re: If Saban Were To Retire or Leave Within 2 Years...

I'm not sure why so many Bama fans are down on Smart. He's not a guaranteed success, granted, but it would be foolish not to give him a shot after training under, and apparently meeting completely, Saban's standards. It's always nerve-wracking taking an assistant who hasn't proven his bona fides as an HC, but there's no coach in the country who knows how Saban operates and thinks better than Smart. Plenty of coaches have tried to emulate The Process, and naturally so, but there's a difference between watching it from outside and experiencing it personally from within the system. He's no Saban, granted, but what reasonable potential replacement is? It'd be foolish for Bama's administration not to give very real consideration to promoting the protege most steeped in Saban tutelage. If he doesn't work out, fine...y'all can replace him with a bigger name. But the potential payoff if he does work out cannot be blithely ignored, especially since Saban clearly trusts Smart's abilities.