[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]y remember that day in January 2007 when the entire college football world came to a complete pause. Not long after saying "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach," Nick Saban was indeed named the head football coach at the University of Alabama. Saban, who had won a national championship at LSU in 2003, left the Miami Dolphins and came back to college football for the then-unheard of sum of $32 million over eight years. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT] <table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="280"> <tbody><tr> <td width="280">
</td> <td width="15"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="280"> Nick Saban is top dog in Tuscaloosa after turning around the Tide. (US Presswire) </td> <td width="15"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] I remember seeing the video when Saban's plane touched down in Tuscaloosa for the introductory news conference. There could not have been more excitement or adulation if Bear Bryant himself had returned from that great coaching tower in the sky. Nobody, with the possible exception of Elvis, ever had anything like the reception Saban received on the day he became the head coach at Alabama. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] I remember talking to a colleague about Saban's arrival and the incredible anticipation of what he might do in Tuscaloosa. My buddy could not believe a college football coach was worth that much money. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] "Trust me," I told him. "If Nick Saban does what I think he's going to do, $32 million over eight years is going to look like a bargain." [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] Well, let's see what Alabama has gotten for its money the past three years: [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [SIZE=+1]• Saban's first spring game -- not real game -- drew a Bryant-Denny Stadium capacity crowd of 92,138. There would have been more but the fire marshall closed the gates once the place got full. Estimates had another 20,000 out in Alabama's Quad. Why? They sensed that something big was about to happen and they wanted to be able to say they were there at the start of it. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [SIZE=+1]• One of Saban's first tasks as Alabama's head coach was to make the Crimson Tide relevant again on college football's national stage. On Sept. 22, 2007, just four games into his tenure, ESPN's College GameDay came to Tuscaloosa for Alabama's meeting with Georgia. Alabama lost in overtime but the mission was accomplished. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [SIZE=+1]• Another task Saban took on was to make sure Alabama football, which had been pulled in so many different directions since Bryant's death, again spoke with only one voice. Saban made it clear that nobody else -- no assistant coach, no booster, no rich alumnus -- would speak for the Alabama program. The local media would get upset because coordinators, for so long a great source of information at Alabama, were not allowed to be interviewed. But Saban said it was necessary because, in his vision for Alabama football, there could not be any doubt about who was in charge. And there was no doubt. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [SIZE=+1]• Saban was paid that princely sum to quickly put Alabama back into the hunt for the SEC championship and BCS title. Alabama opened the 2008 season in Atlanta against a Clemson team that was preseason top 10 and a heavy favorite to win the ACC. Alabama didn't just beat Clemson, the Tide smacked the Tigers in the mouth. Alabama would go 12-0, finish the regular season ranked No. 1 and play Florida for the SEC title. While Alabama would lose to Florida 31-20 in perhaps the greatest SEC Championship Game ever played, there was no doubt among the Alabama faithful: The Crimson Tide were back. And as long as Saban was their coach, the Tide were going to stay back. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [SIZE=+1]• When Saban took over, the Crimson Tide had lost five straight games to Auburn, their hated state rival. That November, Tommy Tuberville's Tigers made it six in a row over Alabama, something that had never been done before. But one year later Saban beat Tuberville 36-0 and at that moment, there was no doubt that in just two years, Alabama had regained control of the rivalry. Tuberville was fired after that game and Gene Chizik was hired. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [SIZE=+1]• Last Friday with absolutely everything on the line, Alabama trailed Auburn 14-0, 21-14, and then 21-20. Alabama took possession with 8:27 to go, some 79 yards away from the goal line. Facing third-and-3 at the Auburn 4-yard line, offensive coordinator Jim McElwain called for a running play to set up a chip-shot field goal that would have given Alabama a two-point lead with about 1:29 left. McElwain even sent defensive tackle Terrence (Mt.) Cody into the game for the power running formation. Saban called timeout. He wanted to pass. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] "I didn't want to play for a field goal," Saban told reporters after the game. With the same personnel, including Cody, in the game, quarterback Greg McElroy faked the run and found Roy Upchurch in the end zone for the touchdown and the victory. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] "I wanted to throw a pass so we called timeout to throw a pass and that's the way it went," Saban said. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] So here we are and for the second straight year Alabama is 12-0 and in the hunt for the national championship. It was supposed to struggle a bit this year because it had to replace its quarterback (John Parker Wilson) and three offensive linemen. Now Alabama is given a real shot at knocking off No. 1 Florida on Saturday in Atlanta. And should that happen, the Crimson Tide will play somebody, probably Texas, on Jan. 7 in Pasadena for the national championship, which would be the 13th in Alabama's storied football history if they were to win. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] When next season rolls around, Alabama will have completed a $65 million expansion to Bryant-Denny Stadium what will add 9,200 seats, bringing the capacity to over 101,000. When the expansion was announced, those seats were sold in about 10 minutes (OK, that might be a slight exaggeration. But they sold quickly.) [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] So you tell me: Do you think Alabama has gotten its money's worth in three years under Nick Saban? [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] Why yes, I believe it has. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] I remember talking to a colleague about Saban's arrival and the incredible anticipation of what he might do in Tuscaloosa. My buddy could not believe a college football coach was worth that much money. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] "Trust me," I told him. "If Nick Saban does what I think he's going to do, $32 million over eight years is going to look like a bargain." [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] Well, let's see what Alabama has gotten for its money the past three years: [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [SIZE=+1]• Saban's first spring game -- not real game -- drew a Bryant-Denny Stadium capacity crowd of 92,138. There would have been more but the fire marshall closed the gates once the place got full. Estimates had another 20,000 out in Alabama's Quad. Why? They sensed that something big was about to happen and they wanted to be able to say they were there at the start of it. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [SIZE=+1]• One of Saban's first tasks as Alabama's head coach was to make the Crimson Tide relevant again on college football's national stage. On Sept. 22, 2007, just four games into his tenure, ESPN's College GameDay came to Tuscaloosa for Alabama's meeting with Georgia. Alabama lost in overtime but the mission was accomplished. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [SIZE=+1]• Another task Saban took on was to make sure Alabama football, which had been pulled in so many different directions since Bryant's death, again spoke with only one voice. Saban made it clear that nobody else -- no assistant coach, no booster, no rich alumnus -- would speak for the Alabama program. The local media would get upset because coordinators, for so long a great source of information at Alabama, were not allowed to be interviewed. But Saban said it was necessary because, in his vision for Alabama football, there could not be any doubt about who was in charge. And there was no doubt. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [SIZE=+1]• Saban was paid that princely sum to quickly put Alabama back into the hunt for the SEC championship and BCS title. Alabama opened the 2008 season in Atlanta against a Clemson team that was preseason top 10 and a heavy favorite to win the ACC. Alabama didn't just beat Clemson, the Tide smacked the Tigers in the mouth. Alabama would go 12-0, finish the regular season ranked No. 1 and play Florida for the SEC title. While Alabama would lose to Florida 31-20 in perhaps the greatest SEC Championship Game ever played, there was no doubt among the Alabama faithful: The Crimson Tide were back. And as long as Saban was their coach, the Tide were going to stay back. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [SIZE=+1]• When Saban took over, the Crimson Tide had lost five straight games to Auburn, their hated state rival. That November, Tommy Tuberville's Tigers made it six in a row over Alabama, something that had never been done before. But one year later Saban beat Tuberville 36-0 and at that moment, there was no doubt that in just two years, Alabama had regained control of the rivalry. Tuberville was fired after that game and Gene Chizik was hired. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [SIZE=+1]• Last Friday with absolutely everything on the line, Alabama trailed Auburn 14-0, 21-14, and then 21-20. Alabama took possession with 8:27 to go, some 79 yards away from the goal line. Facing third-and-3 at the Auburn 4-yard line, offensive coordinator Jim McElwain called for a running play to set up a chip-shot field goal that would have given Alabama a two-point lead with about 1:29 left. McElwain even sent defensive tackle Terrence (Mt.) Cody into the game for the power running formation. Saban called timeout. He wanted to pass. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] "I didn't want to play for a field goal," Saban told reporters after the game. With the same personnel, including Cody, in the game, quarterback Greg McElroy faked the run and found Roy Upchurch in the end zone for the touchdown and the victory. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] "I wanted to throw a pass so we called timeout to throw a pass and that's the way it went," Saban said. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] So here we are and for the second straight year Alabama is 12-0 and in the hunt for the national championship. It was supposed to struggle a bit this year because it had to replace its quarterback (John Parker Wilson) and three offensive linemen. Now Alabama is given a real shot at knocking off No. 1 Florida on Saturday in Atlanta. And should that happen, the Crimson Tide will play somebody, probably Texas, on Jan. 7 in Pasadena for the national championship, which would be the 13th in Alabama's storied football history if they were to win. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] When next season rolls around, Alabama will have completed a $65 million expansion to Bryant-Denny Stadium what will add 9,200 seats, bringing the capacity to over 101,000. When the expansion was announced, those seats were sold in about 10 minutes (OK, that might be a slight exaggeration. But they sold quickly.) [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] So you tell me: Do you think Alabama has gotten its money's worth in three years under Nick Saban? [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] Why yes, I believe it has. [/FONT]
