re: Nick Saban has changed college football

I can't speak for what happened with Wade and Thomas, but I was around when Bryant and Stallings left and no one said that Bama would sink to mediocrity "forever."

People DID say that they would be hard (impossible, in Bryant's case) to replace.

And in each case, Bama endured a spell of relative mediocrity (1983-1989 and 1997-2006) until they got a really competent coach on board.

I expect to see the pattern repeat when Saban leaves.