re: If Nick Saban hadn't been hired at Alabama, would AU be where they are?

I've said it before...Nick Saban is the best thing to ever happen to Auburn Football. I don't mean that in a Bama-centric kind of way. What I mean is that Saban raising the bar at Alabama caused Auburn to raise the bar for themselves. Much to a lot of Bama fans' surprise, AU didn't return to the Barfield days.

Credit to AU for that. They didn't just roll over and take it. Anytime they feel like they are slipping too far behind Saban/UA, they make a move to correct it.