Please forgive my spelling errors and such, been a busy day and I didn't proof read. Some thoughts I put together on this afternoon's news...
The Rumors
The "retirement" rumors and rumblings have been out there for a while.. years if you've been counting. Up until very recently, they were always linked back to rivals who were wishcasting, or chicken littles who were trying to evade the eternal monsters from under their own Alabama beds. Much like the crying wolf story, over time, one becomes numb to such rumors, I certainly did. But the last month or so, people who normally never repeated such were wondering aloud. Still, while that gave me pause, I held pretty firm to the belief that it just wasn't time. Yet.
The Target Date
I can say with certainty that as of last summer, Saban's plan was to coach a few more years. That West Virginia series? That wasn't scheduled on a whim. That was a targeted season. If you know the history of the Saban's at even an elementary level, that will make sense. Regardless, Coach Saban was never going to have a Farewell Tour retirement. It was always going to be out of the blue. There's pros and cons to doing it that way, but that is Saban's m.o. The downside to that is, there's never a good time to spring the surprise, other than maybe after winning the national title... and even that isn't completely ideal. But, there are ways to mitigate the fallout. And someone of Saban's intelligence, a guy that almost always has every base covered, would have taken steps with Byrne to mitigate the fallout on this as much as possible. Keep that in mind.
The Elephant(s) in the Room
Other than health and family, there are 2 people that have always been key in keeping Saban very happy at Alabama. Coach Mal Moore and Trustee Jim Wilson III. Both were extremely close with Saban. Extremely loyal. Whatever Saban asked for, he got. Everyone knows Coach Moore passed away. Not many even realize who Jim Wilson III was, much less the he was a confidant of Saban. Last March, he too passed away. That was significant.
Health and Well-Being
Mentioned above, but health is something that has always been important to the Saban's. It is the one thing that could/would always call for a full stop. Some know that Saban's elderly mother has been ailing for several months, he even spoke about it earlier in the season. That has taken a toll. Some may have seen, or will see, the rumors floating around now about other health issues. I won't speak to those here, I'll just reiterate, health has always been the of utmost importance to their family.
Legacy
It's hard to even put his legacy into words. The scope of it is massive. On the field, it reads like it's own sports encyclopedia. Win record after win record. Crazy streaks. The All-Americans. The Draft picks. The Championships... all the f'n Championships. The coaching tree, ridiculous. But if you ever ask him, it's the off the field stuff he'd be more happy about... the Nick Saban Foundation stuff. That's lip service to some, not him. It's a way to honor his dad, and he took it seriously the bettered the lives of no telling how many kids and families. God Bless him and Ms. Terry for that.
What's next?
He can pick whatever he wants. ESPN, football consulting, handsomely paid speaker at corporate events... all the above? He's not going to sit still. And don't kid yourself, his thoughts and opinions will be sought on the future of college football, thoughts that are much needed, and thoughts that he'd be more than willing to share now. He could work 25% of the weekly hours he did at Alabama, make more money, and still have plenty of time to swing the clubs and ride around in the boat with the grandkids. Whatever path(s) he chooses, I hope he enjoys the hell out of it, Ms. Terry too. They more than earned it.
The Rumors
The "retirement" rumors and rumblings have been out there for a while.. years if you've been counting. Up until very recently, they were always linked back to rivals who were wishcasting, or chicken littles who were trying to evade the eternal monsters from under their own Alabama beds. Much like the crying wolf story, over time, one becomes numb to such rumors, I certainly did. But the last month or so, people who normally never repeated such were wondering aloud. Still, while that gave me pause, I held pretty firm to the belief that it just wasn't time. Yet.
The Target Date
I can say with certainty that as of last summer, Saban's plan was to coach a few more years. That West Virginia series? That wasn't scheduled on a whim. That was a targeted season. If you know the history of the Saban's at even an elementary level, that will make sense. Regardless, Coach Saban was never going to have a Farewell Tour retirement. It was always going to be out of the blue. There's pros and cons to doing it that way, but that is Saban's m.o. The downside to that is, there's never a good time to spring the surprise, other than maybe after winning the national title... and even that isn't completely ideal. But, there are ways to mitigate the fallout. And someone of Saban's intelligence, a guy that almost always has every base covered, would have taken steps with Byrne to mitigate the fallout on this as much as possible. Keep that in mind.
The Elephant(s) in the Room
Other than health and family, there are 2 people that have always been key in keeping Saban very happy at Alabama. Coach Mal Moore and Trustee Jim Wilson III. Both were extremely close with Saban. Extremely loyal. Whatever Saban asked for, he got. Everyone knows Coach Moore passed away. Not many even realize who Jim Wilson III was, much less the he was a confidant of Saban. Last March, he too passed away. That was significant.
Health and Well-Being
Mentioned above, but health is something that has always been important to the Saban's. It is the one thing that could/would always call for a full stop. Some know that Saban's elderly mother has been ailing for several months, he even spoke about it earlier in the season. That has taken a toll. Some may have seen, or will see, the rumors floating around now about other health issues. I won't speak to those here, I'll just reiterate, health has always been the of utmost importance to their family.
Legacy
It's hard to even put his legacy into words. The scope of it is massive. On the field, it reads like it's own sports encyclopedia. Win record after win record. Crazy streaks. The All-Americans. The Draft picks. The Championships... all the f'n Championships. The coaching tree, ridiculous. But if you ever ask him, it's the off the field stuff he'd be more happy about... the Nick Saban Foundation stuff. That's lip service to some, not him. It's a way to honor his dad, and he took it seriously the bettered the lives of no telling how many kids and families. God Bless him and Ms. Terry for that.
What's next?
He can pick whatever he wants. ESPN, football consulting, handsomely paid speaker at corporate events... all the above? He's not going to sit still. And don't kid yourself, his thoughts and opinions will be sought on the future of college football, thoughts that are much needed, and thoughts that he'd be more than willing to share now. He could work 25% of the weekly hours he did at Alabama, make more money, and still have plenty of time to swing the clubs and ride around in the boat with the grandkids. Whatever path(s) he chooses, I hope he enjoys the hell out of it, Ms. Terry too. They more than earned it.
