re: Shaq: If LSU would have paid Saban, LSU would be Alabama

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You should know that I meant we should have done whatever it took to get him back when it became known he was leaving the NFL to return to college coaching. Its not that difficult to figure out

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Seriously?

In one corner, you have Saban, an egotistical a-hole who was playing the field every season he was here, always looking to jump out. He left LSU in the lurch going to Miami when he did, lied to administration, the AD, his team in the process. He bombed in the NFL. Now he comes back like an abusive two-timing skanky ex when he's been humbled...

In the other corner you have Miles, who came in and guided the team through the Katrina disaster to remarkable results, who was coming off his second consecutive top 5 finish in as many seasons; a run Saban had not been able to achieve here.

Right now, hindsight tells you taking Saban would have been the better move, but that's not quite clear. If we gave him a soft landing with no consequences, he might not have changed, and might have jumped at the next big chance. If we did turn him down, he may have realized Alabama was a very lucky turn of events, that he could easily have ended up at Ball State or somewhere like that.

At the time for LSU, the obvious ethical choice was to keep Miles and tell Saban no. It sucks for us that he's turned Bama into a machine, but the choice remains the correct one.

Look at it this way- the Cleveland Browns drafted Johnny Manziel in the first round. He's acted like a complete jackass. He's almost certainly going to be let go, and he should be. If in 10 years, he has a couple of Super Bowl wins elsewhere, would you go back and say Cleveland should have kept him and let him do whatever he wants?