re: In-depth look at Mal Moore's 38-day recruitment of Nick Saban

quote:

---

The SDS story most closely resembles the story as I heard it straight from the horses mouth. The one thing that was sort of implied but not stated is that Rich Rod or someone in his inner circle deliberately sabotaged the deal he had struck with Mal.

Coach Moore went to his grave believing that he had reluctantly made a deal with Rodriguez and when RR got cold feet (Rita maybe?) he leaked the agreement which MM had expressly and strictly forbidden. MM had warned him before he left Tuscaloosa that if word got out before the official announcement, the deal was off. I don't know why, I don't think there WAS a good reason why. I think it was a trap set by CMM. Sure enough, when he arrived back in Morgantown, the deal was leaked.

In many ways, I think Mal had set him up, banking on RR or someone close to him leaking it so he didn't have to go through with the hire. Mal liked RR ok, but he was not his top candidate (obviously). But Coach Moore was being pressured greatly to land a coach. People in high places were getting nervous and feeling embarrassed because the scuttlebutt was Alabama couldn't find anyone that wanted the job. That certainly wasn't the case, but Mal knew he had to get this one right. Another mediocre coach producing less than stellar results would have resulted in possible damage to the program's reputation. Alabama: the latest version of Ole Miss or Nebraska; a program who's day in the sun was over. That type of thing is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

So after the shite hit the fan with the RR hire (who was favored by a clique of power brokers who had pushed and helped arrange the meeting), it allowed MM to recoup some leverage and he used it to tell the higher ups "let me do my job and get MY guy." You know the rest. That SDS story is a good read and very accurate to the version I was told. Thanks.

---