The 2006 coaching search would make one hell of a documentary series.

Truly was wild. I think Mal was either coming back from Miami with Saban or without a job.

It would be especially interesting if people knew the truth behind it.

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It would be especially interesting if people knew the truth behind it.

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Reads like you'd like to expound upon this post.

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I think Mal was either coming back from Miami with Saban or without a job.

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We’ll probably never get the full story because doing so would really show how the sausage is made but Saban was already coming. Mal going down there was a formality. He had already met with a few BOT members who had flown down to Miami to shore things up weeks before Mal went down there. This was also the early days of Facebook/social media and if anyone had checked Kristen Saban’s Facebook page, they would’ve found her posting about how she’ll miss Miami days before Mal’s visit.

This was also prime Finebaum years in Alabama where everyone tuned in to the show. Nobody had even mentioned Saban and Alabama in the same breath before….until the Monday after the UT game. That’s when a gentleman called into Finebaum and said that he sat in a box in Neyland with a very prominent agent and Tennessee alum who received a call in the second half from a former SEC coach who said he wanted the Alabama job. Finebaum asked the caller if he was talking about Saban and Sexton, and the caller said “yes” then hung up. The drumbeat for Saban started right there and message boards & such exploded with the idea of getting Saban to Alabama. I’m not a conspiracy nut but absolutely believe that caller was a Sexton plant that wanted to get the ball rolling on public opinion.

After the Mississippi State game, PB Jr. called other BOT members to his box where he made it clear that Shula was done and they had to get Saban.

The RichRod offer is still kind of a cloudy. I think the public story on that one is true. UA had cold feet about waiting until January for Saban. The very next day, Saban and UA were negotiating again.

Again, we’ll never know the true story but it’s much more than Mal sitting in the kitchen trying to convince Miss Terry.