quote:
What's different is that it has become public. Texas (or to be specific a Texas booster -- not the AD, a booster) tried to feel Saban out last year around this time by calling Sexton. The year before (I think that's right), it was, apparently, the Cleveland Browns doing the same thing.

But it didn't play out in public.

It took some months after the season for all the i's to be dotted and t's crossed, but there wasn't all this anxiety because it was behind the curtain.

Because Texas' previous approach to Sexton (and, again, a Texas booster's approach, not the actual university) became public knowledge, there is a lot of light on this now.

Texas has fumbled this whole situation from a PR perspective and Mack has been able to play the victim without really having to do anything. The comments from the UT boosters, i.e. McCombs, have been irresponsible and they come off as a bunch of bragging buffoons, despite their very real access to tons of money. Just very poor judgement and decision-making to this point by the 'Horns leading to the perception of a dumpster fire in Austin.

JMO, but it would seem to me that Saban still cares about how he is perceived nationally and is still bothered seven years later by the hits his reputation took when he left Miami. He has largely repaired that rep with his success at Bama and is on his way to cementing his legacy as one of the greatest HCs in history.

Would he be willing to sacrifice his rehabilitated reputation in order to start over somewhere that...has no problem fricking over a successful HC because he didn't win enough, and at a program that has historically underachieved despite seemingly unlimited resources?

And, at a program that has tweaked the conference rules and alignment in the past to tip the scales, so as to have an unfair advantage over the other teams in their conference? And they still can't win championships with regularity?

He would have no guarantee of success at UT and he would have a lot less time to rehab his rep all over again due to his age.

This post was edited on 12/13/13 at 5:08 pm