Nick Saban is retiring...we cooked him
January 10th, 2024 at 5:20 PM ^
Good on him to wait until after the championship.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:31 PM ^
Not really considering he waited until kids are enrolled in school, they probably can’t choose to go elsewhere until the fall.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:58 PM ^
And, I think the portal closed a few days ago - SO, this really impacts the recent transfers into Bama.
There might be another Portal window after Spring ball / school year ends in late April / early May - but, I'm not sure about that.
January 10th, 2024 at 7:05 PM ^
But on the other hand remembering 1997 with Tom Osborne retiring and having to split the national title with him because of that I could just see everybody wanting to send out Satan with another National title and the referees knowingly or unknowingly making it happen. We could be sitting here bitching about how the referees stole the game from us to make another championship possible for Satan
January 10th, 2024 at 5:20 PM ^
He’s not retiring.
He’s returning to East Lansing. They couldn’t get Urban, but they can get Saban!
/s
January 10th, 2024 at 5:20 PM ^
Dethroned!!!
January 10th, 2024 at 5:21 PM ^
Dabo is gonna want that so bad.
Considering his record over the past 2-3 years, I wonder if Alabama thinks its too good for him
January 10th, 2024 at 5:22 PM ^
They'll hire DeBoer.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:23 PM ^
I am thinking Lanning is a possibility as well.
January 10th, 2024 at 6:56 PM ^
This has Lanning written all over it.
January 10th, 2024 at 6:04 PM ^
DeBoer doesn't seem like a fit to me. Just not a good enough recruiter for a place like Alabama. I'm more and more convinced that DeBoer is basically the football version of John Beilein.
I think someone like Lanning, who spent lots of time in the SEC and who is an excellent recruiter is more of a fit there. And I wonder if Oregon would consider Sherrone Moore if he leaves. Hiring a coordinator the team that won the national championship is exactly what they did last time around.
Dabo Swinney seems like he's fallen off a bit at Clemson so Alabama might not want him, but maybe a fresh start at his alma matter is what he needs to get things going again.
The bigger question is who wants the pressure of being the guy who follows Saban. Impossible shoes to follow.
January 10th, 2024 at 6:12 PM ^
You could literally win 5 national championships . . . and be a disappointment.
January 10th, 2024 at 6:12 PM ^
Obligatory pay me $100m for 10 years and I'll give it a try.
January 10th, 2024 at 7:39 PM ^
Impossible shoes to follow.
And a hard act to fill.
January 11th, 2024 at 4:20 PM ^
Coaching footbal isn't rocket surgery
January 10th, 2024 at 6:29 PM ^
They should hire Lou Holtz just to give him one chance to kick Ryan Day's ass in a playoff game
January 10th, 2024 at 5:21 PM ^
his last game was being stoned in OT by that Mich D
Happy Trails Nick
January 10th, 2024 at 5:21 PM ^
Harbaugh retired Saban holy shit
January 10th, 2024 at 5:22 PM ^
Also, this is likely the only time you will ever know with 100% certainty that a team will not find a better replacement.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:22 PM ^
I call BS since he also said he wouldn't be the Alabama coach.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:50 PM ^
This made me laugh out loud. Well done!
January 10th, 2024 at 5:23 PM ^
Lets go poach some recruits! How ya feeling now Domani?
January 10th, 2024 at 5:23 PM ^
He left EL because he knew he'd always play 2nd fiddle to Michigan. Now that Michigan has caught up to him, he bolts again. He can see the writing on the wall.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:45 PM ^
He's old and tired and sees with NIL that he can't buy/stockpile all the talent like he used to.
Buh-bye 🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕
January 10th, 2024 at 5:23 PM ^
James Franklin announces that he is a candidate to replace Saban.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:24 PM ^
Pull him down!
January 10th, 2024 at 5:24 PM ^
Our buddy Finebaum said that Saban might retire after he lost the Rose Bowl (said he "wouldn't be surprised, and was laughed off the set at ESPN). He stated that Saban hates the portal and hates NIL. Of course he does...I wonder why.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:28 PM ^
Loves oversigning and gray-shirting though.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:29 PM ^
Klatt explained it perfectly...and it's the reason why stars matter less now more than ever.
Bama, Clemson, Georgia and OSU can't hoard the talent now. Now with player mobility...other schools can get recruits with NIL or the talent from those schools can leave through the portal.
It levels the playing field for a bunch of other programs.
It's going to be harder for EVERYONE to win going forward, Michigan included. It's going to be about retention, culture, and player development (in addition to recruiting).
January 10th, 2024 at 5:53 PM ^
Except that Michigan already excels at retention, culture, and player development. Hopefully we can keep enough of the current coaching staff to ensure that continues.
January 10th, 2024 at 6:02 PM ^
Your description reflects - a "program" - and, not an NIL dispensary with a Pay for Play approach.
I will say - one essential ingredient will be a QB who can not only fit into a program's structure with enough physical ability to "make the offensive difference".
As an alum and fan - I love what Michigan has done - and how it has done it.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:32 PM ^
It couldn't possibly be because NIL did a lot to negate the advantages a superb brown bagging system in place down there. Could it?
January 10th, 2024 at 8:12 PM ^
As a guy now living in the South (GA), this seems to be the prevailing notion around here. Kirby has matched him with the shady recruiting.
January 10th, 2024 at 10:01 PM ^
Finebaum must be having his worst week ever…first our win, then his savior retires.
too bad Paaawwwl.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:26 PM ^
Wow, Bomani Jones said this on his podcast a couple of weeks ago. About how all of his contemporaries in basketball are gone and he's from the same era of guys that didn't sign up for this.
Like K, Roy, Boeheim, etc. - it was time.
Glad we sent him out with an L.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:27 PM ^
Lane Kiffin is in play…
January 10th, 2024 at 5:27 PM ^
He knows the expanded playoff will reveal SEC dominance to have been a media creation supported by lack of interleague play.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:27 PM ^
The Alabama game will be up there for me with the OSU game in the snow 3 years ago for greatest Michigan football viewing experiences over the past 20 years. Last night, I debated watching the national championship game again or the Rose Bowl. I chose the Rose Bowl, because it just felt like a better game. Saban is an all-time best, and we're lucky that his last game was against Michigan at the Rose Bowl.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:29 PM ^
Agree. The Rose Bowl felt bigger.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:35 PM ^
Yep. Rose Bowl was CCCP; UDub was the Finns.
January 10th, 2024 at 6:16 PM ^
Rose Bowl was better. A lot of the championship game felt like Michigan tenuously holding on to a lead.
January 10th, 2024 at 6:32 PM ^
The Rose Bowl didn’t feel that way to you also?
January 10th, 2024 at 6:22 PM ^
Yep. You did not want to waste the historic win by losing the "gold", but the historic win is what goes down in legend.
January 10th, 2024 at 8:13 PM ^
Do you believe in miracles????
January 10th, 2024 at 5:29 PM ^
I had the same debate. Went with the title game simply because I knew I missed a ton in the heat of the moment watching at bar, well plastered. Rose Bowl I've already etched in my head through double-digit views. But it was clearly the more legendary game.
January 10th, 2024 at 9:23 PM ^
You've already watched the Rose Bowl 10 or more times? Impressive.
January 10th, 2024 at 10:52 PM ^
Whole game twice. 30-minute highlights at least 5 or so times. Game tying drive and OT numerous times.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:28 PM ^
Maybe a new Day will dawn in Tuscaloosa?
January 10th, 2024 at 5:28 PM ^
Gnite you whiney bitch ass fuck. You got Knocked The Fuck Out.
Way to get out just in time to never have to play a game in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, or Iowa in December. What a baddass dude you are.