🏈 Saban back in play for Texas? The word on the street from Austin.

[TerryP]

My sources say that Saban went with some Texas man to South Congress Cafe and had an omelet, hash browns, pancakes, and a small glass of milk. No reports yet if he enjoyed it.

Bad source.

We've known what his breakfast food is for years now.

 

[TerryP]

No, I don't think you will be. You guys have done nothing but raise holy hell about defensive coordinators since Muschamp left (rightly so). That won't change under a coach who fully believes the best game plan is to outscore the other team.

I'm hijacking this thread a bit but you've mentioned something here that is a very salient point.

People consider Saban to be ideal of Texas because they assume he'll win and win big.

People don't consider the fact that over 50% of the offensive schemes ran in the Big12 right now are from the Hal Mumme coaching tree.

I can't see Texas getting a coach that doesn't follow the same philosophy. After all, their hire is going to be judged by comparisons to Briles and Sumlin.

 

[planomateo]

What's crazy, since the hire of Bryant/Royal ('58 and '57), Texas has had 5 coaches, Alabama 10 (including both Bryant/Royal).

Two of the 5 coaches were HS coaches in Texas (Akers and McWilliams), while the other 3 (Royal, Mackovic, and Brown) were "outsiders".

Kirby Smart is of the Mumme tree via Chris Hatcher.

 

[TerryP]

What's crazy, since the hire of Bryant/Royal ('58 and '57), Texas has had 5 coaches, Alabama 10 (including both Bryant/Royal).

Two of the 5 coaches were HS coaches in Texas (Akers and McWilliams), while the other 3 (Royal, Mackovic, and Brown) were "outsiders".

Kirby Smart is of the Mumme tree via Chris Hatcher.

With the small exception of Kirby not being an offensive coordinator.

 

[bear facts]

Jesus Christ... Texas fans are becoming more annoying than Auburn with this "I can buy whatever I want" crap. Too bad yall couldnt "buy" a QB that wasn't soft as charmin ultra soft back in '09 huh?

Yep, Texas could, indeed, learn a lesson from Auburn on buying a QB.

 

[psychojoe]

LOL Greg. Glad to see you on the.board again.

Terry, thanks for summing up my own feelings better than I could.

 

[bcracker]

I'm wondering since UT has been slobbering so profusely for Saban if they might go after a protege. Like Kirby.

 

[Splittine]

I'm wondering since UT has been slobbering so profusely for Saban if they might go after a protege. Like Kirby.

No way they go after anyone without HC experience.

 

[bcracker]

Hey guys. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just reporting how the people feel in Austin. If you don't believe me, just check any one of our Longhorn forums. I've actually said that I don't know if Saban is truly back in play for Texas or not. I really don't know. People have been emailing me as if I know something. If I did, I would just say so. I don't though. I'm just speculating that Saban might be back in play for Texas. That's all. I mean, I'm not hiding my true feelings or allegiances on this. If Saban is indeed back in play for Texas, then I won't lie. I'd be extremely happy.

All I was doing is telling you guys what the scene is like in Austin. People still want Saban. Mostly, we are just happy to be rid of Mack. And we'll be happy to have another coach not named Saban. Who knows? I'll keep my ear to the ground and maybe something will be reported in a few days to see if Saban is still to be pursued by Texas or not.

Here's where I see your major issue—and the point you're completely missing.

Saying there's a sense of wonder if Saban is back in play is making an assumption that Saban was even in play. He wasn't—never has been.

There is one person that's been in play and, like I pointed to earlier, he was brought into this whole story by a guy who didn't have the authority to do so in the first place: Hicks. After that original contact back in the late winter of this year I knew Texas had plans on making a run at Saban. He said, 10 months ago, that he had no interest. With some he's literally laughed at the notion. Not figuratively, literally.

There a notion that Sexton used Texas to get another contract (specifically a raise) for Saban. Again, that's not the case. Texas was nothing more than window dressing (for lack of a better expression.) The new contract was coming at the end of this season regardless. The raise was coming as well.

Texas has impacted what Sexton has done this season; no doubt. It'll continue to do so with people pointing to Malzahn and Fisher (just to name two) who happened to be clients of Sexton as well.

I could go on with example after example of how you and your fellow fan base have been deceived: by the very beat writers and site owners that cover Texas as a business and as fans.

One of the most ironic storylines here has been the suggestion that Texas would help Saban recoup some of the investments he's been involved with...when one of my best (forgive this use of the term, I hate it) sources for Saban is one of those very investment partners.

In closing, let me put this as clearly as I can.

Texas can't "get back in the game" with Saban when Texas never was a part of the game in the first place.

I suspect, almost to the point of a willingness to bet, you'll continue playing one game: Sexton's.

How can Oklahoma claim great football, but not Texas. Yes, I understand in recent years OU and Bob Stoops has owned Texas and Mack Brown, but if we are talking the last 100 years or so then it would be remiss not to know that Texas has owned OU over that time period. I think the series is like 60-40 in favor of Texas. Anyway, I don't even care about all those wins before my time. And yes, I'm already pretty old so, as a sports fan, I really only care about what has been going on lately.

There are several of us here who have dealt, or deal with daily, OU fans. One of the things I've found interesting from their fan base is how they characterize football and traditions as something that started with the advent of the AP poll.

Considering almost a third of those 60 wins came before the AP poll, I understand their limited perspective a little more clearly.

As much as people love Nick Saban in Alabama, there is always the agent that makes things happen. And that agent is Jimmy Sexton. He's the one that made this happen for Alabama. And if I am not mistaken, he's the one who got the deal to bring Saban to Alabama from Miami. That was a huge coup. However, as much as he is probably a big Alabama fan, his best interests lie with his client, Nick Saban.

Sexton was able to leverage the desire of Texas to get Saban into a new contract extension for Nick Saban. $7 million per year is a lot of money and certainly nothing anyone, even Texas fans, would turn their nose up at. That money is most definitely well-deserved by the man many consider to be the greatest current coach in college football, and one of the greatest all-time.

You want to know why any coaching candidate would even consider the "dumpster fire that is Texas"? Well, "dumpster fire" is a fairly harsh term, don't you think? Granted things are a little bit of a soap opera and even I did not think this thing would drag out as long as it has. Now, that Mack has announced his resignation, I really think all this media attention and speculation is going to blow over in the next day or two.

I understand the perception from sports fans outside of Texas viewing our big money donors are completely meddling and interfering in the football program. And I understand that may be a big downside for whomever takes the Texas job eventually. The hope is that the good-old-boy country club culture of Texas Football can change with the hiring of a no-excuses, results driven, type-of-coach. A coach like Nick Saban would do wonders at Texas. A lot of Texas fans hope that Texas gets a tough nosed coach. Saban just so happens to be one of the toughest, and that would be a panacea to Texas' "dumpster fire", if you want to call it that.

An Alabama fan looking at Texas and calling it a dumpster fire isn't harsh. It's calling a spade a spade.

I've listed a few reasons why the situation in Austin was a cluster-****. Dumpster fire. Cluster-****. Neither are harsh. Both are situations where we've experienced the same thing and recognize it; clearly.

Even through all of the criticism of my thoughts on the Texas pursuit of Saban, I've never much taken things personally. I understand how Alabama fans might feel that a content and happy man, like Nick Saban, is so publicly courted by Texas. And I can appreciate the thought that public officials from Texas probably lacked a lot of tact and discretion when the first a ESPN story broke about that Texas Regents did communicate with Saban via Jimmy Sexton.

I just want to reiterate to Alabama fans that we, Txas fans, have no hate or even any issue at all with your fanbase and I would hope that you might understand that we don't come from a position where ill-intent is directed towards the Alabama fanbase either. We respect and admire what Nick Saban has done in football and many Texas fans only want to have some of the same success that Alabama has experienced lately. We just feel like Nick Saban could really help us alot.

i am very much accepting of hearing differing perspectives from others on the issues of Texas pursuing Nick Saban so relentlessly. And I appreciate anybody's perspectives on these current talking points.

FWIW, by no means do I want to come across as "shooting the messenger."

Deconstructing the platform so many Longhorn fans are standing on? Yes. I'll admit to that. The thing is I'm not making things up.

I love Alabama fans!

 

[LauraWoman]

Hell of a 1st post. Please, post more.

I used to post occasionally but then forgot password. Have lurked for years. Some might remember that I gave away free Bama quarter-size tokens to anyone who'd PM me their address. Had the overwhelming urge to de-lurk and make a post to this thread, my account had been deleted, had to create a new one....All a verbose way of saying, I've been a member of this forum for years now, I just don't seem it

 

[psychojoe]

Welcome back and dont be a stranger.

 

[RollllTide!]

After living in Texas for a few years I came to realize that I had to get back to Alabama to truly enjoy the college game atmosphere. When I tried to talk football with friends and neighbors in the town I lived in, they just didn't get it. There are Aggie Fans and UT fans, however there are also Cowboy, Texans, Rangers, Astros, Rockets, Spurs, Mavericks, and a plethora of other enthusiastic sports that Alabama doesn't have. We have Alabama , Auburn Football and Nascar.

Texas is so big that they can't have a fan base that can attend each home game for the Long Horns . We are talking 8 hours to drive across the state. Until you live there you can't understand this. The year that Valdosta State won the National Championship against Stephen F. Austin no one even knew who Valdosta State was or where they were located. Some would say that Tehas is isolated from the rest of the country. They didn't have a recession in the 1930s. Their recession came in the 80s. Most of native Texans have never ventured out of the state. They do have the attitude that they are a privileged group of people. If UT never wins another national championship will not matter to the majority of their citizens. They will say and make the statement that they have bigger fish to fry.

The politics in Austin are isolation politics. The hell with the rest of the country. I respect that attitude a lot. I wish other states would follow. There is not enough space on this forum to get into that. They will not pursue Saban because they don't have a coalition big enough to do it.

 

[MissingRing]

Even people who aren't paid journalists - people who just post comments on sports bulletin boards - bear a responsibility to assign the correct meaning to publicly available facts. After every news outlet in America has just reported that Nick Saban signed a new contract with Alabama and CNS has stated that he never considered going to Texas, it is no longer important what the "word on the street" in Austin is.

 

[planomateo]

Things that make you go hmm.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>Mack Brown's attorney said he got call from someone saying he represented Nebraska seeking Mack's interest <a href="https://twitter.com/kbohls">@kbohls</a> reports</p>&mdash; Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/McMurphyESPN/statuses/412403944099282944">December 16, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[psychojoe]

Things that make you go hmm.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>Mack Brown's attorney said he got call from someone saying he represented Nebraska seeking Mack's interest <a href="https://twitter.com/kbohls">@kbohls</a> reports</p>&mdash; Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/McMurphyESPN/statuses/412403944099282944">December 16, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Someone make it stop.

 

[rick4bama]

PJ the only way to stop this is to unPlug.

 

[riz]

Me thinks this dude is a barner troll. /.02

 

[MunchyOs]

Saban to _________. Been going strong since November of 2007. Whether it be the Dallas Cowboys, the Cleveland Browns, Notre Dame, Penn State, Clemson, Florida State, USC, and now Texas. And next season, it will be somebody else who is going to "lure him away". Because, remember, "he does not stay anywhere longer than 3 to 4 years", despite the fact that next year is his 8th year at Bama. For a guy who is supposed to be leaving us, he sure is taking awhile to do it! inkbiggrin:

 

[PhillyGirl]

LOL now they are linking Chip Kelly to Texas ..

 

[TerryP]

LOL now they are linking Chip Kelly to Texas ..

I think Tom Coughlin is the guy that need to think about.