Speaking of Little Debbies, wasn't there another story of him going ape**** over someone getting him the wrong Little debbies. Of all the stories like this I've heard, this Jeno James one tops them all. What an absoloute 1st class A-hole.
I vaguely remember that as well. But I want to hear more. I want to save them all in my "I Hate Nick Saban" portfolio so that I can tell Alabama fans why their coach is the devil.
Hmm maybe Charlie Daniels should do a new version of his classic song. The Devil Went Down To Bama .... I want royalties , should be a best seller in the other SEC locales.
Wow, I always thought it was bad, and he was a prick... but I didn't think it was that bad. Damn. Glad this POS isn't here anymore.. Shame he's back to coaching college kids now though. Hate to think he's teaching, and coaching kids and acting like that. Damn...
There are only about five or maybe six depending on how you feel about Rivers, elite quarterbacks in the NFL. It is unbelievably rare to have had a genuine shot at acquiring even ONE of those guys at a time when you clearly needed a quarterback. Nick Saban has the unusual distinction of having left not one, but TWO of those elite quarterbacks standing at the altar at a time when his team was desperate for a quality quarterback. That's...special. Nick Saban was not cut out for the NFL. His coaching didn't work here, his decision making was poor, his ability to lead a staff was poor, his handling of the press was poor...the NFL was just not his thing. He belongs in college.
Yes he certainly proved that in Miami with an even worse record than Tony Sparano and by having the unusual distinction of having passed on two of only five or six elite quarterbacks in the NFL at times when the Dolphins were in need. He's the gift that keeps on giving.
Never mentioned his personnel decision making skills, simply his coaching. He's a great teacher and obviously a very good coach when you consider everything he's done for the defensive side of the ball.
Sorry, while I believe he is a great college coach and a great defensive mind, that isn't the most important thing for an NFL coach. You can get the Xs and Os from your coordinators. But when you treat people like that story indicates, you're not going to last long as the HC unless you have multiple SB wins under your belt already. This is the first we're hearing of that story, but I imagine that it's made the rounds and the public is just the last to hear of it. Most people here have reasonably concluded that he's a POS, I'm sure most players reached the same conclusion. That would mean that our talent pool would be limited to the draft and mercenary type FAs who had no better options. In the long term that would make winning more difficult. Behavior like that reflects badly on the organization and can be added to the list of embarrassments over the last several years. This organization has to separate itself from those days, by winning and by not being *******s. Saban being gone makes both of those more likely.
There's more to being a Head Coach than drawing up X's and O's on a chalkboard and teaching them in a class room or on the field. A lot more.
No, really? I had no clue. Clearly I was talking about specifically that, as I always do when I describe Saban as you well know.
On the Breese issue, Saban has said to other coaches at clinics, but not to the media, that the doctors failed Breese and pass 'Pepper. So he trusted the doctors and went with Dante. Then Saban had to stand on the sideline while Dante couldn't play and Breese is at NO lighting it up. Is that true? I don't know. But Breese of 'Pep wasn't even a question in my mind about who I would rather have had at that time. So to me it's plausible. I tend to look back positively on the Saban Era, but I am biased in that respect and uninformed on what was really happening behind the scenes, etc.
I believe that the only reason Saban passed on Brees is due to the medical opinions. I say "opinions" b/c Brees was sent to three separate doctors b/c Saban really wanted him. I think Saban is a POS and I'm glad he's gone, but I don't blame him for that decision.
The Dolphins consulted many 3rd party physicians on the nature of Brees' shoulder injury and most of the physicians said that Brees only had something along the lines of a 20 to 30% chance of returning at full strength. On the other hand the 3rd party physicians said that Daunte Culpepper had more like a 70 or 80% chance to come back. HOWEVER, the important thing to note (for me, anyway) is that in this case Nick Saban simply refused to trust the opinion of the guy that actually performed Brees' surgery and gave him a prognosis of full recovery. James Andrews not only had the best knowledge or what was actually going on inside that shoulder, and what he'd done to fix it, he's also considered the foremost expert in the field (by NFL people, anyway...hence the reason he performs all the surgeries). His opinion was the one opinion the Dolphins refused to listen to on Brees' shoulder. And if you think about it, that's vintage Nick Saban...if you can think of any reason whatsoever for the guy talking to you to lie, then assume he's lying.
I never heard that. My understanding was that Andrews was one of the physicians consulted. In fact, I thought he was the first one after the Dolphin medical staff. I thought it was his lukewarm prognostication of Brees' full recovery that lead them to seek more opinions. BTW I'm not saying you're wrong. I have no direct knowledge and I'm only going by what I recalled hearing back then. But you may remember from our debates that I was a big proponent of signing Brees so I was following this closely and that's what the rumors at the time said. I understood that Saban was looking for any respected doctor that would give him a positive prognosis and couldn't find a single one. Obviously, Andrews never said that his surgery was or would fail, but I thought he was the one that said that even if everything goes perfectly that there was still only a 20% chance that Brees returns.
I didn't say that they didn't talk to James Andrews. I said they didn't TRUST James Andrews. Big difference. I know that James Andrews gave Brees a prognosis of full recovery. I am about 99% certain that I read that. I can only speculate why they sought the advice of 3rd parties after that, but my speculation would be 1) Saban naturally mistrusts the opinion of the guy that did the surgery, and 2) The prognosis of full recovery itself is a strange prognosis given the injury he had, which the 3rd party doctors confirmed by being skeptical. The difference between the Dolphins and Saints was that the Saints were willing to believe James Andrews' prognosis and willing to believe in Drew Brees, believe that he would show extreme dedication in rehabbing the injury. They were right, we were wrong. Personally I was a fan of trading for Culpepper over signing Brees. I was a buyer of the 20% vs 80% prognosis argument. But afterwards is when I found out that James Andrews actually gave Brees a prognosis of full recovery.
Sometimes, you just have to have a little faith. If Nick Saban really wanted Brees, he should have signed him and taken the 25% chance. Here's Drew himself: http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/artic...n_qb_drew_brees_led_him_to_the_saints/2843209
I've read that before as well. The thing to note is how every time they focused on what the TEAM doctors were telling them about Drew's injury. Not what James Andrews was saying.
Here's the best I could find: http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2009/10/drew_brees_has_embraced_new_or.html
Here's another one: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/chu...r-saving-surgery-behind-saints-super-bowl-win
Drew Brees had surgery on his shoulder on January 5, 2006. When free agency opened in March, he flirted around with the Dolphins and Saints for a week, culminating in his signing a contract with the Saints on March 14, 2006. What these articles seem to all be implying is that when, on January 5th, James Andrews looked at the shoulder and performed surgery on it, he used the most anchors he'd ever used before, and even he was pretty uncertain of what the results would be. But then a few months later, BEFORE Brees started flirting with the Dolphins and Saints on the free market, Andrews continued checking on the progress of the shoulder, became convinced that he was seeing what he needed to see in order to proclaim a full recovery, and then fully endorsed Brees' recovery. So by the time the Dolphins consulted these six other doctors around the country, the guys who did NOT perform the surgery, they already had an opinion in hand from from the foremost sports surgeon in the country James Andrews, saying I believe based on the surgery and based on what I've seen after the surgery, that Drew Brees will make a full recovery. The Dolphins just didn't trust it.
Exactly, what people may not "get" is finding a Qb often times is as much about gut instinct as it it film or measurables or what have you, lil nicky took the "safe" route. When GB tossed Favre to the jest so Rodgers could play, was that the "safe" route?
I find no real issue with how Saban handled it. You have one well respected Dr. saying it's fine and then X number of other professionals in the same field telling you it's a very long shot. Saban isn't a doctor; he isn't going to become knowledgeable enough about the issue to make an informed decision on his own in the short period of time. He listened to the opinion of the majority of the professionals in the field that they consulted. To each his own. EDIT: Just to be clear. I understand that the one Dr. saying the shoulder was fine was the doctor that did the surgery.
As much as I hate Saban, I can't say he made an unreasonable decision. I do think, however, that I would have gone with Brees had I heard Andrews' prognosis. I posted several times that he was my top choice that year. I thought he had a level of leadership that separated him from Culpepper (I also always thought that Brees had elite accuracy and decision making). I thought Culpepper had superior ability to extend the play, but was behind Brees in the other three criteria I believe are most important. I've always preferred the QB who I feel will be a coach on the field.
