re: If Dinardo would have fired Tepper..

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Doc Fenton

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Great post man.

I do think that if he had great coordinators, we would have been in pretty good position starting in the 2000s. Those 01 and 03 classes were huge in the success we had under Saban, and most of those were LA kids, so I think Dinardo could have gotten most of them even if he wasn't able to get the facilities upgrades that Saban did.

I think the Cox Center and admin additions were the key to unlocking LSUs ability to recruit nationally, more than locally.

Also, with Spurrier leaving the SEC after 01, the time was ripe for another program like LSU to step up to that consistent championship level regardless. Georgia, Auburn, LSU, and even Arkansas and Bama at points were all fighting to gain ground in a suddenly winnable conference without Spurrier, whereas before Tennessee was the only consistent challenger.

That more than anything is the reason for the surge in SEC power IMO.

It really was a perfect storm, and Saban did a great job of capitalizing on the LA talent to get those changes made at a time when the SEC was vulnerable to a new contender coming from within the ranks.