re: What does Saban do that makes him so great?

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He doesn’t do much x and o at all.

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I find this hard to believe. Maybe not on the offensive side I guess.

LINK

I assume you mean this study? That shows he has a huge % hits but also has the most. Bama's score is the highest but also has the most draft picks in the time. Develop and recruit

Edit: this study is the one I remember but there could be more

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Since losing the 9-6 game he prioritized staying ahead of the game and became much more open to adapting

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I think the losses to Hugh Freeze made him change more than anything else.

Work ethic
Recruiting
Innovative

Everything

Saban pretty much does everything either well or great. He's the football coaching version of a 5 tool player in baseball.

There are coaches who are great at strategy and playcalling but poor recruiters. There are coaches who are great recruiters but poor at X's and O's. There are coaches who are good at both but poor program managers and/or can't hire good assistants. There are coaches who can recruit to rankings but can't evaluate talent well. There are coaches who are good at consistency but can't get their teams up for big games. There are coaches who get their teams up for big games but are inconsistent. There are coaches who are good at building a program but can't maintain it. There are coaches who reach high levels of success but are not innovative and refuse to adapt.

Saban does all of the above well.

He can recruit.
He can evaluate talent.
He can build a program.
He can sustain a program.
He is good at strategy and X's and O's.
He hires great assistants.
He's innovative and has evolved his offensive and defensive approaches.
He basically invented the 'analyst' role and has used it to his benefit.
He's a good leader.
He gets his team up for big games.
He doesn't dwell on success (or failure) and keeps his teams focused.

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When you develop a program that consistently wins, and wins at high levels

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I guess my main question should be how he got to that point. He loses assistants and coordinators just like any other good program does but it never matters. How did he initially get so consistent with winning? Obviously that's a tough answer but something I was obviously pondering to myself with. I mean before all the winning he still had to coax top recruits to come to his school.

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Thorough preparation, research, analysis, etc.

If he was a computer gamer, he would not buy a PC off the shelf. He'd get the best motherboard, power supply, graphics card, monitor, drives, keyboard etc and build it himself. He'd spring for the best wired internet connection (no cutting corners on wifi, or on cheaper wired packages).
And he'd stay on things, constantly upgrading as he went.
"Best" is meaning functionally- not a penny would go to LED lights or something, just because it's a cool name brand. If he doesn't see the purpose of something, he avoids it. Not a hint of 'bling'; those are irrelevant distractions that take away resources he would rather apply elsewhere.
And for example- his monitor may not be "the best" overall... it will be the best for fast display at the resolution he wants. he wouldn't give a rat's arse if it doesn't display as well for youtube streaming, because that's nothing to do with his purpose.

All this back to football- he has determined what he seems to be the most effective way to maximize his team. He continues to do so, constantly. Academic centers... this seems to aide in recruiting, and to keep his players eligible. Therefore, the best academic center for athletes he can get. Flashy one-off uniforms... nobody seems to care about that, so not a moment's thought given to it. Likely won't even read the Nike emails he gets.

Some guys are just born to be a coach and seem to press all the right buttons. Saban is one of them. But I still believe what Brllickick has done is more impressive.

There is never a time he is not trying to improve something that might have the slightest impact on the game. Football is truly 365 days a year for him. He constantly reviews, manages, and tweeks everything in a way to make it better. He has a plan for how everything will go throughout the entire football year, and he is constantly evolving in how he steers the ship. He is the best evaluator of talent, can attract it better than anyone, and can develop it better to fit his program. He does it (everything) better than anyone else out there.

A perfect storm for collegiate athletics

-Recruits the best
-Coaches them up (and hires good assistants to do so)
-Convinces them to buy into the process and culture
-Convinces them to wait there turn, and stay in school

Other schools/coaches can recruit well, but convincing that talent to not be selfish, to buy in to the program/staff, and to hang around isn’t easily accomplished

One good example is last year with COVID, Bama never even had an outbreak or any players opting out. Why? Saban either has complete control of the AD (possible) or his players really bought in 100% to playing for each other, not breaking protocols, etc.