PhillyGirl
Member
CECIL HURT: Don't question Saban's compassion for his team
I don't think Nick Saban was frustrated because he was asked a question at SEC Media Days on Wednesday.
I think he was frustrated because he wasn't asked the right question.
The video of an angry Saban responding to the SEC Network's Paul Finebaum and his questions about the Cam Robinson/Hootie Jones situation were the hot news from Media Days, an event which always seems to center on Saban and what he does or doesn't say. Finebaum wasn't the only reporter who asked about Robinson during the day, nor were such questions inappropriate. The questions didn't catch Saban by surprise. He knew that he would likely be asked about Jones and Robinson since he's made no public comment about their status with the Alabama team since the charges me with their May arrest in Monroe, Louisiana, were dropped.
Saban explained his thinking in the matter, and was asked again. And I think the coach finally reached a point where a particular implication became annoying, or more than annoying. There is an idea among many college football fans that whether the players are suspended and miss playing time, or they don't, is all that and matters. If you're an Alabama fan, you want players to play. If you're not, you want them to sit. And ultimately no one asks this question.
"What's best for the players?"
Saban thinks hard about that issue. He sees a broader picture in which suspension is one option in a comprehensive discipline plan based more on helping a player "change his behavior" rather than simply punishing him.
Thoughtful people can agree with that proposition, and others can disagree with it. But I think when Finebaum's line of questioning changed from "what are you going to do?," which Saban answered, and became "Why aren't you going to do this (suspension) instead?," the implication to Saban was that he was not making a responsible decision. That's what tipped him from handling the question diplomatically to handling it defensively. As on the football field, a Saban defense is often aggressive.
That's why Saban fired back at Finebaum, not to berate him but to defend his own thinking in a matter in which he has more information than anyone else. The implication he didn't like was, clearly, that he wasn't doing what is best for two of his players. Of all the things that are guaranteed to rile Nick Saban, trivial questions about a depth chart pales in comparison to suggesting that he does not care about his players' growth and development.
His former players agree. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix responded to the issue on social media by tweeting "Don't try my man Saban. Loyalty and honesty." Ultimately, that's what matters most to Saban, more than the outcome against Southern Cal, because that's how you build a long-term foundation for a program.
As a media sensation, I think people overrate the exchange. These are not two novice hotheads. Saban's job is to manage his team. Finebaum's job is to ask questions. Both have had their feathers rustled, plenty of times. When I appeared on Finebaum's show later in the day on Wednesday, he said he found his encounter with Saban "cathartic." Saban might characterize it differently, but the exchange did give him a chance to make an impassioned plea for his players, and his decision-making.
Was it good theater? Sure. It was real, and it was sincere. And I think Saban is still waiting for someone to ask about his players' well-being, not about their being on the field for the opener.
I don't think Nick Saban was frustrated because he was asked a question at SEC Media Days on Wednesday.
I think he was frustrated because he wasn't asked the right question.
The video of an angry Saban responding to the SEC Network's Paul Finebaum and his questions about the Cam Robinson/Hootie Jones situation were the hot news from Media Days, an event which always seems to center on Saban and what he does or doesn't say. Finebaum wasn't the only reporter who asked about Robinson during the day, nor were such questions inappropriate. The questions didn't catch Saban by surprise. He knew that he would likely be asked about Jones and Robinson since he's made no public comment about their status with the Alabama team since the charges me with their May arrest in Monroe, Louisiana, were dropped.
Saban explained his thinking in the matter, and was asked again. And I think the coach finally reached a point where a particular implication became annoying, or more than annoying. There is an idea among many college football fans that whether the players are suspended and miss playing time, or they don't, is all that and matters. If you're an Alabama fan, you want players to play. If you're not, you want them to sit. And ultimately no one asks this question.
"What's best for the players?"
Saban thinks hard about that issue. He sees a broader picture in which suspension is one option in a comprehensive discipline plan based more on helping a player "change his behavior" rather than simply punishing him.
Thoughtful people can agree with that proposition, and others can disagree with it. But I think when Finebaum's line of questioning changed from "what are you going to do?," which Saban answered, and became "Why aren't you going to do this (suspension) instead?," the implication to Saban was that he was not making a responsible decision. That's what tipped him from handling the question diplomatically to handling it defensively. As on the football field, a Saban defense is often aggressive.
That's why Saban fired back at Finebaum, not to berate him but to defend his own thinking in a matter in which he has more information than anyone else. The implication he didn't like was, clearly, that he wasn't doing what is best for two of his players. Of all the things that are guaranteed to rile Nick Saban, trivial questions about a depth chart pales in comparison to suggesting that he does not care about his players' growth and development.
His former players agree. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix responded to the issue on social media by tweeting "Don't try my man Saban. Loyalty and honesty." Ultimately, that's what matters most to Saban, more than the outcome against Southern Cal, because that's how you build a long-term foundation for a program.
As a media sensation, I think people overrate the exchange. These are not two novice hotheads. Saban's job is to manage his team. Finebaum's job is to ask questions. Both have had their feathers rustled, plenty of times. When I appeared on Finebaum's show later in the day on Wednesday, he said he found his encounter with Saban "cathartic." Saban might characterize it differently, but the exchange did give him a chance to make an impassioned plea for his players, and his decision-making.
Was it good theater? Sure. It was real, and it was sincere. And I think Saban is still waiting for someone to ask about his players' well-being, not about their being on the field for the opener.
