re: So, my business partner's kid plays for Houston

Here in Houston in the media there was a lot of Herman love but a few of the Houston alums I know had a different take on Herman. The consensus was the guy had a public persona that was carefully crafted and calculated, but behind the scenes he was an overly intense control freak of the highest order. A control freak operating just short of outright paranoia.

we have seen these types of guys before, young hotshot coach, very intense, very controlling, they burn incredibly hot then they flame out.


Will be interesting to see how much Herman reflects his two mentors, Urban and Mack. Two men who could not be more different in personality. Mack was a good old boy, paw paw preacher man in the public eye but was supposedly a cold hearted SOB in private. Urban likes to portray himself as tough as nails publicly but behind the scenes he is said to be too soft on his players (and it blew up on him at UF).

5 years from now, i'd rather have former players say that their HC was an a-hole while having a ring on their finger, than saying that they love the coach and have only been to the Advocare Texas Bowl.

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Here in Bam land we see them interviewed on local media and I have not heard of anyone bad mouth his program.

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they had a huge party, they all hate him, he is an a-hole"

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So he is another Saban

Tell the truth... Is your son's name Joe Alleva?

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Tell the truth... Is your son's name Joe Alleva?

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Uh, pretty funny, but the kid who said this is not my kid.

They were losing games they were heavily favored to win. Maybe now we know why.

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Most of saban's ex players think he is an a-hole as well

I don't know if this is accurate, but it holds true for the two I know. One was a starter, the other a career backup. Neither of them think he's a good person, but both of them have tremendous respect for him as a professional. That's good enough for me... I'll take a champion a-hole.
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I've met one ex-Alabama player, who now plays in the NFL. Very casual, relaxed setting - maybe about ten people. The conversation was mostly about hunting, fishing, dogs and LA food. Not much football talk.

At one point, we ended up In the kitchen alone. I asked how it was playing for Saban. His immediate response was, "I loved it. He's a great guy." I kind of laughed and said, "You don't have to lie to me. I don't work for a newspaper." He said, "Really, I loved it. He's a great coach and a great guy. He demands excellence and he makes you better than you think you can be."

I also asked, "If he wins another NC, do you think he'll retire?" (This was during the 2015 season) He said, "He can't quit. He'll drive Miss Terry crazy."

I'm an LSU fan, so the sooner Saban goes away, the better my life will be. But the reality is that he doesn't seem to be the kind of guy who can relax at the lake house for very long. I expect him to coach until he can't.