Rob Long: Why Wouldn't He?
The Texas Longhorns got off to a bad start in the 2013 season and that bad start triggered talk of whether or not the program that Mack Brown rebuilt was better off without him. The Longhorns followed a 1-2 start by winning six in a row, including a 36-20 win over Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. Brown's team finished the regular season at 8-4 (7-2) with a December 30th date with the explosive Oregon Ducks in the Valero Alamo Bowl.
Throughout all of the talk surrounding Coach Brown, there has been one name that constantly appears and that's Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban. In March, 2012 Saban signed a new deal that paid him $5.6 million. Many believed that this would be the deal that Saban could possibly retire with. That was also a deal that silenced any speculation, at the time, that he was looking for better offers.
Now, with rumors of Saban signing another deal with Alabama worth now $7 million, there are still rumors swirling about Saban leaving for Austin, Texas.
With four national championships at two schools, Saban could look for yet another conquest. He's won three national championships at Alabama and the belief is there's no place for Saban to go up down. He's built that program to where the expectations are national championship, or disappointing season.
Nick Saban's first national championship at Alabama, and second overall, was against Mack Brown's Texas Longhorns team. The Longhorns haven't had fewer than four loses in a season since that national championship loss. In fact, they've gone 32-20 with two sub .500 seasons in the Big 12 conference. Those are well below Texas Longhorn standards, but those standards were built by Mack Brown.
What Texas could provide for Saban is a premier school that has underachieved since he beat them in the national championship game. Saban could leave a fan base that he's spoiled to become the savior for a fan base that's starving for half of the success that he had at Alabama. Actually, the Longhorn fans want what they had in Mack Brown.
Nick Saban is a great coach, arguably the best coach in the game right now. A move to Texas can satisfy the god complex that many coaches with his resume, and there are few, have developed throughout their careers.
Does it make sense for Saban to stay at Alabama? Yes it makes a lot of sense because he's made the program the gold standard. It also makes sense for him to go. Because of what Nick Saban has done at Alabama, moving to a program like Texas to do it all over again is within reach. It wouldn't take a miracle for him to go to Texas and win multiple national championships.
Why would Nick Saban leave a job like Alabama and go to Texas? Why wouldn't he?
