Saturday Down South: Ten Questions to Ponder Regarding Nick Saban and His Job

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1.) How impactful is the departure of AJ McCarron?
I believe it’s huge. McCarron is to Saban as Tebow was to Meyer. Saban loves McCarron. You saw two great moments this year after Texas A&M when Saban spoke about trusting McCarron, and you saw it against LSU when Saban literally jumped into McCarron’s arms in a moment where emotion took the better of Saban’s usual hard-arse demeanor. McCarron might not make plays like Manziel, but he’s the on-field general that makes Saban’s life and march to a championship much easier. There’s no McCarron in 2014.

2.) Has Saban topped out?
Let’s face it. There’s only one direction to go. Down. He’s taken Alabama football to the top, and there’s nothing more he can achieve other than more of the same. Fans are fans, and they tend to have a “what have you done for me lately?” mentality. If Saban doesn’t win the National Championship in any of the upcoming 3 years or so, fans might start to groan. He knows this.

3.) Is it harder to stay on top than get to the top?
It’s a legitimate question. Winning three titles in four years is simply incredible. You saw this year how it took a simple field goal return in the Iron Bowl to ruin the march to a 3rd straight and 4th in five years. When you get to the top, everyone guns for you. When you are the standard, coaches either try to replicate your system or they implement systems and schemes meant to directly counteract your system. Lastly, when you’re at the top, it becomes increasingly difficult to hang on to assistant coaches. Staying on top is very difficult.

4.) Is Saban a builder?
This is the longest head coaching tenure for Nick Saban. We know he’s damn good at building up a program and taking it from mediocrity to excellence. Mission accomplished at Alabama. Does he get bored once he’s performed this aspect of the job?

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