re: Why does everyone think Dabo would leave Clemson for Alabama?

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no, my point is Alabama won a lot of titles in an era when things were different, there were less programs that were competitive. i agree Alabama is one of the better places to coach if goal is to win titles but in my opinion a good coach can be succesful at any large university in the south if he is a good recruiter and coach.

Saban won a title at LSU, then he coached in NFL. he was able to use both to market Alabama to recruits, and then when he won his first title at Bama, he could then use that and the recruiting got even better. it is about the coach, not the school itself in my view.

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You're just never going to get it. Alabama has won titles in almost every era. It's about more than being a helluva recruiter and coach. You have to start with an organization that is committed at every area to being the best. How many of those schools in the South will spend $500,000 for a S&C coach? $125,000 each for zero gravity tread mills? Hire former head coaches just to sit in the booth and study film and help game plan? Alabama continues to be at the forefront.

Why did Alabama hire Dubose? Why did the New York Yankees hire Bucky Dent and Stump Merrill? Even the greatest sports franchises make bad hires, and just being one of the greatest franchises ever doesn't mean you don't have down periods. To merely say that a great coach like Saban could be successful at just any great Southern university is incredibly shortsighted and naive. If that's the case, why didn't Spurrier even win an SEC championship at South Carolina? Before you can hire a Nick Saban, you have to have the money, the resources, and the will to pay him what he wants, give him the budget to hire who he wants, and to spend whatever necessary to provide the very best in facilities and equipment. Then you have to be willing to give him complete control and stay out of his way. Not every school...even the top tier in the SEC...is willing to do that. You have to have a culture that demands and expects the highest in terms of production, just as the Yankees always have.

Name me one SEC school...just one...since Saban was hired at Alabama that had an opening, targeted the absolutely best coach there was, and then put on an all out blitz to go hire the guy. Saban wasn't on the job market. So what? Alabama went and got him anyway. No other SEC team as an organization has the ability to do that. Tennessee could have gone after Saban after 2005. Everyone knew Fulmer was past his prime. Would George Steinbrenner have stuck with Fulmer after 2005? Hell no. Look at what has happened in recent years at LSU and Auburn and those coaching searches. Both fired national championship winning coaches. Would anyone even attempt to argue that they targeted the very best coaches and then threw everything at them to entice them to come?