re: What Were Your Thoughts on the Saban Hire vs. the Miles Hire?

Used to live UWS. Now live in Westchester County but office is midtown.

Was very surprised at both of the hires. If I recall correctly Saban was nowhere on the radar and all of a sudden he was announced as our guy. I was just happy Dinardo was gone and overall thought pretty good hire but wasn't overly impressed simply b/c he hadn't won anything big yet. The good thing was that he was competing in a power conference and doing well even though he was 2nd fiddle in his own state.

For the Miles hire I refused to believe LSU would go that route. I was convinced that they could do much better but Bertman wanted a yes man. I think Miles was more of a yes man at first but it's funny how now Alleva is the one taking orders from Miles. Overall Bertman probably couldn't have done any better unless he had negotiated to bring Saban back. Other than St. Nick there's no other coach that is clearly better than Miles. Maybe Urban Meyer but I can't stand that guy.

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I'd rather be remembered for something rather than not be remembered at all.

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Who did you say you were?

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"We hired the guy Gerry DiNardo beat in the Indy Bowl?!?"

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I've seen this many many times on this board over the years, and it only seems to get dumber.

It's one game! You judge a career based on one game? At one point in the 1970s, Alabama lost its opening game to Missouri, who was coached by a guy named Al Onofrio.

By your standard, if Missouri wanted to replace their head coach a few years later with BEAR BRYANT, they wouldn't have been able to do it because he's the guy who lost a game to Al Onofrio. Even a busted clock is right twice a day. Jesus Christ.

I'm torn, too. Should I blow up my computer now or just never ever open threads with the words Saban and Miles in the title?

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So, what were your thoughts on the hiring of Saban vs. the hiring of Miles?

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Saban was A gift as a hire.... And LSU would NOT be where it is today without what he did here...


I had no problem with the Miles hire. He has turned into a FINE recruiter, and I like his gambling style......

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On reality, saban cost us 2 bcs championships. idnt revruit worth shite before he left, leaving the oline without quality depth, which is why 08 happened and we had 3 dlinemen playing oline.

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Saban wasnt the best coach at LSU

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Maybe not, But LSU would NOT be where it is today without him.... FACT......

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Anyone who suggests that the Nick Saban hire was being heralded as a no-brainer and a good fit at the time is either delusional or allowing hindsight to blind their memory.

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Actually a lot of places praised the high at the time. Mainly because of what Saban took over at Michigan State prior to his arrival which was under sanctions from the previous coach. Saban at the time was considered one of the brighter head coaching candidates around and many thought if he kept the in state talent in state, he would be successful which is what he did.

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Bayou bound

Michigan State's Saban accepts big payday to coach LSU

Click here for more on this story
Posted: Tuesday November 30, 1999 06:18 PM

Nick Saban led the Spartans to a 34-24-1 record in his five seasons, including a berth in the upcoming Citrus Bowl. Tom Pidgeon/Allsport
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Telling his Michigan State team that he was leaving to become LSU's football coach was the hardest thing he's ever done professionally, Nick Saban said on Tuesday.

Hard maybe, lucrative certainly, but perhaps more importantly for an ambitious young coach anxious to build on his reputation, a change that could make him the toast of football-crazy LSU and the terror of the football-driven Southeastern Conference.

"I liked the challenge of this football program," Saban said. "I think there is great tradition. I think the Southeastern Conference is a very competitive, outstanding football conference. There's a challenge to being part of that conference that kind of intrigued me."

Saban, who earned $697,330 a year at Michigan State, agreed to a five-year rollover contract at LSU with a base salary of $250,000, and will be paid an additional $550,000 for radio, television and internet appearances, plus additional supplemental pay that will bring his total yearly package to $1.2 million a year.

"Security is always something that's important to you and to your family," Saban said. "But it's not the reason I came here."

Michigan State spokesman Terry Denbow said Michigan State conducted "absolutely no bidding war" in order to keep Saban.

"This was an opportunity for Nick and his family, both professional and personal, and we wish him the best of luck at LSU," Denbow said.

Saban said he had two firm offers to leave Michigan State previously, for the NFL's New York Giants and the Indianapolis Colts, but was not interested in moving until LSU came calling. The school is in the midst of a major building program which will add 11,000 new seats, including 70 new suites, at Tiger Stadium, boosting stadium capacity to 91,700.

The stadium will be the fourth-largest on-campus stadium in the nation and Saban is tied with two other coaches as the third-highest paid coach. More importantly, he said, he will be at the No. 1 program in the state.

"At Michigan State we were never No. 1," Saban said. "That was always Michigan. It was always UM this or that. If I'd gone to Ohio it would have been Ohio State, Indiana it's Purdue, Chicago it's every other school in the Big Ten. In the east it's Penn State. Wherever you go you're looking at someone else when you're recruiting, trying to catch up, trying to convince someone you're up there."

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Everywhere I turned his name kept coming up," athletic director Joe Dean said of Saban's selection. "He's a high visibility guy from a good program who had a great season. I think what we saw there is what we'll see here but to the next level."

Saban has both college and NFL experience.

"I like college football, and I like college football because when I talked to my team today, the effect that you have on some of the players, their lives, means something," Saban said, tears in his eyes, voice shaking. "That's why I like college football."

LSU finished this season 3-8, its second straight losing record. Gerry DiNardo was fired with one game remaining.

There were other problems for LSU as well -- players arrested, players suspended, players quitting the team.

"This is the players' team," Saban said. "I'm the coach and I want the players to take some responsibility and ownership for all the areas that are important in building the team. How they play is just one of those areas."

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Posted by GeauxTigerTM quote: It's one game! You judge a career based on one game? At one point in the 1970s, Alabama lost its opening game to Missouri, who was coached by a guy named Al Onofrio. By your standard, if Missouri wanted to replace their head coach a few years later with BEAR BRYANT, they wouldn't have been able to do it because he's the guy who lost a game to Al Onofrio. Even a busted clock is right twice a day. Jesus Christ. Did you just compare Bryant's resume by the mid 1970's to Saban's resume while still at Michigan St and then call someone else's comment dumb? Alrighty... MSU was Nick's lone big time head coaching job, and his record there was as follows: 1995: 6-5-1 1996: 6-6 1997: 7-5 1998: 6-6 1999: 9-2 The first three season were marked with double digit bowl losses. do you know what the three season prior to Nick showing up there looked like? 1992: 5-6 1993: 6-6 1994: 5-6 Anyone who suggests that the Nick Saban hire was being heralded as a no-brainer and a good fit at the time is either delusional or allowing hindsight to blind their memory.

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I agree with you on this

I remember talking to my dad when they hired him we were both like this might not be a good hire. That hire wasn't a no brainier hire for sure.