quote:
So Saban came in and in four years he completely turned around a forgotten LSU program with no national recognition into a national championship program. He did it with sound coaching. He didn’t cheat or pay players.

But three years later at Alabama he started cheating and paying players and that is the only reason Alabama won.

If you're going to try and discredit my opinions, at least target them accurately.

I did NOT say that Nick (and/or LSU) didn't pay players. I said that I don't believe they did during his initial few years. I believe that because, again, he wasn't a tier-1 coaching candidate that we stole away from another powerhouse program. He hadn't established his bona fides as the GOAT yet.

I also didn't say that the only reason Alabama won was because Nick cheated and was paying players.

Given that Bama was a historically strong football school, it was inevitable that team would flourish with him at the helm. With or without the REC and their well-greased bagman network, Bama with Nick would have been a tough competitor in the SEC.

That's completely different than saying the only reason Bama won was because they bought players (which they did). It's not the only reason they won; but it IS the reason why they won so damn much during the 15 years of Saban's heyday as coach of the Tide.

And let's be clear about how this whole mud-slinging fest got started: an interview with the now-retired Saban bemoaning how NIL and the portal have changed CFB for the worse (his opinion). That's what I took offense to. He happily played that dirty game for 15 years to give his team that extra edge - and never uttered so much as a silent fart about it as long as it gave his team an advantage.

He didn't care until NIL and the portal put every other team on the same level playing field as Bama. So now, an area Bama had dominated under Saban and the REC's fleet of barbers and bagmen was was equally available to all teams.

And that makes him sad. Boo Hoo.

FWIW, I won't take a single thing from Nick's record, both at LSU and Bama. He's an outstanding coach, and he's proved it beyond doubt.

I just think it's disingenuous of him to piss and moan that something Bama consistently and blatantly did during his tenure is now poisoning the game.

That's a pretty pissy attitude to hold, given Bama's history with those practices since the time of the Bear.

So do better, friend, with your comments.