If Saban Never Came to LSU...

We’d be talking about how great 95-97 was.

No. I doubt we would have even had 1 national championship, much less 3.

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LSU would be on Ole Miss level imo without Saban

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I think we'd be a little bit better than them simply because the stark contrast in in-state recruiting.

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He would never be at Alabama, either..

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Meh, if he didn't go to LSU and have success, he was going to have it at whatever program he went to that supported football better than Michigan St. He could've still eventually ended up at Bama.

NO, thirty years without beating bama at home, 30 years without winning a major bowl.... we were the epitome of mediocrity.

Saban definitely showed the potential of LSU and how if you kept the best players in state how successful you could be.
Saban laid a foundation LSU was lacking going back to the 80's which was only short lived success at that time.
Once Saban got all the bullshite cronies from trying to run the program it gave LSU a blueprint on how to do things going forward.

I think Saban would be the first to admit that it actually spring boarded his career as well.

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No. Saban was the force that turned the school and adminstration around. Facility upgrades, etc

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Saban gets a ton of undeserved LSU love from fans who think he (re)built LSU football.

He didn't. Emmert had the plan, and he got the funding to build LSU football into a powerhouse.

Emmert told those plans to Saban:[/i]

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I WAS TOLD WHEN I CAME HERE there were three things we were gonna do: improve the living conditions for the players (which we have), build an academic support center (which we have), and the last thing we were gonna do is build a football facility for football. THAT'S WHAT THE COACH [Saban] WAS TOLD.

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Nick Saban stating that we was TOLD the plans for the football program.


DiNardo Showed What Could Be Done at LSU

Gerry DiNardo took over LSU in December 1994. In 1995, LSU went 7-4-1 and beat Saban in the Independence Bowl. In 1996, LSU went 10-2. In 1997, LSU went 9-3.

DiNardo woke the sleeping giant. He got LSU into the Top Ten in 1997 and 1998. DiNardo brought in Faulk and a host of players that ended up winning a NC under Saban.

DiNardo had issues, but the biggest problem he had was that LSU was too fricking cheap to play football at an elite level. DiNardo's salary was $150,000 per year.


Mark Emmert had a plan for a Flagship University. He knew that a successful football program was the key to fundraising to create the Flagship University.

Emmert saw DiNardo's success and the reasons for his failures. He decided it was time for LSU to play big-time football rather than skimping nickels and dimes. Emmert saw the potential in LSU football and developed a plan. He decided to invest in LSU's football coaches and facilities.


Mark Emmert went to Saban with a Million Dollar Offer and a Multi-Million Dollar Facilities Plan.

Emmert offered Saban a five-year contract for $1.2 million annually, more than double Saban's salary at Michigan State. Only three other coaches in the country were getting paid a million per year: Bowden, Spurrier, and Fulmer.

By contrast, DiNardo's buyout for FOUR contract years was LESS than ONE year of Saban's contract. DiNardo's buyout was $600,000 for the four years of $150,000 salary. Saban's salary was $1.2 million.

Emmert decided that LSU needed to play football at an elite level in 1999. Emmert developed a plan and then hired Saban. Saban did not cause LSU to start paying for elite football. To the contrary, Saban was a result of that change. He was the coach who received the benefit of that change in direction.


Emmert, Bertman, the Board, and the boosters planned and built the facilities needed to play at an elite level.

Saban did NOT lay the foundation for this program to keep being successful. The LSU administration changed directions before Saban arrived. Saban was the beneficiary of that change, NOT the cause of it.

Mark Emmert's Flagship football program plan included investing heavily into the football program: increase coaches salaries (8X), hire an elite head coach, and pour money into building up the football facilities. The football facilities were planned by Mark Emmert. Again, Emmert told those plans to Saban:

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I WAS TOLD WHEN I CAME HERE there were three things we were gonna do: improve the living conditions for the players (which we have), build an academic support center (which we have), and the last thing we were gonna do is build a football facility for football. THAT'S WHAT THE COACH [Saban] WAS TOLD.

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Nick Saban stating that we was TOLD the plans for the football program.


Prior to Emmert, LSU nickel and dimed everything. That was a huge reason why LSU football failed in the 1990s. LSU was too cheap.

Emmert knew that a successful football program was the key to his Flagship University program. He is the reason why LSU started funding coaches salaries and building programs.

Emmert knew that he needed a winning football program. Emmert knew that a winning football program needed a great football coach. That's why he went looking for the best coach he could hire. That's why he offered Saban over a million dollars per year.

Emmert identified Saban as a winning head coach.

But great coaches come and go.

Many football programs return to the mean when their great head coach leaves. Especially prior to NIL.

Miles and Orgeron would not have had anywhere near the recruiting success that they did without the infrastructure and programs resulting from Emmert's building plan and fundraising. LSU would never have signed anything remotely resembling a 10-year, $95 million contract with Brian Kelly under the LSU regime prior to Emmert.

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And of course, Saban had nothing to do with Bama’s success either. Under your theory, Bama went on to dominate because of its facilities and such, not the executive in charge of the program.

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Bama had success prior to Saban. Bama was one of the most successful programs in the country prior to Saban arriving. Why do you think Saban chose to go to Alabama when he left Miami?

Of course, Saban is a terrific head coach. Of course, Saban is a huge reason why Alabama was successful while Saban was there. That's why Emmert hired him to LSU. Saban and Bama money created a monster.

How do you think Saban would have done if he had gone to Troy or Memphis?Was Saban successful at Miami without a huge recruiting advantage?

What do you think would have happened to Troy or Memphis if Saban coached there for four years? Would they be powerhouses now? Did Michigan State turn into a powerhouse because of Saban?

While he was at Alabama, Saban's biggest rival was LSU. Saban had a HUGE advantage over his biggest rival in that he was able to very successfully recruit Louisiana, his biggest rival's main talent pool, because of the connections Saban made while he was LSU's head coach.

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Paging Salviati..please come tell us the truth.

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Happy to help.

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SEC Rant is going to laugh their arse off at this thread. LSU would have been fine without Saban, but having the greatest coach of all time certainly helped.

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Ring a Ding Ding.