He would never go back to the NFL because the players have too much money and power vis-a-vis coaches there. The NCAA's slave labor system is much better suited to Saban's style.
Haha you're a joke, you must have missed the Thanksgiving game last year. UT would love to have Patterson, but he won't leave for the UT job. He's become the coach of the program which he wouldn't be able to do at UT. Only job he would consider, IMO, is K-State, his alma mater.
True, true. I just wish all Longhorn Alums would get the idea of Sabian moving to UT out of their heads. It's not going to happen. Alabama has money, too. No idea who you are but you must have had some horrible takes in the past which is why I chose to block you out. God speed.
dude, we don't know what's in his head. we have way more money than bama. also, he did win at LSU and then went to Bama, it's not like he's a loyal guy.
He went to the NFL, then went to Alabama to get back to college. He's certainly not loyal - there's just no good reason to make the move to Texas and have to rebuild what he already has there. If he still was at LSU and winning national titles, he wouldn't have moved to rebuild Alabama either.
If UT were to offer enough money, it might work and here's why: There is one thing that Saban loves more than winning/championships, and that's recruiting. Texas the state >>>> Alabama the state for recruitment. That would have to attract Saban at least in the slightest. Now I don't think he leaves and especially don't think he wants to leave the SEC.
Can't be rivals if you don't play each other. With that said, Aggies are doing well now with their own schedule to worry about. The topic is no longer relevant until the two teams play again.
I can understand the allure (for Texas fans) of wanting to bring Saban to Austin, but it just won't happen. I do think that Saban is mostly a mercenary and would listen to an offer for more money, but Alabama would just counter-offer. Why leave a more historically successful program that gives you absolute control and allows you to ignore everything you don't want to do (schmoozing, etc...) for the same money? Ultimately, all we would be doing is raising the market price of a college football coach (which we already did with Mack). Unless Saban is bored and has an itch to revamp a program, it's just not happening. The names that I always heard from 247, Rivals, and other "insiders" were Chris Peterson, Gary Patterson, and, to a lesser extent, Mark Richt. That was in a scenario where Mack was leaving on his own terms and probably taking over the AD role. Don't know if that changes if Mack's exit is a little more forced. I, personally, am all-in on Charlie Strong. Gut feeling that he would be a great hire. He checks all the boxes - coordinator at a destination program, strong recruiter, has performed a turnaround, and seems like he would be good at all of the sideshow stuff that the head football coach at Texas has to deal with.
Paterson @ TCU '01 6-6 '02 10-2 Finished 22nd in polls '03 11-2 24th '04 5-6 '05 11-1 9th '06 11-2 21st '07 8-5 '08 11-2 7th '09 12-1 6th (Fiesta) '10 13-0 2nd (Rose) '11 11-2 13th '12 7-6 Beat UT "Overrated big time"? Won 10 or more gms 8 out of last 10 yrs and one of the yrs they didn't (last yr) they lost their starting qb. Still beat UT with a backup. UT would be so lucky to have a coach like Patterson.
Here's a list of potential guys from Out Kick the Coverage Spoiler 1. Nick Saban Nick Saban is not going to leave Alabama for Texas for more money. But I really wish Texas and Alabama would get into a bidding war for Saban's services. I can't think of any story that would be more entertaining in a Twitter era than Alabama and Texas publicly bidding against each other. What dollar figure would be too much for Alabama to pay Saban to coach football? Is there any figure? What would Texas have to offer for Alabama to push back from the table and say, "That's too rich for our blood." Twenty million? Thirty million a year? Is there any number Alabama wouldn't match? Would the state of Alabama bankrupt itself to pay for Nick Saban? Please let this happen. 2. Kevin Sumlin What's the best way to stop Texas A&M's meteoric in-state rise and reestablish your Longhorn state dominance? Steal away the Aggie's prize coach. I don't think Sumlin would leave College Station for another college job, but the charismatic Sumlin would be a perfect fit with the Longhorn Network. Can you imagine the A&M fallout if this happened? And you thought Rick Pitino was hated? You ain't seen nothing yet. What do you have to lose by making a run at Sumlin if you're Texas? 3. Will Muschamp Texas probably doesn't want to fire Mack Brown. They need him to agree to step down to avoid making it too ugly. In order to make that decision Mack might want to be involved in selecting his successor. Since Muschamp has already been crowned once as the coach in waiting at Texas, could the Longhorns persuade Muschamp to leave Florida and come back to Texas? That seems unlikely, but why not ask? You know Muschamp could fix the defense. What if Texas also offered three million a year to Clemson's Chad Morris to fix the offense for good? That would be a hell of a tandem, right? 4. Les Miles If Les was willing to flirt with Arkansas for more money, might he be willing to leave LSU for Texas? Why not try? In nine years with LSU, Miles is 87-21. That's an extraordinary record, but does Miles feel like he's taken LSU to the heights. Would he rather build a program instead of trying to maintain dominance? I think he'd win huge. Especially if he brought John Chavis to Austin with him. Chavis is the best defensive coordinator in the SEC, he'd fix Texas's defensive issues fast. Can you imagine Les Miles with the Longhorn Network? 5. Mike Gundy Gundy considered making the jump to Tennessee last year. Sure, he's a lifelong Oklahoma State coach, but with the SI investigation into improprieties at the Oklahoma State program, would it make sense to bolt while he could? Plus, if you're Texas, you're also weakening one of your major foes in the Big 12 by stealing him from the Cowboys. If Oklahoma State lost Gundy would the program maintain its upward trajectory or would it sink back into college football oblivion? Gundy doesn't seem particularly loyal and you know he's familiar with all the Big 12 teams, why not take a shot with him? 6. Art Briles Briles is a Texas high school coaching legend. He's taken an awful Baylor job and made it one of the hottest names in college football. He'd be an immediate asset for quarterback David Ash and he'd understand the Longhorn culture better than just about anyone who could take this job. The only downside here? He's 58 years old, just a few years younger than Mack Brown. How much longer will he coach? 7. Pat Fitzgerald Now in his 8th year at Northwestern, Fitzgerald has proven he can win at the highest levels of the Big Ten. He's been to five straight bowl games at Northwestern and he's going to make it six this year. Will he ever leave Northwestern? Texas might be able to pry him away with money that Northwestern can't match. He's only 39 years old, which means he's a full generation younger than Mack Brown. Fitzgerald is telegenic, charismatic, and without any hint of scandal. Texas could do a ton worse. 8. James Franklin The Texas job is unique because you need someone who enjoys the politician-like circus of the job. You need a coach who can kiss babies, rally a fan base on the speaking circult, make the boosters all feel special, and put on an entertaining show in the process. Oh, and that coach has to win football games too. James Franklin is coming off a nine win season at Vanderbilt, the first in 97 years, and he's poised to take Vandy to a third straight bowl game. He turned down several opportunities to leave Vandy last year, but if Texas came calling could he turn them down? That seems unlikely. 9. Charlie Strong He's going to post back-to-back eleven win seasons at Louisville, but his quarterback will leave after this season and there's likely to be a drop off in team quality just as the schedule becomes tougher in the ACC. Could Strong decide that it's the perfect time to jump ship? The only issue here is this -- would Strong welcome the increased media attention and social obligations that come with the job? Or might he bristle under the scrutiny? I'm officially putting in my guess as Art Briles after this season finishes. Texas will loss to OU and a few more games, finish 5th in the Big 12, loss their bowl game and Mack will be on the way out.
This is the biggest limiting factor. Our donors need to be coddled, and a lot of the best coaches have no interest in that or just suck at it. It's a ridiculous expectation, but it will eliminate a lot of good candidates.
