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Blake Toppmeyer (USA Today sportswriter) disrespects Saban & wife in his latest article.
Posted on 3/18/24 at 11:12 am
Posted on 3/18/24 at 11:12 am
After listening to Nick Saban bemoan the direction of college football during a congressional hearing last week, I feel more certain Saban made the right decision to retire.
A hallmark of Saban’s greatness was his ability to evolve – if sometimes begrudgingly – to changes within the sport. But adjusting to a landscape in which players enjoy more power, freedom and compensation than ever before became the straw that broke the GOAT’s back.
“All the things I believed in for all these years, 50 years of coaching, no longer exist in college athletics,” Saban, 72, said on the Hill. “It’s always been about developing players. It was always about helping people be more successful in life.”
It’s not about that anymore? Not
at all? That’s hard to believe.
I’m supposed to think a coach can’t develop players just because athletes collect booster dollars and they can transfer freely? A coach no longer can help athletes find success?
Consider me skeptical.
What Terry Saban told Nick Saban about NIL
If Saban doesn’t think he can help college athletes anymore, then he’s right where he needs to be: Out to pasture.
Saban added that his wife, Terry, also found the coaching enterprise to be less fulfilling after NIL arrived.
“She came to me right before I retired and said, ‘Why are we doing this?’” Saban told lawmakers. “I said, ‘What do you mean?’ She said, ‘All they care about is how much you’re going to pay them. They don’t care about how much you’re going to develop them, which is what we’ve always done.’ ” Where is it written that a coach can’t develop players who are paid? If the only way you can help people is if they’re trapped within your program, unable to transfer without penalty, then maybe you should reevaluate your leadership style.
My employer pays me wages. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t be writing this, I can assure you. I can change jobs without penalty if I so desire. But my bosses still can develop me and help me.
Here’s what changed for Saban: The good ol’ days, as the Sabans viewed them, ended a few years ago when coaches were stripped of omnipotence after the dawn of NIL, coupled with the removal of transfer penalties.
Players and boosters enjoy more power than ever.
You don’t have to like NIL collectives, but the Supreme Court and federal antitrust law stand in the way of the NCAA reverting to a time when athletes couldn’t earn money.
NIL, transfers reduced coaches’ power, control
I believe Saban when he says he’s OK with players earning some coin, but I think he’d like to control how the players are compensated and the relative amount they’re compensated. He wants to control every facet of his enterprise. He says he’s up for revenue sharing with athletes. He’s down with NIL collectives.
He’s clearly uncomfortable with boosters acting as general managers, cutting checks to acquire and retain talent.
Saban’s opinion isn’t unique. Ask someone around his age for their thoughts on what has become of their profession, and they’ll probably tell you it used to be much better. I’m not just talking about coaches. Do this in any profession.
I’ve lost count of how many former journalists tell me the industry used to be so much better back in the day. I’m sure you hear it in your line of work, too.
In some cases, it’s true that things might have been better back in the day. Heck, I’d like a piece of those gluttonous expense accounts of which retired journalists tell tales.
In other cases, things just changed. For the better? For the worse? Depends who you ask. You adapt, you endure, or you quit. Saban quit. He earned that right. Absolutely, he did. You won’t hear me grumble about how much Saban earned during his coaching career. In a pure business sense, he was worth every penny – and more – to Alabama. Not just to the football program. To the university at large.
So, Saban should enjoy the fruits of his hard labor. Live it up a little in his retirement mansion at the beach. Play some golf. Flip a few burgers on the grill. Read a Grisham novel.
Do anything but coach. Saban lost the appetite for that once college sports evolved to the point where he just couldn’t stand the framework.
Saban claims that what he believes in no longer exists in college football, so it was time to go.
Time for Saban to put his feet up and make way for a new generation of coaches who might still think you can develop and help young athletes, even if they’re earning booster dollars and aren’t strapped to a program by transfer restrictions.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s SEC columnist.
A hallmark of Saban’s greatness was his ability to evolve – if sometimes begrudgingly – to changes within the sport. But adjusting to a landscape in which players enjoy more power, freedom and compensation than ever before became the straw that broke the GOAT’s back.
“All the things I believed in for all these years, 50 years of coaching, no longer exist in college athletics,” Saban, 72, said on the Hill. “It’s always been about developing players. It was always about helping people be more successful in life.”
It’s not about that anymore? Not
at all? That’s hard to believe.
I’m supposed to think a coach can’t develop players just because athletes collect booster dollars and they can transfer freely? A coach no longer can help athletes find success?
Consider me skeptical.
What Terry Saban told Nick Saban about NIL
If Saban doesn’t think he can help college athletes anymore, then he’s right where he needs to be: Out to pasture.
Saban added that his wife, Terry, also found the coaching enterprise to be less fulfilling after NIL arrived.
“She came to me right before I retired and said, ‘Why are we doing this?’” Saban told lawmakers. “I said, ‘What do you mean?’ She said, ‘All they care about is how much you’re going to pay them. They don’t care about how much you’re going to develop them, which is what we’ve always done.’ ” Where is it written that a coach can’t develop players who are paid? If the only way you can help people is if they’re trapped within your program, unable to transfer without penalty, then maybe you should reevaluate your leadership style.
My employer pays me wages. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t be writing this, I can assure you. I can change jobs without penalty if I so desire. But my bosses still can develop me and help me.
Here’s what changed for Saban: The good ol’ days, as the Sabans viewed them, ended a few years ago when coaches were stripped of omnipotence after the dawn of NIL, coupled with the removal of transfer penalties.
Players and boosters enjoy more power than ever.
You don’t have to like NIL collectives, but the Supreme Court and federal antitrust law stand in the way of the NCAA reverting to a time when athletes couldn’t earn money.
NIL, transfers reduced coaches’ power, control
I believe Saban when he says he’s OK with players earning some coin, but I think he’d like to control how the players are compensated and the relative amount they’re compensated. He wants to control every facet of his enterprise. He says he’s up for revenue sharing with athletes. He’s down with NIL collectives.
He’s clearly uncomfortable with boosters acting as general managers, cutting checks to acquire and retain talent.
Saban’s opinion isn’t unique. Ask someone around his age for their thoughts on what has become of their profession, and they’ll probably tell you it used to be much better. I’m not just talking about coaches. Do this in any profession.
I’ve lost count of how many former journalists tell me the industry used to be so much better back in the day. I’m sure you hear it in your line of work, too.
In some cases, it’s true that things might have been better back in the day. Heck, I’d like a piece of those gluttonous expense accounts of which retired journalists tell tales.
In other cases, things just changed. For the better? For the worse? Depends who you ask. You adapt, you endure, or you quit. Saban quit. He earned that right. Absolutely, he did. You won’t hear me grumble about how much Saban earned during his coaching career. In a pure business sense, he was worth every penny – and more – to Alabama. Not just to the football program. To the university at large.
So, Saban should enjoy the fruits of his hard labor. Live it up a little in his retirement mansion at the beach. Play some golf. Flip a few burgers on the grill. Read a Grisham novel.
Do anything but coach. Saban lost the appetite for that once college sports evolved to the point where he just couldn’t stand the framework.
Saban claims that what he believes in no longer exists in college football, so it was time to go.
Time for Saban to put his feet up and make way for a new generation of coaches who might still think you can develop and help young athletes, even if they’re earning booster dollars and aren’t strapped to a program by transfer restrictions.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s SEC columnist.
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Posted on 3/18/24 at 11:29 am to coachcrisp
quote:
My employer pays me wages. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t be writing this
But what do they do to develop you as a writer?
quote:
But my bosses still can develop me and help me.
How do they help you develop as a writer? All they are doing is writing you a check for you to do what you already know how to do (which you probably learned by going to college) and that is write paragraphs
Posted on 3/18/24 at 11:35 am to coachcrisp
People are forgetting how much the value is of a full scholarship, room & board, free books, unlimited free food, no utility bills.
Saban has said he supports NIL, just not a player being an employee of the school.
People will really be upset if these players become employees of a school and start getting fired for not being productive.
Saban has said he supports NIL, just not a player being an employee of the school.
People will really be upset if these players become employees of a school and start getting fired for not being productive.
Posted on 3/18/24 at 12:34 pm to coachcrisp
These people cannot seem to see the forest for the trees. Unfettered NIL and transferring is clearly not good for the sport, and there needs to be some kind of actual structure. That's all Saban is lobbying for, and that is what the vast majority of college sports fans want. Its quite simple, but there are people who want to make it a matter of hypocrisy or contradiction. Saban is being neither of these things, and this guy's argument is very poor.
Posted on 3/18/24 at 1:11 pm to coachcrisp
The heart of Saban's issue is that the value of the degree and personal growth as a player and young man (committed to a process of team first values, self-development, humility, hard work, a willingness to accept personal responsibility, listen and learn, etc.) Have been on the decline for years. Now, the power imbalance, focus and rules have completely killed it.
I genuinely believe Saban loved winning, but he also loved setting tough, yet supportive, conditions for young men to be truly successful in life, which transcends money and sports.
The false analogies and other fallacious argumentation throughout the article are ridiculous. His writing career and professional development as a writer are apples to oranges to coaching young student-athletes playing a team sport. The larger issue is that any semblance of being a "student-athlete" are completely removed. Any chance to build and sustain a team oriented culture, let alone a roster, are severely inhibited. Already challenged athletic department budgets will only be further strained.
The NIL money is not the issue in and of itself. The transferring out freedom on top of it creates an unsustainable situation. The diversion of donations to collectives takes away AD funds. It needs to be fixed, or the sport will be severely setback.
Waiting to see hard data on grad rates and APR. That will get the school administration attention.
I genuinely believe Saban loved winning, but he also loved setting tough, yet supportive, conditions for young men to be truly successful in life, which transcends money and sports.
The false analogies and other fallacious argumentation throughout the article are ridiculous. His writing career and professional development as a writer are apples to oranges to coaching young student-athletes playing a team sport. The larger issue is that any semblance of being a "student-athlete" are completely removed. Any chance to build and sustain a team oriented culture, let alone a roster, are severely inhibited. Already challenged athletic department budgets will only be further strained.
The NIL money is not the issue in and of itself. The transferring out freedom on top of it creates an unsustainable situation. The diversion of donations to collectives takes away AD funds. It needs to be fixed, or the sport will be severely setback.
Waiting to see hard data on grad rates and APR. That will get the school administration attention.
Posted on 3/18/24 at 5:34 pm to coachcrisp
quote:
USA Today sportswriter
Stopped reading here.
Posted on 3/18/24 at 6:34 pm to coachcrisp
quote:
In other cases, things just changed. For the better? For the worse? Depends who you ask.
No it doesn't. Outside of shills in the media who know that keeping this sport popular is their livelihood, no one speaks positively about the state of college football. Every single fan you talk to is unhappy with conference realignment, unregulated NIL, and the transfer portal.
Posted on 3/19/24 at 6:20 am to coachcrisp
quote:
My employer pays me wages. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t be writing this, I can assure you. I can change jobs without penalty if I so desire. But my bosses still can develop me and help me.
These assholes don’t get it. His bosses aren’t preparing him for his next job or for life. That’s the job that a cfb coach.
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