“Lane has done a good job with us, and I think the big thing that every coach that comes into our sort of organization sort of grows and develops into is there’s a certain way that we do things, and it really doesn’t matter how you’ve done them before”, Saban said. Now there is speculation they will try again, and two teams keep getting mentioned ahead of the others: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Giants. But it was calculated on the fact that I thought we could execute it and the way they lined up, it was available to us. When also considering the stricter scholarship limits, longer schedules and much more competitive landscape in today’s college game, Saban’s achievement clearly stands supreme. “They probably came further as a group because of that than maybe any group that we’ve ever had”.
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Nick Saban has led Alabama to four national titles in seven years and has tallied five in his collegiate coaching career, making him the only coach besides Bear Bryant to win at least five. Think about that. Special teams are winnable by lots of teams.
Despite the previous connection to the Giants, the team that some feel makes even more sense is the Bucs.
“I know you can’t do this forever, but I certainly enjoy the moment and certainly look forward to future challenges that we have”.
“It’s a new season, it’s a new team, new group of guys, new leadership”, Saban said. That is when the 62-year-old no-nonsense coach – who first offered Kiffin the position of offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2007 – took an even greater chance on a talented, but volatile and divisive young play-caller who burned every bridge he touched.
“I mean, that’s an incredible accomplishment”, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. Those negotiations broke down when Saban demanded control over personnel and the coaching staff.
Jake Coker spotted Howard running free down the right side of the field and got the ball to him. Saban was the most responsible for keeping the streak going with wins in 2009, 2011, and 2012, and now he has 2015 to add to his collection.
“The onside kick was a big momentum swing for our team”, said tight end O.J. Howard. This affords them a certain amount of respect that most college coaches can’t relate to, and thus the players can’t relate to them. It’s a great venue. Prior to the national championship game against Texas, the contrast between Saban and then-Longhorns coach Mack Brown could not have been more pronounced. I am wondering exactly how it works in there, if there is some kind of electrical current that triggers an advanced algorithm that then alerts a custodian who lights a neon sign in Saban’s tidy psyche and screams: Time to take a fuckin’ risk, Nick.
Everyone knows by now that the 45-40 victory over Clemson lifted Saban into a tie with legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant as the only two NCAA coaches to win five titles. Howard had just one catch in the previous two games before against Mississippi State and Division I-AA foe Charleston Southern. “I saw a bunch of happy guys based on what they were able to accomplish together as a group”, he said.
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Saban says he usually misses the team bus after games and is the fallback ride for anybody else who does.
