them and started for 3 years. Meanwhile MSU gets sanctioned by the NCAA for a $16.47 discount, 10% of a $164.70 purchase, on clothes bought by a recruit in Starkville during a recuiting visit (sworn Congressional committee testimony). This was standard practice at the time.

Allahbama has always paid players. The SEC and the NCAA has always turned a blind eye for certain schools. Saban just continued what already existed, and improved on it. Yes, player evaluation and coaching made a difference, but don't tell me buying players you want when no one else could didn't make a much bigger difference.

This is why I have totally changed my mind on the NIL and transfers. Let it be wide open. Let them transfer at will. I don't wat to go back to the Allahbama/ Thee Ohio State protection racket that we had. Yes the same schools will dominate. But maybe smaller schools can pick up some needed players along the way. And we won't be getting hammered by the NCAA while some others get away with murder.

The only thing I would like to see is about a 65 player roster limit. Certain schools must be stopped from stockpiling talent.
Have you not ever seen Pony Excess? Boosters have been doing this stuff since the 70s/80s.
 
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Boosh

Junior
Sep 14, 2017
316
368
63
Don’t kid yourself. Alabama wasn’t doing anything all the other big schools werent doing in recruiting. It was all about the coaching
Saban seemingly wanted to advance great athletes with the best opportunity to have successful lives. In doing so, they would also provide the best team. He was great at convincing parents and athletes at the HS level of this. Once he stacked the team with 5 star behind 5 star, it started building itself. He also hired great coaches and had to replace them regularly. What he was bad at, was managing or motivating paid players. He failed at Miami and with NIL he was about to be coaching paid players again. IMO, he knew he wasn't good at that and got out.
 
Dec 9, 2018
936
892
93
A former teacher & friend worked part time for a car dealership in mobile delivering cars after he retired. He made several deliveries to the Alabama athletic complex. No different than what Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Florida & Auburn were doing. And everyone else to a lesser extent.
The "everyone was doing it" excuse is simply horsesh**. Everyone was not part of the club. Everyone may have tried, but some simply didn't have to worry about the "rules".
 
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patdog

Heisman
May 28, 2007
60,841
32,192
113
Saban seemingly wanted to advance great athletes with the best opportunity to have successful lives. In doing so, they would also provide the best team. He was great at convincing parents and athletes at the HS level of this. Once he stacked the team with 5 star behind 5 star, it started building itself. He also hired great coaches and had to replace them regularly. What he was bad at, was managing or motivating paid players. He failed at Miami and with NIL he was about to be coaching paid players again. IMO, he knew he wasn't good at that and got out.
Miami has been a train wreck of a franchise for a long time. Maybe if his front office hadn’t rejected Drew Brees his record there might have been a little better.
 

patdog

Heisman
May 28, 2007
60,841
32,192
113
The scale at Bama was far larger. It always was. Now it's not. That's why he struggled by his standards and why he hung it up.
That ridiculous. So Georgia said, let’s cheat but only just a little. Not enough to compete with Alabama. Laughable.
 

thatsbaseball

All-American
May 29, 2007
18,406
7,463
113
Saban was a great coach but after his first year or two at Bama did he ever have to play a more talented team than his own and when he did did he win ?
 

OG Goat Holder

Heisman
Sep 30, 2022
14,362
13,195
113
Saban was a great coach but after his first year or two at Bama did he ever have to play a more talented team than his own and when he did did he win ?
He was a master at teaching fundamentals and getting his guys to play together and play team football. Rarely made mistakes. But yeah he recognized it's a lot easier when you have better players, which is why he continually jumped jobs to places where he thought he could get them easier. But it's not just the school. It is well documented that he raised LSU's recruiting immediately. Same thing at Alabama.
 

FormerBully

All-American
Sep 2, 2022
5,328
9,105
113
I have a friend whose mom worked on the commercial side of cell phone business. One of her clients was Alabama athletics and she would provide cell phones when they were needed. She told us that Saban's secretary would call about once a month to get him a new phone because he broke the one he had.
 

Anon1726869725

Redshirt
Sep 20, 2024
14
15
3
Don’t kid yourself. Alabama wasn’t doing anything all the other big schools werent doing in recruiting. It was all about the coaching

This is why discussions go haywire. Multiple things can be true. But more to the point, the question is not why Saban retired - we all know that he was old and did not want to adapt to the changes. Keep in mind he wasn't exactly losing when he retired.

The issue is why he was a winner. And every bit of access he had to 'cheating', could have been done anywhere else, so to say he paid players better than anyone (and not just Bama, at Sparty and LSU) and that was the main reason for his success is simply asinine.
You’re right…and those that watch the series will see how he never waivers from his hard nosed style!
 

MSUDAWGFAN

Senior
Apr 17, 2014
1,159
782
113
Don’t kid yourself. Alabama wasn’t doing anything all the other big schools werent doing in recruiting. It was all about the coaching
Alabama never had 9 #1 ranked classes in a row before Saban.

Yes they were doing more illegal stuff with Saban than before and to a higher degree.
 

MSUDAWGFAN

Senior
Apr 17, 2014
1,159
782
113
This is why discussions go haywire. Multiple things can be true. But more to the point, the question is not why Saban retired - we all know that he was old and did not want to adapt to the changes. Keep in mind he wasn't exactly losing when he retired.

The issue is why he was a winner. And every bit of access he had to 'cheating', could have been done anywhere else, so to say he paid players better than anyone (and not just Bama, at Sparty and LSU) and that was the main reason for his success is simply asinine.
Keep in mind, Hugh Freeze out recruited Saban for several recruits like Laremy Tunsil, Laquon Treadwell, AJ Brown, etc. And some of them made the NFL and been successful there so Saban isnt the only one who can do that.

How did Freeze do it? We found out at Auburn he isnt some great coach. He won with talent, same as Nick Saban. He got them by doing other things to entice high school players. I am not insinuating Saban bought players women of the night, but I do think he did other things. For one, I think he helped players become.elegible when they probably wouldn't have been otherwise.
 

MSUDAWGFAN

Senior
Apr 17, 2014
1,159
782
113
Don’t kid yourself. Alabama wasn’t doing anything all the other big schools werent doing in recruiting. It was all about the coaching
We have had some of the same position coaches that he had at Alabama, so how is it the coaching?

Unless you think Saban was actually the one doing the coaching himself? The thought of a head coach being with all of his players actively doing the coaching is bonkers to me. Thats not how it works.
 
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