Started By
Message
11 years ago today, Nicholas Lou Saban accepted the offer to be Alabama's 27th head coach
Posted on 1/3/18 at 3:24 pm
Posted on 1/3/18 at 3:24 pm
Let me post this story about how Saban became the Alabama coach to remind SEC fans why Mal Moore is a legend and one of the all-time greats.
LINK
quote:
At some point Tuesday, Moore also talked to Sexton. According to an article by ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, their conversation went like this:
“Jimmy, we’ve been talking about this for a month,” Moore said. “He won’t even meet with me. We’ve got to make this happen.”
“Mal, just be patient with him,” Sexton said. “You’ve got to hang in there. Do not get on that plane and go back to Tuscaloosa.”
“Don’t worry,” Moore said. “I’m taking this plane to Cuba if Nick Saban isn’t on it.”
But something within him, something fierce, a seed of determination that was planted long ago in Dozier, Ala., that sprouted as a backup quarterback under Bear Bryant, that blossomed as an assistant coach and grew to full stature as an athletic director, kept him there that day. Instead of returning from the front lines with his tail between his legs, the old soldier made one last run.
Finally, after waiting outside the gates of Oz for nearly two days, Terry Saban buzzed him in. Mal, the frosty-haired, seasoned recruiter, put on his best sell as he and Terry chatted over lunch. “I like to think that she and I hit it off that day,” Mal wrote in Crimson Heart. “At least that’s the way I remember it.”
But Nick Saban was nowhere to be found. Terry informed Mal over lunch that her husband was at the Dolphins’ office, conducting his annual year-end meeting with the players. Terry invited Mal back for dinner later that night.
That afternoon, Saban phoned his wife to tell her that he was staying with the Dolphins. But after Terry insisted that he at least meet with Mal, Saban finally relented.
That Tuesday night — Day 36 — the Sabans gathered in their living room with Mal Moore. Bundling his decades of recruiting savvy into one terrific recruiting spiel, Mal convinced Nick Saban to leave his superlative gig with the Dolphins and come to Alabama.
And although the exact details of that conversation will never be revealed, Terry Saban provided a bit of insight to the personal qualities and potent words of Moore that signaled the tipping point.
"It was Mal Moore's soft approach, fatherly advice, sweet Southern charm ... 'I'm here for you ... come back home ... back to where you belong ... you are a college coach ... we need each other ...' His siren songs were in my ears and I made sure Nick heard them. The three of us stood in our living room in tears, acknowledging that our hearts were still in college and that there was not a number that Wayne could throw out to us that would make us reconsider what was the best thing for our family, not double, not triple. It was never about that."
And while there will always be regrets for not having finished the way we like to, we could not turn our backs on Coach Moore and the opportunity he presented to us that may never come along again, the challenge we both loved, to turn around a college program rich in tradition and history, to get back to our roots where we both fit more comfortably, and to do it with a great fan base and a father-like figure in Mal Moore, who understood the challenges of building a program and was willing to give Nick what he needed within the structure to make it work. Mal trusted Nick that he had the rest of what it took to make it happen ... the work ethic, the football knowledge, the solid base of values on which to build a program without cutting corners."
-Terry Saban
LINK
This post was edited on 1/3/18 at 3:26 pm
Posted on 1/3/18 at 3:26 pm to Bench McElroy
quote:
Let me post this story to remind SEC fans why Mal Moore is a legend and one of the all-time greats.
Before he landed Saban there wasn't a single Alabama fan in the country who wanted him to keep his job.
He was seen as a failure of an AD due to Albert Means, Franchione, Mike Price, and Mike Shula. But that one hire, the only one he ever got right, made him a legend and one of the all-time greats.
Posted on 1/3/18 at 3:27 pm to Bench McElroy
Great year to announce a retirement, imo.
Now time to become the biggest mercedes dealer in the world.
Now time to become the biggest mercedes dealer in the world.
Posted on 1/3/18 at 3:28 pm to Bench McElroy
If Mal Moore was so brilliant why didn't he hire Saban from Mich State?
Posted on 1/3/18 at 3:30 pm to Bench McElroy
"Enjoy him while he's there bammers. He'll be gone in three years."
--TigerDroppings
--TigerDroppings
Posted on 1/3/18 at 3:31 pm to Rantavious
quote:
If Mal Moore was so brilliant why didn't he hire Saban from Mich State?
It's really difficult to fire a coach who had just won the SEC.
Posted on 1/3/18 at 3:33 pm to Rantavious
quote:
If Mal Moore was so brilliant why didn't he hire Saban from Mich State?
Because Michigan State is a great program, a soldier standing up to the chimp-lovers at the University of Michigan, and only a trashy program would try to steal their coach.
Posted on 1/3/18 at 3:34 pm to randomways
quote:
Because Michigan State is a great program, a soldier standing up to the chimp-lovers at the University of Michigan, and only a trashy program would try to steal their coach.
Posted on 1/3/18 at 3:34 pm to Rantavious
quote:
If Mal Moore was so brilliant why didn't he hire Saban from Mich State?
Bama was coming off an SEC Championship season and was a favorite to win the national championship the following year when LSU hired Saban from Michigan State.
Posted on 1/3/18 at 3:35 pm to RollTide1987
The point is....
Is that it is pretty easy to identify a good coach after he has won an NC.
Is that it is pretty easy to identify a good coach after he has won an NC.
Posted on 1/3/18 at 3:37 pm to Rantavious
I do credit the OP for mentioning the Albert Means embarrassment.
At least Auburn gives the money to the family.
At least Auburn gives the money to the family.
Posted on 1/3/18 at 4:10 pm to Rantavious
quote:
If Mal Moore was so brilliant why didn't he hire Saban from Mich State?
At that time, he didn't have the chest to fire a championship winning coach.
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News