All along I've scoffed at the 'Saban to Texas' stories. Not anymore. *link*

[SoonerPride]

Saban is going to end up at Texas.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--nick-saban-special-pressure-at-alabama-after-texas-longhorns-report-031023078.html

[UteSooner]

I'll believe it when I see it.

[Bourbon St Sooner]

Some of you may think I'm crazy, but I would actually welcome Saban at texass. It would make the B12 relevant again. It would help our recruiting because players not only want to play for Saban, they want to play against Saban. It would mean Stoops could no longer waltz through the B12 playing overmatched squads and outwitting Mack. He'll have to seriously evaluate whether the assistants he has on hand are the right guys to get us where we want. And winning the B12 would likely mean NC appearances again.

Besides, I have faith that Saban at texass will not lead to the bounty of titles that have accompanied him at bama, because they're texass. Doing less with more is what they do.

[JohnS]

And the best part, Baylor would still be higher ranked!

[olevetonahill]

Sorry Saban aint going to Saxet, Briles already hand picked for that job.

[Mjcpr]

Sorry Saban aint going to Saxet, Briles already hand picked for that job.

That's no good either.

[SoonerMarkVA]

Some of you may think I'm crazy, but I would actually welcome Saban at texass. It would make the B12 relevant again. It would help our recruiting because players not only want to play for Saban, they want to play against Saban. It would mean Stoops could no longer waltz through the B12 playing overmatched squads and outwitting Mack. He'll have to seriously evaluate whether the assistants he has on hand are the right guys to get us where we want. And winning the B12 would likely mean NC appearances again.

Not crazy at all. I have the same thoughts. Getting Saban to ut would be the next best thing for forcing OU to get its edge back to actually moving to the SEC. I love conference titles and all, but it's like we've won a basketful of silver medals and the result has been, "Hey, that's pretty good. Why rock the boat?" I would trade all those conference titles without an NC for one more year painted on the press box.

[CincySooner]

It would definately be an interesting time if Saban did make the move. The conference would have to either get better or perish.

The old proverb says that Iron Sharpens Iron, but the trick is to make sure you are actually made of iron.

[70sooner]

so riddle me this, if he has special pressure on him a Bama, WTF does he think he'll have in Austin????

if things don't go right, they will turn on him in a NY second....

[BoulderSooner79]

so riddle me this, if he has special pressure on him a Bama, WTF does he think he'll have in Austin????

if things don't go right, they will turn on him in a NY second....

He would do fine in Austin. He could kick back a bit, smoke a doobie and be comfortable winning 10 games/yr. It worked well for Brown until he pulled that 5-7 season; that was a no no.

[rock on sooner]

so riddle me this, if he has special pressure on him a Bama, WTF does he think he'll have in Austin????

if things don't go right, they will turn on him in a NY second....

That special pressure has something to do with Nat'l champs three out
of the last four years, being top ranked right now and every Bama fan/
booster expects four out of the last five.

Mack is extended til 2020 and told those "unofficial" feelers that he didn't
want to leave. I expect Bama to play Oregon or Ohio St in the big game.
If Bama wins, Saban tells his agent he's ready for the Whorns and Mack is
an extremely wealthy former coach at Texas and moves on to the broadcast
booth. Saban, in turn, will be the extremely wealthy current coach at Texas,
$6-8 million a year. With the inherit draw that Austin has for footballers, in
three years or less, Texas will win it all, 'cause Saban can flat out coach!

[Mac94]

Texas would push hard for Saban ... but I have a hard time imagining Saban dealing with the media requirements that come with the Texas job. LHN cameras following him around ... the shows he'd have to be a part of ... I think his head would explode.

[yermom]

if desperate Texas is just getting played for Saban to get a raise, now THAT would be funny

[Herr Scholz]

I'm feeling some 'special pressure' in my pants. I think I have my next year's fantasy football name.

[BoulderSooner79]

Remember, his wife was just searching for vacation property. Horn fans are going to be in for a shock when they discover that Saban considers this his retirement job. (Cut back on hours, kick-back, take time to smell the roses, etc.)

[Herr Scholz]

if desperate Texas is just getting played for Saban to get a raise, now THAT would be funny
Quite possible. That's what agents do.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

So anyone see Nick Saban doing 3 coach's shows a week including breaking down game film of the next opponent and providing notes on what they need to do to win?.....Of all the things that people say maybe, maybe not, I don't see Saban interested at all in being a part of the Longhorn Network.

[BoulderSooner79]

If Saban made it an employment condition that the LHN be shutdown, the LHN would be shutdown.

[badger]

Remember, his wife was just searching for vacation property. Horn fans are going to be in for a shock when they discover that Saban considers this his retirement job. (Cut back on hours, kick-back, take time to smell the roses, etc.)

Hell, Mack Brown has been in retirement mode ever since they lost to Bammer in 2009 (technically 2010). One good retiree deserves another

[BoulderSooner79]

BTW, it this little distraction in some way help under-powered and over-rated LSU pull an upset this weekend, it will have served a noble purpose.

[KantoSooner]

He would do fine in Austin. He could kick back a bit, smoke a doobie and be comfortable winning 10 games/yr. It worked well for Brown until he pulled that 5-7 season; that was a no no.

The concept of Little Nickie Satan smoking a doob is so perfect in its absurdity that yours is a strong candidate for post of the decade. I think if he smoked any weed the effect on his brain would be something like a matter/anti-matter colision. His brain would explode and the world would cease to exist.

[badger]

BTW, it this little distraction in some way help under-powered and over-rated LSU pull an upset this weekend, it will have served a noble purpose.

but...but...sec... :P

[BoulderSooner79]

The concept of Little Nickie Satan smoking a doob is so perfect in its absurdity that yours is a strong candidate for post of the decade. I think if he smoked any weed the effect on his brain would be something like a matter/anti-matter colision. His brain would explode and the world would cease to exist.

I was trippin' when I posted, I must admit.

[picasso]

He doesn't tend to stay at one place for very long.
Wouldn't surprise me.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

He doesn't tend to stay at one place for very long.
Wouldn't surprise me.

He's been at Alabama longer than anywhere, normally he bails right as he runs out of the previous regime's recruits. The big problem is that he would have a hard time twisting the rules into a pretzel at Texas. I just can't see him getting away with oversigning and all of the other stuff that the SEC looks the other way at.

[badger]

He's been at Alabama longer than anywhere, normally he bails right as he runs out of the previous regime's recruits.

According to Wikipedia:

Michigan State: 1995-1999
LSU: 1999-2004
Miami Dolphins: 2004-2006
Alabama: 2006-current

I know that you get a pass on pretty much everything if you've won 4 crystal balls, but it's interesting to note that his first season everywhere except Toledo (a one-off in 1990 for 9-2) have had 6 (Michigan State), 7 (Alabama) and 8 (LSU) wins. Nothing earth shattering if you expect immediate first-season results for maximum dollar.

Bama is paying him right now like he's going to win them No. 5 (and he very well might). If Texas were to pay him equal or more, they should only expect a 7 or 8-win season, not his sixth crystal football. I'll lean towards 8 since college season is now 12 games sans bowl.

[KantoSooner]

I was trippin' when I posted, I must admit.

Ah. I understand. Just remember, peyote OR mescaline. not both at once.

[8timechamps]

Saban isn't going anywhere. Personally, I'd like to see Texas good again for all the reasons already mentioned. A good Texas program helps us in making the conference look better, and since we don't win a whole lot of one-on-one recruiting battles with Texas anyway, it would actually help bring in some recruits to play in a better conference.

This whole thing is orchestrated to get Saban a raise.

Think about it:

Saban is 62 years old. I don't see him being the next Joe Paterno, and I think he'll coach until he's ready to retire, and that's not going to be another 15 or 20 years. He knows what he has at Alabama. He knows he can continue to win big there until he's ready to retire. He knows he can retire "on top", which is not the case for most coaches. Why would he leave that (assuming he gets another pay raise), to go to what amounts to a rebuilding job?

Ten or 15 years ago, I might have believed he would make the move. Now, I don't think there's a chance.

I would love to see Briles in Austin next year. For the same reasons I mentioned above. The Big XII needs to get our big brands back on top, and that includes Texas.

[stoopified]

Saban ain't leaving Bama for Texas

[jiminy]

Just easy money for Saban, Texas offers him 8, Bama matches it, Saban stays and says thank you very much Texas. The only way he actually leaves IMO is if he thinks there are more rules violations to be discovered, to the extent of penalties.

[Scott D]

I wonder how Texas will feel to be to Saban what Michigan was to Leslie.

[8timechamps]

Remember, things have changed in the NCAA. Just because a coach leaves one school and takes a job at another, he is not bullet proof. If Saban left because he thought there was severe violations coming up for Bama, all of it would follow him to Texas. If anything, Texas would probably take a pass on Saban if they thought that was a possibility.

[cleller]

Doomsday scenario 1: Saban to Texas. Enough said.
Doomsday scenario 2: No Saban to Texas. Texas sucks Big 12 sucks, no recruits for yOU.

Hindsight scenario 1: Missouri?

Yeah, we blew it.

[8timechamps]

Doomsday scenario 1: Saban to Texas. Enough said.
Doomsday scenario 2: No Saban to Texas. Texas sucks Big 12 sucks, no recruits for yOU.

Hindsight scenario 1: Missouri?

Yeah, we blew it.

Really, it began with Nebraska and Colorado leaving. If the Big XII had known then what it knows now, they would have told Texas to take their Longhorn Network and shove it.

[cleller]

Really, it began with Nebraska and Colorado leaving. If the Big XII had known then what it knows now, they would have told Texas to take their Longhorn Network and shove it.

Was just talking about this with a friend who is an OSU alum. Texas really blew it up.

[8timechamps]

Was just talking about this with a friend who is an OSU alum. Texas really blew it up.

Yep. Not to hijack the thread, but had Texas not been so greedy, we'd still have a 12 member, very good conference.

[Herr Scholz]

The whole conference voted to have individual 3rd tier networks, including OU and the lying A&M aggies who later tried to claim unequal revenue distribution was terrible. UT wanted to have a conference network but nobody voted for it.

[badger]

Some are speculating that this is to distract Saban from the LSU game this weekend.

*Maybe* it's to distract Texas players as they travel to West Virginia this weekend? :D:D:D:D

[Temujin]

Saban isn't going anywhere. Personally, I'd like to see Texas good again for all the reasons already mentioned. A good Texas program helps us in making the conference look better, and since we don't win a whole lot of one-on-one recruiting battles with Texas anyway, it would actually help bring in some recruits to play in a better conference.

...

I would love to see Briles in Austin next year. For the same reasons I mentioned above. The Big XII needs to get our big brands back on top, and that includes Texas.

Honestly, Saban is enough of a megalomaniac to leave 'Bama for UT. Too many possibilities for me to be interested in commenting on that.

But both you and BoulderSooner mentioned that a "good" Texas helps us out. I respectfully disagree, and there are two distinctly different reasons why. The first reason is that I have no reason to ever want to see Texas win. I honestly hope that they go winless every season, and I would enjoy it immensely if they descended into the pre-1990s version of K-State. I would never regret it, either. I hate everything that Texas (not just the university, but the state as well) represents. I wish that they would just secede from the union already.

But second, a winning Texas program has NEVER been good for anyone but Texas. The problem is that Texas, while wealthy, is also retarded. They MUST have all their advantages in order to compete. So, because of their stupidity and their immense egos, they demand that they get all the unfair advantages that they can, because "we're Texas dammit". It's the philosophy of the entire state that they should get to do whatever they want. UT's history is littered with examples of them trying to box out other programs (including OU) from getting recruits from "their" state. In the SWC, they collaborated with other Texas-based schools to try and screw non-Texas schools from recruiting in their state. And wouldn't you know it, programs that weren't in Texas got tired of it and decided to walk out, middle fingers raised. Goodbye SWC.

The hilarious part of that story is that UT could only screw other SWC members with their collaborative rule-making, so Switzer took advantage of the hamstringing that the SWC was putting on itself and herded recruits out of Texas like droves of Bevos.

But for some dumb reason, the Big 8 didn't pay attention and welcomed UT with open arms. They assumed that having UT in the conference would increase the cachet of the league because of the money and prestige that presumably comes with being the largest school in the largest state. They didn't comprehend that UT never had any intention of competing fairly for the good of any conference. They're Texas dammit and everyone else must submit. But, for a while it worked - because UT was recovering from destroying the SWC and the Big 8 was riding the Nebraska/OU wave to success. Then UT got good again. The result? We're Texas dammit!

Here we are, over a decade and a half later, and what WAS a conference that could easily rival the SEC has been reduced to begging for few scraps from other dead conferences just to survive. The key component in the failure of the Big 12? That's right, UT. They tried to pull one over on the conference with the LHN and broadcasting HS games, and also insisting on the lion's share of funds from TV contracts. And once again, other programs in the conference had enough and left, middle fingers raised. UT did it again, it destroyed another conference.

The worst part is that OU enables Texas. We're so traditional in Oklahoma that we fear the prospect of seeing an admittedly great rivalry end. And Texas NEEDS us to feel that way. Hell, they need us period. That's why in many of the conference negotiations, UT upheld that OU was just as deserving of more of the conference cash pool. But, if OU were to spurn Texas the way that Nebraska, Missouri, and A&M have done, Texas would have to go independent - and that would SUCK for Texas, especially now that the CFB world is turning toward playoffs. No, having OU attached at the hip actually gives Texas more credibility and more leverage than they would have otherwise.

I'm not advocating the end of the RRS, of course. But the reality is that we voluntarily hitched our wagon to a dying horse in this last round of conference shakeups. The sad part is that perception now is that WE need UT. We don't, and we never have. They need us more WAY more than we need them, so that they can maintain an image of "brotherhood" while in they background they work to gain every unfair advantage possible. No, of course UT doesn't break the rules. They're not the SEC. Instead, they just try to change the rules so that it benefits them the most.

And the thing that blinds us the most to these realities? Winning. Yep, we own Texas on the field right now (for the most part), so we don't care. We have our rivalry, and our Cotton Bowl tradition, and we come out on the winning end more often than we don't. And that's "good enough". My only concern is that at some point UT is going to get out of its own way and is actually going to get what they want. And that's not good for anyone but Texas.

Anyway, rant over.

[EatLeadCommie]

Saban isn't going anywhere. Personally, I'd like to see Texas good again for all the reasons already mentioned. A good Texas program helps us in making the conference look better, and since we don't win a whole lot of one-on-one recruiting battles with Texas anyway, it would actually help bring in some recruits to play in a better conference.

This whole thing is orchestrated to get Saban a raise.

Think about it:

Saban is 62 years old. I don't see him being the next Joe Paterno, and I think he'll coach until he's ready to retire, and that's not going to be another 15 or 20 years. He knows what he has at Alabama. He knows he can continue to win big there until he's ready to retire. He knows he can retire "on top", which is not the case for most coaches. Why would he leave that (assuming he gets another pay raise), to go to what amounts to a rebuilding job?

Ten or 15 years ago, I might have believed he would make the move. Now, I don't think there's a chance.

I would love to see Briles in Austin next year. For the same reasons I mentioned above. The Big XII needs to get our big brands back on top, and that includes Texas.

Yep. And Briles isn't going to Austin either.

I don't think Saban wanted this coming out now, though. I think Dodds leaked it so that if they end up landing Saban, he'll get some credit for it and not his successor. Although I think Dodds doesn't even step down until next summer or fall, he doesn't want to be perceived as powerless or apathetic, and he has a legacy to secure.

[EatLeadCommie]

Honestly, Saban is enough of a megalomaniac to leave 'Bama for UT. Too many possibilities for me to be interested in commenting on that.

But both you and BoulderSooner mentioned that a "good" Texas helps us out. I respectfully disagree, and there are two distinctly different reasons why. The first reason is that I have no reason to ever want to see Texas win. I honestly hope that they go winless every season, and I would enjoy it immensely if they descended into the pre-1990s version of K-State. I would never regret it, either. I hate everything that Texas (not just the university, but the state as well) represents. I wish that they would just secede from the union already.

But second, a winning Texas program has NEVER been good for anyone but Texas. The problem is that Texas, while wealthy, is also retarded. They MUST have all their advantages in order to compete. So, because of their stupidity and their immense egos, they demand that they get all the unfair advantages that they can, because "we're Texas dammit". It's the philosophy of the entire state that they should get to do whatever they want. UT's history is littered with examples of them trying to box out other programs (including OU) from getting recruits from "their" state. In the SWC, they collaborated with other Texas-based schools to try and screw non-Texas schools from recruiting in their state. And wouldn't you know it, programs that weren't in Texas got tired of it and decided to walk out, middle fingers raised. Goodbye SWC.

The hilarious part of that story is that UT could only screw other SWC members with their collaborative rule-making, so Switzer took advantage of the hamstringing that the SWC was putting on itself and herded recruits out of Texas like droves of Bevos.

But for some dumb reason, the Big 8 didn't pay attention and welcomed UT with open arms. They assumed that having UT in the conference would increase the cachet of the league because of the money and prestige that presumably comes with being the largest school in the largest state. They didn't comprehend that UT never had any intention of competing fairly for the good of any conference. They're Texas dammit and everyone else must submit. But, for a while it worked - because UT was recovering from destroying the SWC and the Big 8 was riding the Nebraska/OU wave to success. Then UT got good again. The result? We're Texas dammit!

Here we are, over a decade and a half later, and what WAS a conference that could easily rival the SEC has been reduced to begging for few scraps from other dead conferences just to survive. The key component in the failure of the Big 12? That's right, UT. They tried to pull one over on the conference with the LHN and broadcasting HS games, and also insisting on the lion's share of funds from TV contracts. And once again, other programs in the conference had enough and left, middle fingers raised. UT did it again, it destroyed another conference.

The worst part is that OU enables Texas. We're so traditional in Oklahoma that we fear the prospect of seeing an admittedly great rivalry end. And Texas NEEDS us to feel that way. Hell, they need us period. That's why in many of the conference negotiations, UT upheld that OU was just as deserving of more of the conference cash pool. But, if OU were to spurn Texas the way that Nebraska, Missouri, and A&M have done, Texas would have to go independent - and that would SUCK for Texas, especially now that the CFB world is turning toward playoffs. No, having OU attached at the hip actually gives Texas more credibility and more leverage than they would have otherwise.

I'm not advocating the end of the RRS, of course. But the reality is that we voluntarily hitched our wagon to a dying horse in this last round of conference shakeups. The sad part is that perception now is that WE need UT. We don't, and we never have. They need us more WAY more than we need them, so that they can maintain an image of "brotherhood" while in they background they work to gain every unfair advantage possible. No, of course UT doesn't break the rules. They're not the SEC. Instead, they just try to change the rules so that it benefits them the most.

And the thing that blinds us the most to these realities? Winning. Yep, we own Texas on the field right now (for the most part), so we don't care. We have our rivalry, and our Cotton Bowl tradition, and we come out on the winning end more often than we don't. And that's "good enough". My only concern is that at some point UT is going to get out of its own way and is actually going to get what they want. And that's not good for anyone but Texas.

Anyway, rant over.

Nail, meet head.

[BoulderSooner79]

...
But both you and BoulderSooner mentioned that a "good" Texas helps us out.
...



I hope I didn't say that.

[Temujin]

I hope I didn't say that.

LOL, it was Bourbon St. Sooner. Sorry.

[PalmBeachSooner]

I'm feeling some 'special pressure' in my pants. I think I have my next year's fantasy football name.

Just remember to wipe front to back, not side to side.