Would Todd Graham come in a "package deal" with Oliver Luck? Heh heh. Some folks at ASU are worried about it. If not, he'll probably try to bolt for somewhere else. He is what he is. http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/64866/arizona-state-focuses-todd-graham-new-stadium Tuesday, November 5, 2013 ASU turns focus to Graham, new stadium By Ted Miller The inevitable reaction after Arizona State athletic director Steve Patterson was hired for the same job at Texas was speculation that Sun Devils coach Todd Graham would shortly follow him if, of course, Longhorns coach Mack Brown is fired or retires. Arizona State immediately thought of that possibility, too. School president Michael Crow told the Arizona Republic on Tuesday afternoon that a precondition for Patterson being granted permission to interview with Texas was his agreeing to not hire anyone from Arizona State. Of course, where there's a will -- and motivated rich guys -- lawyers perhaps can find a way. Apparently, binding contracts in college football are often circumvented. Still, file Graham-to-Texas speculation away for the moment, as, at the very least, such a turn of events would require Arizona State continuing its recent surge and turning in a special season. Or a few special seasons. At present, such speculation operates only as a distraction Graham would prefer to avoid. "You can't control things you can't control," he said. "We've got to be focused going into this week. … I can't do anything about what people say." While Graham's immediate focus is a visit to Utah on Saturday, he also surely shares with Sun Devils fans a central concern over Patterson's departure: the much-needed renovation of Sun Devil Stadium. That project was the centerpiece of Patterson's agenda, and it will require a massive fundraising effort. If you're wondering about what skill will top the list of the soon-to-be-formed Arizona State AD search committee, it will be the ability to get boosters and local businesses to invest in that project. While the reason Patterson was hired in March of 2012 was his business acumen, his background was almost exclusively in pro sports. It's fair to say he's unproven as a college athletic director and fundraiser, though the early returns have been positive, something of which Texas was surely aware. Also, his roots are deep in Texas. He got his undergraduate and law degrees at Texas and worked with Texas pro sports teams from 1989 to 2003. It's not like he has deep roots in Phoenix. In other words, he's not irreplaceable, and Sun Devils fans shouldn't view his departure as catastrophic for the stadium renovation effort. There's no reason Arizona State can't recruit a new AD with a proven ability to convince boosters to write checks.
Read somewhere a few weeks ago that Mack Brown definitely does not want Saban replacing him. I wonder if he would pull out all the stops to stay one more year just to prevent that from happening. Or maybe he will just give off a strong enough signal of that possibility to scare Saban off and force him to turn UT down.
Where are the resident haters that have been giving UT no chance of landing Saban? It's looking more and more likely. Big 12! Big 12! Big 12!
In wouldn't say it's looking more likely but there is definitely smoke. It's going to be great to see bear Bryant swallow all his posts if it happens.
I do not think there is smoke. I am still a denier. This was a clever ruse to get more money from Alabama. Nice work Saban!
The quote was taken from the article. That's the thing though, Bama is not the best football job in America. The UT job has more money and access to better talent. UT with Saban would eventually be better than Bama with Saban.
I don't believe Sexton leaked this because of exactly what is going on now and how much Saban hates it. If he wanted to extort Alabama, he would have waited until after the season was over. I never thought Saban would leave Alabama for UT and this is probably just another nail in the coffin. But..........if Saban doesn't publicly address it, uh oh. Alabama is the "best" football job in America because Saban made it so. Once he leaves, things will change.
The email from Hicks summarizing the sitaution was from an AP open records request anyway, so I don't see how Saban's people would have been involved in the leak.
The case faceplant memes in this thread at shaggybevo got me dying over here lmao http://www.shaggybevo.com/board/showthread.php/138010-I-want-that-case-faceplant
How much better can one get? He's won 3 of 4 (going on 4 of 5), and that doesn't seem like it's going to change anytime soon. He's still hyper-focused, he's still recruiting the best, he has first-rate facilities, and he's still in the premier football conference. The access to talent argument is valid for Briles or Strong...Saban's already getting the best recruits (including cherrypicking several from Texas). Outside of Louisiana, it doesn't seem like kids who grow up in the SEC region are necessarily tied to their state school, so he can pull the best from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, etc... Unless he can come to Texas and win 5 championships in a row or something, I don't see how he can be better.
Saban can win the first ever college football playoff next year at Alabama. I don't think he can do that at UT. I bet that means something.
ehhh. I think he is the kinda guy that thinks in the long term. There is also the quality of life angle. This is not a "Austin is the best city in the world" comment. It's just a major metropolitan area which might be appealing for life outside football.
True. But he's the big dog in the SEC, easier to do in the Big 12. Not sure which is more appealing to him. At the end of the day there are so many pros and cons on each side... I tend to think he's playing UT for a raise, but if Bama cant match anything can happen. I've also heard he hates the camera and doesn't want anything to do with LHN, but he's granted ESPN full access to Bama camp in the past and pops up in movies. So who knows.
I'm not sure there is a "long term" for Saban - he's already in his 60's. It's hard to see him coaching more than 6-7 more years, which would put him at 70. Does he want to spend a few of those rebuilding and risk being hated at Alabama for ditching them? And is that enough time to build a real legacy at UT, or is he better off just trying to win a few more at Alabama? He clearly doesn't need access to more talent. And he's got something really good going where he is. So it just comes down to money - and Alabama can go a lot higher than they are now - or whether he's ready for something new.
A lot better actually. #1, more money = better. #2, not having to go anywhere to recruit = better. #3, not having to compete each week in the SEC = better (easier, although someone may like the challenge of that). Bama is Bama again because Saban made the program that way. The possibilities are much bigger at UT. I don't think he is leaving though. I was just noting that the UT program is one of the most sought after ones. The only reason the Bama job is better is because it's "his program".
