I agree that Saban is unlikely for any number of reasons (including interest from Texas), but didn't their last coach leave Alabama for A&M?
Coaches don't usually leave one storied program to go to another. Texas is a great job, but so is Alabama. Really no reason to leave Alabama unless you're trying to get back in the NFL. Gruden is an interesting prospect. So is Spurrier. Can you imagine Spurrier recruiting in the state of Texas? South Carolina to Texas is a big step up. Alabama to Texas? Not so much. At the time (2002), A&M was a higher profile job than Alabama (if you can believe that). They hadn't done anything since 96. Only 1 top 10 finish since 94. Besides, didn't Alabama have a bunch of sanctions looming when Fran left?
Certainly - but it shows the difference between Alabama and some of the other top tier jobs, which are destination jobs regardless of how well the program is currently doing. For example, Notre Dame and Michigan haven't done anything in a decade, but I'd still argue that those are premiere jobs that you don't leave for an A&M (and it's not like A&M was at the top of anything in 2002). Alabama is a great job right now, in part, because Saban has them on top as opposed to their storied history.
Well, if Alabama wasn't a destination job before Saban got there, it certainly is now. I would argue that any school with 12 national championships (pre-Saban) is perpetually a destination job, unless there are sanctions looming like there were when Fran left. I just don't think there is a reason in the world for Saban to leave 'Bama for Texas or any other college program, no matter how much money is involved. You guys should go after Spurrier! South Carolina to Texas? Are you kidding me? Who wouldn't want that?
You guys are delusional about UT-Austin branch. Just look at where their last three coaches came from: David McWilliams came from Texas Tech, John Mackovic came from Illinois at Urban-Champaign and Mack Brown came from North Carolina. That's not exactly plucking the best coaches from Alabama and USC.
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Times change...Not to say things couldn't cycle backwards, but we weren't the most profitable football program in the country when we made those hires. If Mack left the program this season, I think some pretty big names would throw their names in the hat. That said, still no dice on Saban. Don't know why I responded to a texx post.
There really wasn't any reason for you to fire Mack Brown before this season though. By all accounts, you guys were exactly on track to getting back to a National Championship in the next 2-3 years. The pre-season rankings of your recruiting class were incredible, and your defense was supposed to be amongst the best in the country with all the supposed talent you have. Firing Mack Brown before this season was never going to happen.
That doesn't negate his point, though. And a little far to say there was no reason. Brown was mitigating it, through another highly touted recruiting class and his constant proclamations that they're on the right path. In reality, highly touted recruiting classes don't always turn out that way on the field - especially without the solid coaching - and people should have been listening to others wrt the path they were on. The problem isn't so much that they're 4-2, or even the blowout, but the way they've played. Because next season was supposed to be the finally back at championship level season, more so than this year. But it's becoming increasingly clear that they are no closer to the "style" Mack has kept saying they want to be at right now than they were 2 years ago. Their run first offense isn't all that great at running, and they're defense has the obvious problems. It's hard to envision them making in through the Big 12 without 2 losses NEXT YEAR. In any case, Brown wasn't fired last year. He probably won't be this year. I don't keep track of who wants to go where and why, so Chip Kelly may be a non-starter, but if not, he's got to, got to, got to, got to be the #1 target, by a mile. He could be at Texas for the next 2 decades and win multiple championships.
He's got his team looking decent this season but he's had some missteps (Charlie Weis, then replacing him with Brent Pease - the poor man's Brian Harsin) as well. Muschamp also bears some of the blame for the current state of the Texas defense - some really awful recruiting by him hurt the DL, and his LB recruiting was a disaster that has been the key to this season's defensive debacle.
This is exactly right. It's less about Wins and Losses than the general approach and the direction they seem headed in. I also don't know that there was a logical time to fire him before now. The only real option was after 2010 when they went 5-7, but that team was just 1 year removed from being in the national title game, so it seemed silly to fire him at that point. They replaced all the coordinators and then improved in 2011, so it wouldn't have made sense to fire him then either. I agree here. He was flirting with the NFL last year (Tampa Bay Bucs) so he's certainly not locked into Oregon. But he also has some sketchy recruiting stuff, so I don't know how that might affect Texas' interest. I think him, Chris Peterson (though Donny pointed out the family stuff there), and Jon Gruden seem like the top 3 most obvious candidates in terms of high-end talent, coaching people up, and being available. Spurrier would be interesting as well. Tressel would be interesting, except that I think he's facing sanctions if he comes back to college. The rest (Saban, Meyer, Brian Kelly, etc) are all at destination type jobs already, and I don't see a reason for them to leave what they are building or have built.
WHATTTT????? Colt McCoy WAS NOT one of the best quarter backs in football history. He inherited a national championship team as a freshman and they carried him. Had a average 2nd year and blossomed into a really good college QB. To say that Mack's success was due to Colt is ludicrous. Quan Cosby, Jamal Charles, Jaxon Shipley, Limas Sweed, Sergio Kindle, Aaron Ross, Michael Griffin, Justin Blaylock, Brian Orakpo, Michael Huff AND MANY MORE that mack recruited would say differently. VY also had a ton of coaching and plays were designed for him to do well in. Zone Reads were called for him. His coaches put him in a position to win. He wasn't ****ing magic.
actually, vince young was magic in college. and while colt was one of the best qb's ever (his 2008 season is criminally underrated), to not give mack brown credit because colt was so good when colt came here as a 3-star recruit from a 1 horse town is ridiculous. at that point you're just not going to give him credit for anything. people seem under the impression that carroll, saban, and meyer are winning with scrubs or something.
