re: Why is Nick unable to succeed in the NFL?

This was my favorite anecdote:

quote:

---

In “organized team activities” (OTAs) that spring, Saban had the entire team line up for sprints. He blew his whistle, and everyone took off ... except for Keith Traylor, a nose tackle who weighed at least 350 pounds. According to some of his teammates, Traylor—then a 14-year NFL veteran and winner of three Super Bowls—had a clause in his contract that relieved him of conditioning duties. So, instead of sprinting with the rest of the team, Traylor set off on a leisurely jog. When he realized that Saban was eyeing him, Traylor began to taunt him, yelling, “Hey, Nick! Hey, Nick!” Traylor knew, as the rest of his teammates did, that Saban hated being called “Nick” by his players. He wanted them to address him as “Coach” or “Coach Saban,” just as his college players always had.

Traylor kept yelling, “Hey, Nick!” Finally, Saban snapped and told him to shut the hell up and run.

Traylor responded: “Who the frick do you think you’re talking to?” and ambled over to the sideline and stood and watched as his teammates ran their sprints.

---

You know he had to be pissing off the veterans to make a 14 year veteran go out of his way to troll the head coach.

quote:

---

He quit the Dolphins because their medical staff made him take Culpepper over Brees.

But you already knew that so keep trolling.

---

quote:

---

Except it's actually the truth.

---

From the Miami Herald

quote:

---

Saban, ever the competitor, wanted to get out front of the Saints so he and his wife flew to Alabama to meet Brees and his wife for dinner. Saban fell in love with Brees. The coach was certain Brees was his guy.

The two agreed that Brees, who had already scheduled a visit in New Orleans first, would come to South Florida afterward.

---

quote:

---

Everything seemed cool but the next day weirded Brees out. He was reportedly subjected to a six-hour physical that centered, of course, around his surgically repaired shoulder. To this day, I am not certain whether or not the Dolphins made Brees an offer. A good source close to Brees insisted Miami did, although it was a lowball offer.

---

quote:

---

Months later, when Brees was lighting up NFL secondaries and Culpepper was benched, I requested a private interview with Saban to ask, basically, what was going through his cotton-pickin' mind when he picked Culpepper over Brees.

This was the answer he gave me:

''Let me just say this,'' he said in addressing the subject directly for the first time, ``It was a medical decision. I don't think medicine, personnel or any of that is an exact science. I think we have good, professional people in that area. I think they made the best judgment they could make at the time relative to the circumstances. No one could predict the future. It is what it is right now.''

Saban explained that he preferred Brees primarily because getting him didn't include giving up a draft pick. But he said the medical staff's recommendation was not only that Culpepper would have a better chance of recovering in time for the 2006 season than Brees but also that Culpepper would have a smaller chance of sustaining a reinjury.

---

NICK SABAN made the choice. The medical staff just advised him about what they thought about the chances of re-injury. Saban had the owner in his pocket and could do what he wants.

Stop acting like it wasn't Saban's call to not pay Drew Brees.