re: Where are all DiNardo's national championships?

Dinardo created a buzz about the program and recruited relentlessly. He was an important part of the rebuilding of the program. So was Saban.

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DiNardo may have gotten a few guys but Saban showed that this is a massive program. How anyone is simping for DiNardo when Saban awoke this monster is insane.

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You obviously weren't there for 1995 AUB @ LSU. Nix whistle game, Nix to Twillie for the interception. After going through all of those terrible Hallman games, this was the wildest I ever saw Tiger Stadium.

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The Sabanistas here are still alive and kicking. Some of these guys think Orgeron's 2019 title is due to Saban.

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Reading the board today, it's the opposite. A whole bunch of goofballs trying to give credit to anyone and everyone except for Saban as a juvenile attempt to undermine his contribution to LSU's success. The realists appreciate the hiring of Saban in 1999 as part of the turning point for the program.

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Where are all DiNardo's national championships?
I don't want to disparage the coach but the history revising that's going on around here is ridiculous, so maybe this is a good sanity check.

If we are going to change the history books to claim any improvement to LSU's prominence since 1999 is because of DiNardo not Saban, I'd think a coach with that sort of transformative ability would have a bunch of championships to show for it?

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Sounds like you just don't understand what happened. Out of curiosity, were you alive and watching football then? Because looking at history is different than living through it...

There are 2 factors that led to LSU becoming a national power, and both were required.
Saban brought "the process", and yeah that was necessary. But it wouldn't work by itself.

Dinardo built The Wall, stopped the talent drain that had been happening.

1995 Independence Bowl was the fateful moment where those 2 factors met up.
Michigan State, with Saban (already getting a lot of love as an up and coming coach), against LSU with Dinardo's talent.

MSU started out hot, the Process got them a 24-21 lead at half. Talent all over the field won it for LSU, who outscored them 24-2 in the second half.

I think that bowl game was the moment Saban realized he needed talent as much as his schemes, and that LSU had that level of talent.

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If we are going to change the history books to claim any improvement to LSU's prominence since 1999 is because of DiNardo not Saban,

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i haven’t heard anyone say that where we are is BECAUSE of DiNardo.

just that DiNardo did get the ball rolling in right direction and showed what could be possible at LSU.

Gerry wasn’t the right guy to get us over that hump, but he was able to show that LSU could make that climb.

Landing Kevin Faulk was a huge stepping stone for LSU.
and started the trend of guys finally staying home to play for the Tigers.
Saban came in and built the all around Louisiana and started keeping all of that talent home.

so yeah, Saban built this, but to deny that DiNardo was an important step in that direction is just being dishonest.

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check. If we are going to change the history books to claim any improvement to LSU's prominence since 1999 is because of DiNardo not Saban, I'd think a coach with that sort of transformative ability would have a bunch of championships to show for it?

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You must be young. Dinardo went to every high school with a football team in the state to talk up LSU. Every. Single. One. Before that LSU coaches really didn’t give a shite about state high schools/coaches.

That’s how you set a foundation for a program. Every coach since then has understood that recruiting Louisiana is a key to winning.

Gerry brought back the magic. He's the one that put LSU on display in front of Saban. What would've happened without Gerry? Who knows, but it's safe to assume we miss out on Saban. Maybe he ends up at Georgia, maybe he stays at Michigan State. Eventually the brass at LSU would have figured it out. Would we have a title by now? Would we have 3? More? Who knows. Dinardo deserves a modicum of credit, though. I give an ex-girlfriend a little bit of credit for me meeting my wife. Doesn't mean I like her more than my wife.

Dinardo brought back the magic... No one ever said he used it. He brought it back and Saban used it to its full potential.