re: Had Saban stayed at LSU....

I think many people underestimate the lessons Saban learned during his tenure with the dolphins then back to Bama. He changed defenses from a 4-3 while at LSU to a 3-4 at Bama. I'm not sure that Saban's evolution from a great coach to an elite coach would've happened if he stayed in the same place. Plus, "the process" was wearing on a lot of players in 2004--not sure that he could've kept it up/kept the players buying into it for another 10 years.