Here's a Q&A with Nick Saban that I pulled off the Dawgbones site. It gives good insight as to where he'd like to take the Fins. Have patience, folks. It takes time and a season and a half just isn't long enough. Look at Lovie Smith... Besides I look forward to seeing the Pats and Fins go head to head.
Can you imagine when the Fins really get clicking? Give Saban a chance, that's all.
Joined: 12 Jun 2005
Posts: 4564
Location: Florida
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 8:16 pm Post subject: Nick Saban conference call 11.16.05
(On how players are responding to the loss against the Patriots) – “We had a good day’s work today. I was really pleased with the way the players bounced back. They had a pretty positive attitude about what we have to do to try to get this thing turned around. We really played well in the game. I think we didn’t finish the game. The last three minutes of the game were not what we needed them to be in terms of giving up big plays in the two minute (drill), as well as taking the ball down in the two minute and not being able to finish first-and-six at the six (yard line). You’ve got to give the Patriots credit for making the plays that they needed to make, but I also think that there were positives in terms of what we were able to accomplish and how we played in the game. We also have to be concerned about the fact that we need to finish our games, play for 60 minutes and make the plays that we need to make in a critical time in the game to be successful.â€Â
(On working under Bill Belichick and with Phil Savage in Cleveland in the early 1990s) – “First of all, I had a great experience at Cleveland. Those four years were difficult years. We worked very hard. We were a new staff with a new head coach. We had some real quality people on our staff who have gone on and done well. The systematic approach that we used during those four years got us, in 1994, to where we were a pretty good football team. Some of that has served me very well through the years as a head coach, in terms of systems, organization, work ethic, attention to detail and all that type of stuff. Phil Savage was the absolute best assistant that I have ever had, in terms of a guy who helped in what we were trying to build and what we were trying to do. It was a difficult task for all of us. Phil absolutely did the best job of anybody I’ve ever had do that for me. It’s not surprising to see him do so well in what he did as a personnel guy in the various stops that he’s made. Now, to be a general manager, I’m not at all surprised by it and know that he’ll do a fantastic job there.â€Â
(On Braylon Edwards’ statement that the Dolphins told him they were drafting him with the No. 2 pick) – “I never said that. I don’t know who in this organization did say it. I never talked to Braylon or his agent. I would apologize to anyone involved in the circumstance for whoever in this organization did that. What we said was that there were three playersâ€â€Braylon was one of themâ€â€that we were interested in taking with the second pick of the draft. We really didn’t decide which player that would be until the morning of the draft, actually. Obviously, one of those players was picked, and we didn’t have the opportunity to pick him, but we had to pick between the two guys (Ronnie Brown and Edwards). I would say that if we think a guy is one of the best three players in the draft, that’s putting him in a pretty high status in terms of what we felt about him. You’re in some pretty tall cotton, relative to the other guys. We had nothing but respect for Braylon. I have nothing but respect for him and his family. I apologize to anyone who was misled by anyone in this organization who made that comment. I can only say that I didn’t make it, but I can only take responsibility and apologize for our organization if that did occur.â€Â
(On how the difficulties he faced with the Browns compare to his current situation) – “I want to be clear about the difficulty (in Cleveland). The difficulty was the work that we all did together to try to build the team. There wasn’t any difficulty with any personalities or relationships. I had great relationships with the people there. They treated me very well. I got along well with Bill (Belichick). We all did a lot of hard work together, and ’94 was a good season for us after three very difficult seasons. We have some of the same challenges here. I’m pleased, not with the results we’ve gotten to this point, but (with) what we’ve been able to do to this point. Certainly, we want to do everything that we can to turn the corner. No one is very patient. You’d like to do that as quickly as possible, but we’re going to stay focused on the process of what we need to do to continue to improve and get better so that we can play winning football. My message to the players is, ‘We want you to play winning football. We want you to be coachable so that we can continue to improve.’ We will get the results. We’re not that far off. We will get the results if we continue to do those things. I think that’s what everybody should stay focused on.â€Â
(On whether he’s surprised by the success Belichick’s Browns staff has attained) – “I’m really not. I’ve already talked about Phil (Savage), but I could name so many guys. Pat Hill has done extremely well. Al Groh has done extremely well. Kirk Ferentz has done extremely well. I’m sure I’m going to leave somebody out because I’m getting into all these names. Of the guys that were defensive assistants, (Scott) Pioli has done a great job. He’s done a fantastic job in personnel and administration (with New England). I think it says a lot about picking the right people. It was really important to being successful. That’s something that’s important. I hope I can do it as a head coach. I had some success doing it in college.â€Â
(On Gus Frerotte saying he would not be playing this weekend) – “I didn’t know that he said that. Maybe he did. I have no idea. I don’t know if he’s going to play or not. It’s a day-to-day situation. He’s questionable. Now he’s got swelling on his index finger where he hit it on a helmet in a game. He finished the game, and it didn’t seem to be a big problem. We’ll just see how the swelling goes, and we’ll see how it goes later in the week to make a determination of whether he can or can’t play and what role he will play in the game, relative to his physical ability.â€Â
(On working with Miami’s GM before taking over the role himself) – “I didn’t really know that he wasn’t going to be here. People assume things are going to happen, but I don’t assume anything. If anybody thinks that decision was made before it was made, they’re wrong. That’s not how it was at all. I think it’s appropriate to give somebody an opportunity and a chance, and then they decide whether they take advantage of that.â€Â
(On how working under Belichick helped him as a coach) – “It helped me as a head coach, period. Every opportunity and every experience that you have, you gain a tremendous amount of knowledge, not only in the good things that happen, but sometimes in the bad things that happen. All of those learning opportunities that we had during the Cleveland years, that was my first opportunity to have a position of responsibility in the National Football League. With that went more opportunities to learn and to be involved in the personnel like we were as coordinators there. It was also very helpful in understanding how we define what we wanted in players, how we identified that and the system that we used to do it. All those things have been tremendous assets, in terms of systematically trying to start a program here in Miami.â€Â
(On his ongoing relationship with Belichick while coaching in the college ranks) – “I would certainly see Bill as the mentor, in terms of how he’s helped me, because I’ve learned a tremendous amount from him in a lot of different areas. I think the reason that we got together and talked was out of mutual respect for one another and the fact that we’ve been pretty good friends through the years. (We’ve) always had a good personal and professional relationship and have tried to help each other as much as we could. I personally see him as one of my mentors, and I think that’s really how it is.â€Â
(On why Belichick’s staff took four years to have a winning record in Cleveland) – “You try to build something in the right way. We were 5-2 in ’93 and didn’t really (finish well) for whatever reason. I think it takes time. We didn’t have free agency then until ’94. You had to build things through the draft. We had Plan B. The good thing about all of that was that if you had a good team, you could keep it that way, but it took a little longer to turn things around. We tried to do it the right way. We tried to build a good foundation, and we had a good football team in ’93 that didn’t win. Then, we finally won in ’94. There are a lot of factors, but I don’t think it was the people that were involved. It’s hard to win in this league if you don’t have a quarterback, and we went through all those issues in ’93. I’m not getting into them now. Before that time, we weren’t that good on defense, and we weren’t that good in the offensive line. The people that we had, we couldn’t support. It just takes time to build. I just think that’s the process we all went through. I’m sure we made some mistakes along the way in what we could have done better, but I don’t think it’s unusual to take a few years to get things turned around.â€Â
(On what kind of difference having the right coaching staff can make) – “I think that the right people can certainly overcome a lot of obstacles, but I think any institution or organization has to make a commitment to being successful. When Don James came to Kent State, the university made a commitment to that. He was the right guy at the right time. He was a great guy and certainly another mentor of mine as a coach. I almost got out of coaching in ’87. I was so down-and-out after we won the Rose Bowl at Michigan State (when) I was the defensive coordinator and I tried to get the Kent job. I said, ‘I’ll never get a head coaching job. I’ll never go anywhere in this business. If I can’t get the Kent State job, I’ll never get anything.’ One of my buddies said, ‘Sometimes, the best deals you make are the ones you don’t.’ I don’t know, maybe it worked out good. Sometimes, there’s a silver lining in everything. I would certainly like to have the opportunity to be the coach at Kent State because it’s my alma mater. I did then, and I would now because I have a place in my heart for that school and what that school did for me to help me be successful. I hope that they are successful someday. Iâ₄¢ve got a lot of pride in what we were able to do in winning a championship when I was there, and I’d like to see them do it again.â€Â
(On having a mostly veteran defense) – “We had a very old defense to start with. Some of the guys retired. Some of the guys couldn’t play anymore. Basically, with the salary cap issues that we had, we got the players that could help us the most. I think Kevin Carter is the (oldest), and I don’t think 31 is too old to be a defensive lineman. He has played very well for us. Vonnie Holliday is 29. The other guys we filled in with because they were available and we needed players. We didn’t have a lot of money, and there weren’t guys available that we could get. We’ve been pleased with the way those guys have performed for us. It was not a matter of trying to take shortcuts. That was the option that was available to us, and it was the best decision that we could make at the time. That’s the reason we did it. It’s been helpful to us, at least for now, to try to play and perform well so that we have a chance to win.â€Â
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Can you imagine when the Fins really get clicking? Give Saban a chance, that's all.
Joined: 12 Jun 2005
Posts: 4564
Location: Florida
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 8:16 pm Post subject: Nick Saban conference call 11.16.05 (On how players are responding to the loss against the Patriots) – “We had a good day’s work today. I was really pleased with the way the players bounced back. They had a pretty positive attitude about what we have to do to try to get this thing turned around. We really played well in the game. I think we didn’t finish the game. The last three minutes of the game were not what we needed them to be in terms of giving up big plays in the two minute (drill), as well as taking the ball down in the two minute and not being able to finish first-and-six at the six (yard line). You’ve got to give the Patriots credit for making the plays that they needed to make, but I also think that there were positives in terms of what we were able to accomplish and how we played in the game. We also have to be concerned about the fact that we need to finish our games, play for 60 minutes and make the plays that we need to make in a critical time in the game to be successful.â€Â
(On working under Bill Belichick and with Phil Savage in Cleveland in the early 1990s) – “First of all, I had a great experience at Cleveland. Those four years were difficult years. We worked very hard. We were a new staff with a new head coach. We had some real quality people on our staff who have gone on and done well. The systematic approach that we used during those four years got us, in 1994, to where we were a pretty good football team. Some of that has served me very well through the years as a head coach, in terms of systems, organization, work ethic, attention to detail and all that type of stuff. Phil Savage was the absolute best assistant that I have ever had, in terms of a guy who helped in what we were trying to build and what we were trying to do. It was a difficult task for all of us. Phil absolutely did the best job of anybody I’ve ever had do that for me. It’s not surprising to see him do so well in what he did as a personnel guy in the various stops that he’s made. Now, to be a general manager, I’m not at all surprised by it and know that he’ll do a fantastic job there.â€Â
(On Braylon Edwards’ statement that the Dolphins told him they were drafting him with the No. 2 pick) – “I never said that. I don’t know who in this organization did say it. I never talked to Braylon or his agent. I would apologize to anyone involved in the circumstance for whoever in this organization did that. What we said was that there were three playersâ€â€Braylon was one of themâ€â€that we were interested in taking with the second pick of the draft. We really didn’t decide which player that would be until the morning of the draft, actually. Obviously, one of those players was picked, and we didn’t have the opportunity to pick him, but we had to pick between the two guys (Ronnie Brown and Edwards). I would say that if we think a guy is one of the best three players in the draft, that’s putting him in a pretty high status in terms of what we felt about him. You’re in some pretty tall cotton, relative to the other guys. We had nothing but respect for Braylon. I have nothing but respect for him and his family. I apologize to anyone who was misled by anyone in this organization who made that comment. I can only say that I didn’t make it, but I can only take responsibility and apologize for our organization if that did occur.â€Â
(On how the difficulties he faced with the Browns compare to his current situation) – “I want to be clear about the difficulty (in Cleveland). The difficulty was the work that we all did together to try to build the team. There wasn’t any difficulty with any personalities or relationships. I had great relationships with the people there. They treated me very well. I got along well with Bill (Belichick). We all did a lot of hard work together, and ’94 was a good season for us after three very difficult seasons. We have some of the same challenges here. I’m pleased, not with the results we’ve gotten to this point, but (with) what we’ve been able to do to this point. Certainly, we want to do everything that we can to turn the corner. No one is very patient. You’d like to do that as quickly as possible, but we’re going to stay focused on the process of what we need to do to continue to improve and get better so that we can play winning football. My message to the players is, ‘We want you to play winning football. We want you to be coachable so that we can continue to improve.’ We will get the results. We’re not that far off. We will get the results if we continue to do those things. I think that’s what everybody should stay focused on.â€Â
(On whether he’s surprised by the success Belichick’s Browns staff has attained) – “I’m really not. I’ve already talked about Phil (Savage), but I could name so many guys. Pat Hill has done extremely well. Al Groh has done extremely well. Kirk Ferentz has done extremely well. I’m sure I’m going to leave somebody out because I’m getting into all these names. Of the guys that were defensive assistants, (Scott) Pioli has done a great job. He’s done a fantastic job in personnel and administration (with New England). I think it says a lot about picking the right people. It was really important to being successful. That’s something that’s important. I hope I can do it as a head coach. I had some success doing it in college.â€Â
(On Gus Frerotte saying he would not be playing this weekend) – “I didn’t know that he said that. Maybe he did. I have no idea. I don’t know if he’s going to play or not. It’s a day-to-day situation. He’s questionable. Now he’s got swelling on his index finger where he hit it on a helmet in a game. He finished the game, and it didn’t seem to be a big problem. We’ll just see how the swelling goes, and we’ll see how it goes later in the week to make a determination of whether he can or can’t play and what role he will play in the game, relative to his physical ability.â€Â
(On working with Miami’s GM before taking over the role himself) – “I didn’t really know that he wasn’t going to be here. People assume things are going to happen, but I don’t assume anything. If anybody thinks that decision was made before it was made, they’re wrong. That’s not how it was at all. I think it’s appropriate to give somebody an opportunity and a chance, and then they decide whether they take advantage of that.â€Â
(On how working under Belichick helped him as a coach) – “It helped me as a head coach, period. Every opportunity and every experience that you have, you gain a tremendous amount of knowledge, not only in the good things that happen, but sometimes in the bad things that happen. All of those learning opportunities that we had during the Cleveland years, that was my first opportunity to have a position of responsibility in the National Football League. With that went more opportunities to learn and to be involved in the personnel like we were as coordinators there. It was also very helpful in understanding how we define what we wanted in players, how we identified that and the system that we used to do it. All those things have been tremendous assets, in terms of systematically trying to start a program here in Miami.â€Â
(On his ongoing relationship with Belichick while coaching in the college ranks) – “I would certainly see Bill as the mentor, in terms of how he’s helped me, because I’ve learned a tremendous amount from him in a lot of different areas. I think the reason that we got together and talked was out of mutual respect for one another and the fact that we’ve been pretty good friends through the years. (We’ve) always had a good personal and professional relationship and have tried to help each other as much as we could. I personally see him as one of my mentors, and I think that’s really how it is.â€Â
(On why Belichick’s staff took four years to have a winning record in Cleveland) – “You try to build something in the right way. We were 5-2 in ’93 and didn’t really (finish well) for whatever reason. I think it takes time. We didn’t have free agency then until ’94. You had to build things through the draft. We had Plan B. The good thing about all of that was that if you had a good team, you could keep it that way, but it took a little longer to turn things around. We tried to do it the right way. We tried to build a good foundation, and we had a good football team in ’93 that didn’t win. Then, we finally won in ’94. There are a lot of factors, but I don’t think it was the people that were involved. It’s hard to win in this league if you don’t have a quarterback, and we went through all those issues in ’93. I’m not getting into them now. Before that time, we weren’t that good on defense, and we weren’t that good in the offensive line. The people that we had, we couldn’t support. It just takes time to build. I just think that’s the process we all went through. I’m sure we made some mistakes along the way in what we could have done better, but I don’t think it’s unusual to take a few years to get things turned around.â€Â
(On what kind of difference having the right coaching staff can make) – “I think that the right people can certainly overcome a lot of obstacles, but I think any institution or organization has to make a commitment to being successful. When Don James came to Kent State, the university made a commitment to that. He was the right guy at the right time. He was a great guy and certainly another mentor of mine as a coach. I almost got out of coaching in ’87. I was so down-and-out after we won the Rose Bowl at Michigan State (when) I was the defensive coordinator and I tried to get the Kent job. I said, ‘I’ll never get a head coaching job. I’ll never go anywhere in this business. If I can’t get the Kent State job, I’ll never get anything.’ One of my buddies said, ‘Sometimes, the best deals you make are the ones you don’t.’ I don’t know, maybe it worked out good. Sometimes, there’s a silver lining in everything. I would certainly like to have the opportunity to be the coach at Kent State because it’s my alma mater. I did then, and I would now because I have a place in my heart for that school and what that school did for me to help me be successful. I hope that they are successful someday. Iâ₄¢ve got a lot of pride in what we were able to do in winning a championship when I was there, and I’d like to see them do it again.â€Â
(On having a mostly veteran defense) – “We had a very old defense to start with. Some of the guys retired. Some of the guys couldn’t play anymore. Basically, with the salary cap issues that we had, we got the players that could help us the most. I think Kevin Carter is the (oldest), and I don’t think 31 is too old to be a defensive lineman. He has played very well for us. Vonnie Holliday is 29. The other guys we filled in with because they were available and we needed players. We didn’t have a lot of money, and there weren’t guys available that we could get. We’ve been pleased with the way those guys have performed for us. It was not a matter of trying to take shortcuts. That was the option that was available to us, and it was the best decision that we could make at the time. That’s the reason we did it. It’s been helpful to us, at least for now, to try to play and perform well so that we have a chance to win.â€Â
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