Friday, August 15, 2008

The Most Powerful Coach in Sports


When you think about the most powerful coaches in sports, I think of a few names like Carroll, Holmgren, Belichick, or even a guy like Bill Cowher who could walk into any AD's or GM's office and get a job head coahing job.

So I was surprised to see that Forbes selected Nick "the quick" or "the savior" Saban, Alabama's head coach. Nick Saban, born in West Virgina (I guess where all great head coaches are born) coached for one year as the head coach of Toledo in 1990 then moved over to the defensive coordinator for the Browns under Belichick. In 1995, Saban left the Browns to become the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans and after 4 years of mediocre results (he was 9-2 in 1999 before he left) he packed his bags again, this time for SEC becoming the head coach for The LSU Tigers. Stating he wanted to recruit in a state where he was the #1 school.


Nick found success at LSU with the highlight being the National Championship in 2003 with SEC Championships in 2001 and of course in 2003. Well, all things come to an end when your a team under Nick and a year after winning the National Championship, Nick "the quick" moved to the NFL to coach the Dolphins.


Nick didn't find much success in the NFL going 9-7 in his first year (2005) and missing the playoffs, then in 2006 having his worst year as a head coach with a 6-10 record. Then Alabama called and we all know what happened; he was staying, then he was leaving, then he left. After two years as Head Coach of the Dolphins, Nick was back in college and cashing in on a 8 year contract for $32 million, making him the highest paid coach in college sports.


Nick finished 2007 at Alabama 7-6 with a win over Colorado in the Independence Bowl. There was also a pretty strong rumor that he was interested in the West Virgina job after RR left for Michigan. I guess we will never know if that was true or not.


So what exactly makes him the most powerful coach in sports? The one national championship or the two SEC Championship? Maybe it's having 5 high profile head coaching positions? Maybe it's his wallet? Either way, I don't agree with the choice. Saban can coach, but the most powerful? If you look back, his only real successful job was one at the one at LSU, MSU had mediocre results during his time there, The Dolphins job was a total disaster, and it's too early to tell at Bama.


Nick took it on the chin for his time with the Dolphins. When asked whether Saban was "a raging fraud", Hall of Fame coach Don Shula responded, "What other conclusion can you draw? The guy likes to hear himself talk and then doesn't follow up on what he says.


Not a good choice Forbes. Maybe Phil Jackson or Coach K but not Nick Saban.

Here's another two college coaching lists from Forbes:
Top Under Paid Coaches (or best values):
1) The Vest
2) Mike Riley, Oregon State
3) Jim Grobe, Wake Forest
4) Pete Carroll, USC
5) Frank Beamer, Virgina Tech
Worst College Football Coaches For The Buck:
1) Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
2) Greg Robinson, Syracuse
3) Charlie Weis, ND
4) Ralph Friedgen, Maryland
5) Al Groh, U of V

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