ESPN gave the SEC coaches a questionnaire and one will find some entertaining answers to some of the questions. I thought this one from Coach Saban was interesting concerning his handshake with Coach Tom Osborn.
Saban: The first year I was a head coach at Michigan State, the first game we played was against Nebraska when Tom Osborne was the coach. Here, I'd been in the NFL for the four, five, six years, I can't remember exactly how long. Here we play Nebraska, who goes on to win the national championship. I mean they've got a really good team. And we're playing at Michigan State. I'm looking at this like Nebraska's just like anybody else, because I don't know that they're that much better than everybody. I've been coaching in the NFL for a long time. And they beat us like 55-14. I mean, it was unbelievable. Physically, emotionally and everything else. Tom Osborne comes across the field and we shake at the end of the game, and he puts his arm around me and says, "You're not as bad as you think." And I didn't really know what he meant by that. Really what he meant was, "We've got a really, really good team here. So when you play somebody your own size, you'll be fine." And he was right. We went on to win six games, beat Michigan that year, went to a bowl game. For a first year starting a program, we didn't have a bad team. But it sure seemed like it that day.
You can read all the questions and answers here.
Saban: The first year I was a head coach at Michigan State, the first game we played was against Nebraska when Tom Osborne was the coach. Here, I'd been in the NFL for the four, five, six years, I can't remember exactly how long. Here we play Nebraska, who goes on to win the national championship. I mean they've got a really good team. And we're playing at Michigan State. I'm looking at this like Nebraska's just like anybody else, because I don't know that they're that much better than everybody. I've been coaching in the NFL for a long time. And they beat us like 55-14. I mean, it was unbelievable. Physically, emotionally and everything else. Tom Osborne comes across the field and we shake at the end of the game, and he puts his arm around me and says, "You're not as bad as you think." And I didn't really know what he meant by that. Really what he meant was, "We've got a really, really good team here. So when you play somebody your own size, you'll be fine." And he was right. We went on to win six games, beat Michigan that year, went to a bowl game. For a first year starting a program, we didn't have a bad team. But it sure seemed like it that day.
You can read all the questions and answers here.
