Is Nick Saban the Geno of CFB ...

[Vowelguy]

.... or does he need a few more titles ?

He’s got 7 now.

 

[Vowelguy]

Joking aside, I’ve seen interviews with Saban and have been struck by how much he and Geno sound alike in terms of their attitudes, what they emphasize, etc.

 

[eebmg]

They are genetic twins. Saban has also shown a great ability to adapt and like Geno, offense is now the crux of their chase for perfection and what they did to OSU was just mastery with top talent playing at the top of their game and being so mentally into it.

 

[oldude]

There is another similarity. Each and every year both UConn WBB and Alabama FB are competing and often succeeding in signing the top recruits in the nation.

 

[eebmg]

I wonder if Sarkisian moving to TX will have a negative impact next year? They also are losing some major major pieces. I know they will reload but to what level?

 

[pvdoggy]

There is another similarity. Each and every year both UConn WBB and Alabama FB are competing and often succeeding in signing the top recruits in the nation.

Yeah, especially in the case of Bama football, when you have 5* recruits on the second and sometimes third on the depth chart, it makes it difficult not to win.

 

[oldude]

Yeah, especially in the case of Bama football, when you have 5* recruits on the second and sometimes third on the depth chart, it makes it difficult not to win.

To your point, there is a RS freshman QB by the name of Paul Tyson on Bama’s roster. He is 6’5”, 228 lbs, the 9th rated QB in his HS class and the grandson of Bear Bryant who is so far down the depth chart he may never see the playing field, at least at QB for Bama.

 

[Vowelguy]

I wonder if Sarkisian moving to TX will have a negative impact next year? They also are losing some major major pieces. I know they will reload but to what level?

Bama is preseason #1 for next year.

 

[Vowelguy]

Yeah, especially in the case of Bama football, when you have 5* recruits on the second and sometimes third on the depth chart, it makes it difficult not to win.

Tell Geno that UConn is only successful because of recruiting. LMK how he responds.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Tell Geno that UConn is only successful because of recruiting. LMK how he responds.

As Geno says, there are two types of coaches: those who get great players, and those that are no longer coaching.

 

[Vowelguy]

As Geno says, there are two types of coaches: those who get great players, and those that are no longer coaching.

Yes but he also doesnt take too kindly to those who have suggested he's successful SOLELY because of good players. Or that UConn has all the good players.

Necessary, not sufficient.

 

[bballnut90]

I think there are a lot of similarities. UCONN has made 12 straight final fours and has been a #1 seed in 12 of the last 13 NCAA tournaments, Alabama has made 6 of 7 CFP and won 3 titles in a short time frame prior to the creation of the CFP.

Alabama in the last 10 years has gone 127-12 against the best football conference in the country, UCONN in the last 13 years has gone an astonishing 477-22.

Whether they win the title or not, every year both programs have the most talented roster in the country and are a heavy title favorite based on sheer talent. When you look at UCONN's starting 5 and compare it to HS class rankings, almost ever year UCONN has the best roster in terms to talent and typically has multiple #1 recruits on the roster. Same for Saban who has had the #1 class for 9 of the last 11 years, and the 2 years he missed he had the #2 and #5 classes. In basketball it's more important to get specific players to fill out your starting 5 opposed to class ranking, where in football class ranking is king since you essentially have 25ish starting spots between offense/defense/special teams. Both are fantastic coaches proven by their ability to win games against other great teams, but arguably their best tactic is that their recruiting sets them up to be a heavy favorite in almost every single matchup.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Will people say Alabama is bad for college football?

 

[j66kicker]

I wonder if Sarkisian moving to TX will have a negative impact next year? They also are losing some major major pieces. I know they will reload but to what level?

Losing your key assistant coaches is a fact of life for a highly successful football program (pro or college) - they are usually highly-sought-after when you have that kind of success. Alabama has been through 8 offensive coordinators since 2007 (Major Applewhite, Jim McElwain, Doug Nussmeier, Lane Kiffin, Brian Daboll, Steve Sarkesian (twice), and Mike Locksley) and won 6 national championships in that same period. Doesn't seem to matter who the OC is.

Replacing Sarkesian this time is Bill O'Brian, who was OC for the Patriots, and since has NCAA D1 (Penn State) and NFL (Houston) head coaching experience. They have the #1 or 2 recruiting class coming in. They'll probably be OK.

 

[Zanzman]

Will people say Alabama is bad for college football?

Yes along with Clemson Ohio st 3 teams in the top 4 people are tired of them

 

[JonathanXIV]

Geno built UConn from nothing. Pretty sure Alabama had a pretty good program before Saban got there.

 

[pvdoggy]

Yes but he also doesnt take too kindly to those who have suggested he's successful SOLELY because of good players. Or that UConn has all the good players.

Necessary, not sufficient.

Geno has said many times that you can't win without good players, so yeah, it is necessary. I think he has even said that Uconn has only won 1 NC when it does not have the best team, the year Louisville knocked off Baylor in the semi.

 

[CajunHusky]

Nick Saban not....

 

[Vowelguy]

Geno has said many times that you can't win without good players, so yeah, it is necessary. I think he has even said that Uconn has only won 1 NC when it does not have the best team, the year Louisville knocked off Baylor in the semi.

As I said "necessary; not sufficient."

 

[bballnut90]

Yes along with Clemson Ohio st 3 teams in the top 4 people are tired of them

I think it's gotten boring to an extent like how I thought WCBB did for a stretch when UCONN was dominating with Stewart. It's usually the same teams each year and the games more often than not just aren't competitive. I also think it'd go a long way to extend the CFP to 8 teams instead of 4.

Losses matter a lot more than wins in football which incentivizes teams to schedule lightly to give them a shot to have a great record. Football greatly penalizes you for losing early games, as we saw with Oklahoma this year. I think A&M was far more deserving than Notre Dame for the last spot and got punished for the stupid SEC East/West divisions so they didn't get to compete for their conference title despite having one loss. Instead, Florida competes who is a team that had a worse record, lower ranking, and who A&M beat head to head. Even Ohio State was questionable with only winning 6 games and missing their conference title, although they removed any doubt when they clobbered Clemson.

A few years ago, Georgia was penalized and passed over for top 4 because of a very close loss to Alabama in the SEC title. Instead, a mediocre Oklahoma team got the 4th slot due to a lighter schedule which meant 1 less loss, and as a result they weren't able to compete with Alabama and the game wasn't competitive. Georgia/Alabama round 2 would've been much more competitive and I thought Georgia was robbed in that instance.

Spread out the CFP to 8 teams and anyone who isn't in the top 8 doesn't have a strong claim IMO that they could have won three straight against the nation's best to win a title, where as the #5 and #6 teams do have a real shot in some years. It'll force teams to schedule tougher since they can still get in with 2 losses but need resume boosters.

 

[skilz]

Both are great coaches, however, I would not put Saban in the same category as Geno. Geno has more coaching ability and personality! Although Saban has settled down a little in his old age, he was always a jerk (to say it politely) to players and staff.

 

[Martin]

Alright, I’ll go there. Since Geno doesn’t pay for players; no discussion. ???

 

[huskyd]

Geno has been tempted to go pro (?), and Saban actually did--with the Miami Dolphins. Nick was 9-7 and 6-10 in his 2 seasons with Miami. At the time (2004), Saban said he was committed to the 'Fins, then promptly went to the college game (Alabama 2007) when offered the chance. To say he left a bad taste in everyone's mouth in south Florida is accurate.
However you regard his college career with the Tide, there was the sense of failure with Miami--or at least the feeling of unfinished business.

 

[j66kicker]

Alright, I’ll go there. Since Geno doesn’t pay for players; no discussion. ???

Ah, yes - the good old SEC, where Cam Newton turned down $180,000 from Ole Miss to go to Auburn. As Charles Barkley famously said (regarding MBB), “Auburn will be competitive as soon as LSU gets under the salary cap.”