It's the first in-game decision for any football coach: Do you want the ball or the wind?
University of Alabama coach Nick Saban said he makes the decision for how to handle the pre-game coin toss on the morning of the game. The coaching staff meets and looks at the conditions for the game before deciding what to do.
"That's when the decision is made," he said. "It gets thought about a lot before that. Last year, we took the ball almost every chance we got. This year, we probably deferred more often than we've taken the ball when we've won the toss.
Alabama's has deferred after winning the coin toss most games this season, starting with its defense on the field.
Alabama won the toss against Middle Tennessee State and chose to receive the ball. But in the other four games in which UA has won the toss, the Crimson Tide has deferred.
"I always want the wind in the fourth quarter if the wind is significant in the game," he said. "If you defer, you may not have the opportunity to do that because in the second half, you have to take the ball and they get to pick which way they kick. So if that's the case, I'd rather start the game poorly and have a better chance to finish it with the wind factor in your favor than the other way."
An experience earlier in Saban's career helped shape that decision. During his one year as head coach at Toledo in 1990, he was playing for the conference championship in a late-season game that involved heavy winds.
"We had a good offensive team, I can't remember exactly how it happened but we couldn't get the wind in the fourth quarter and I didn't even think about it," Saban said. "I was a first-year head coach. So we go two-minute at the end of the game and I think the score is 13-12, we're losing at Central Michigan and this is the only game we lost in the MAC.
"We get down to like the 20 yard line, and we had a good kicker. The wind was blowing about 40 miles an hour right in his face. If he makes the kick, we would win. He could have made it from 60 yards with wind, and couldn't make it from 20 against it. So he kicked it and it got about three quarters of the way there and it went straight down. We lost. So I decided then that we needed the wind in the fourth quarter if you have the chance."
- See more at: TideSports.com - NOTES: Coin flip decision; Saban rant on CSU
University of Alabama coach Nick Saban said he makes the decision for how to handle the pre-game coin toss on the morning of the game. The coaching staff meets and looks at the conditions for the game before deciding what to do.
"That's when the decision is made," he said. "It gets thought about a lot before that. Last year, we took the ball almost every chance we got. This year, we probably deferred more often than we've taken the ball when we've won the toss.
Alabama's has deferred after winning the coin toss most games this season, starting with its defense on the field.
Alabama won the toss against Middle Tennessee State and chose to receive the ball. But in the other four games in which UA has won the toss, the Crimson Tide has deferred.
"I always want the wind in the fourth quarter if the wind is significant in the game," he said. "If you defer, you may not have the opportunity to do that because in the second half, you have to take the ball and they get to pick which way they kick. So if that's the case, I'd rather start the game poorly and have a better chance to finish it with the wind factor in your favor than the other way."
An experience earlier in Saban's career helped shape that decision. During his one year as head coach at Toledo in 1990, he was playing for the conference championship in a late-season game that involved heavy winds.
"We had a good offensive team, I can't remember exactly how it happened but we couldn't get the wind in the fourth quarter and I didn't even think about it," Saban said. "I was a first-year head coach. So we go two-minute at the end of the game and I think the score is 13-12, we're losing at Central Michigan and this is the only game we lost in the MAC.
"We get down to like the 20 yard line, and we had a good kicker. The wind was blowing about 40 miles an hour right in his face. If he makes the kick, we would win. He could have made it from 60 yards with wind, and couldn't make it from 20 against it. So he kicked it and it got about three quarters of the way there and it went straight down. We lost. So I decided then that we needed the wind in the fourth quarter if you have the chance."
- See more at: TideSports.com - NOTES: Coin flip decision; Saban rant on CSU
