i remember years ago reading about how Coach Bryant loved to recruit and coach what he called "tweeners". he said they weren't the worst of the bunch, but they weren't the best. they were somewhere in between. and he could take those guys and turn them into champions and all-americans. that's what he was good at. he'd take those (basically) average players and turn them into monsters on the field by way of a brutal practice regimen. he did things then that can't be done today; basically most of them are against the rules, now.
i also read another story about how one player joined the military after playing for Coach Bryant. he said he was always asked why he was never tired after doing p.t. or anything physical during basic. and he always responded with, "this is nothing compared to what i went through in practice at Alabama." that's the kind of men Coach Bryant was making. he was making warriors. he was turning boys into men the only way he knew how....HARD.
and i think Coach Saban is doing the same thing. granted, he gets some elite talent. and sometimes that talent doesn't pan out. but Coach Saban doesn't let it bring him down. he just says, "NEXT!" and moves on. obviously he can't do the same things Coach Bryant did, due to limitations on the number of practices he can have and the number of hours in each practice; also, the number of players he can recruit and have on the team. but that's where the big difference is, to me. he's doing it all while having limits places on him. and he continues to do it year in and year out. he is simply, one of the greatest to ever coach the game. he gets more out of his players because he teaches them to be more than they ever thought they could be. star ratings? he doesn't care. he cares about your attitude. he cares about your willingness to play for the team, not yourself. he cares about your personal life and how it can affect your football life. he cares about the team and its overall goal...each and every season.
i defy anyone to walk straight up to the man and tell him, to his face, that he doesn't care about the players, only about winning. no, seriously, i do. hell, i'd love to watch that happen just to see his response and the resulting verbal beat-down he'd give to the sad, poor soul who did that.
