Merged: Art Shell for President, Saban's Miami Coaching Staff, etc

[Agua]

Okay, WHAT is there to decide for Saban?

The deal he wants, with the team he wants, is out there. His lawyer would not have spent yesterday with Huizenga and then the phins send a public offer to the guy if Sexton hadn't indicated that the offer was going to work.

He's got to realize no one is going to fool with him, ever again, if he turns this down. It's now or never in the NFL for him.

Seriously. Is he trying to figure out if he has the guts to compete in the NFL? Is it the chance that he would look like a collosal failure if he doesn't succeed?

I can't figure out what the guy has to think about, unless its the fear of failure v. small town comfort where he's the king of all he surveys.

 

[KB21]

Isn't that a good reason?? Or better yet....

Can anyone name a successfull COllege coach that moved to the NFL and had success?? I can't think of one...

Yes.

Let's start with some from the past:

Sid Gillman
Don Coryell
Chuck Fairbanks
Bill Walsh
Dick Vermeil

Some that are more recent

Jimmy Johnson
Dennis Green
Bobby Ross
Tom Coughlin
Steve Marriuci

Barry Switzer wasn't exactly a failure either. He did take over a team with the talent Jimmy acquired, but he still won a Superbowl and had winning records. Even though Switzer was a stooge for Jerry Jones, I believe even he grew tired of Jones's act.

When you look at the college coaches that failed, outside of Butch Davis, all of them were career college coaches that had no NFL experience. Guys like Lou Holtz, Dennis Erickson, and Mike Riley. I think people should consider the situation Butch went into as well. He took over a team that was lacking talent pretty much everywhere, and the biggest mistake he made was that he hired his Miami buddy Pete Garcia to run the front office instead of getting a qualified NFL guy. Nick Saban won't make that mistake.

Looking at the college to NFL head coaches that were hired in the 90s (counting Jimmy, who was hired in '89)

Johnson has two Superbowl Championships. Green took his Vikings team to the NFC Championship. Bobby Ross took the Chargers to the Superbowl. Switzer has a Superbowl Championship. Marriuci took the 49ers to the playoffs in all but 2 of his seasons there. Coughlin took the Jaguars to the AFC Championship. There is a lot of success between those 6 coaches, and I'll bet that if you looked at the statistics of the coordinators/assistants that were promoted, you will find that their success rate is not 60% like the college to NFL head coach's.

 

[CrunchTime]

There is always the risk he will look bad if he swaps his cushy job for a high risk proposition like coaching an NFL team.My guess is that he will do it.

 

[KB21]

Switzer won that title with JJ's team. Look how they fell apart because of Jones' arrogance and Switzers incompetence.

Plus, you never saw Shula chowing down on a hot dog on the bench during a game, even if it was the Pro Bowl :roflmao:

It's more Jones than Switzer. Jones is even pushing Parcells to the boiling point over Drew Henson. Jones wants Henson to play, and Parcells does not like what he has seen in Drew Henson to the point that he feels the team needs to draft a quarterback in the first round.

 

[Canadianfishfan]

Likely when is the BEST time to make a formal announcement. Today... tomorrow... next week. I think Sabans current responsibilities have an affect on when and how the announcement is made.

 

[DrAstroZoom]

Hey..I'm not doubting the guy..I'm just not that familiar with what he's done..WHat Pro job did he hold in the league? Was he successfull? And isn't Saban defensive minded? I though we were in desperate need of Offense.

He was a secondary coach for the Oliers for two years in the late 80s and was Cleveland's defensive coordinator from 91-94.

By the way, the Sun-Sentinel readership has a bit of a differing opinion:

Should the Dolphins hire Nick Saban as coach?

70.8%
Yes, he's the biggest name out there (6590 responses)

29.2%
No, successful college coaches usually fail in the NFL (2720 responses)

9310 total responses

 

[Dolphin Dan]

I hear ya. this should be DONE by now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[nighttrain76]

with guys like spurrier and switzer failing it gives way to the stereotype that a good college coach is not a good pro coach.

heck...even pitino, calipari...it doesn't work out sometimes and people are skeptical.

When did switzer fail????:shakeno:

 

[phinfan2003]

Who voted?

Probably fans of other teams that don't want Saban in Miami.

Look at the comments guys like Bill Polian, Gil Brandt, Bill Belichick, George Perles, and Don Shula have made about him.

I don't think you can even do that. That would be like me being an owner of a company and asking your friends what they think about you and whether you'd be a good employee in my company. Most would give a glaring endorsement. For good example of that, think back to comments made Peyton Manning and others such as Tony Dungy about Foerster when he became OC. The truth is nobody really knows how good or bad he will be. Which makes me wonder why we would give 5 mil. a year to a coach that we are clearly taking a calculated risk on.

 

[KB21]

Jim Bates deserves a head coaching job as much as any other assistant in the league, but that Cleveland situation is a complete mess. The only way Bates would succeed in Cleveland is if they get themselves a strong general manager like Phil Savage.

 

[phinfan2003]

When did switzer fail????:shakeno:

I think it's pretty clear that Switzer wasn't a good NFL coach he simply just had a team with so much more talent than his competition. That is why he was gone shortly after the talent was being matched by the rest of the league and he couldn't win anymore.

 

[WestPhish]

The fact that Saban has limited NFL experience does bother me somewhat. Has he been an NFL assistant, yes...a head coach? No. I hope and pray that Saban has the tools to turn this program around. I think I would have been more at ease if they hired Art Shell.

Change is good, let's see what happens.

 

[GCS VP]

Isn't that a good reason?? Or better yet....

Can anyone name a successfull COllege coach that moved to the NFL and had success?? I can't think of one...

Steve Mariucci

 

[Canadianfishfan]

Lets be honest.. REAL NFL people. People who make their living in football.. give him props. Although we may be informed fans. we still dont have privy information, and the contacts to make a "expert analysis".
We get all our information from media outlets. And as seen in the past few days... every single story has been posted a bazillion times with different headlines from different sources.
Now I think that fans either want him or they dont...But that their right to choose and have an opinion. But he has NFL experience. He's been successful on many different levels. And he is a valid candidate like any other.
My reasoning for that is that Holmgren in Seattle is a SB winning coach... and he hasnt brought the SB to Seattle. Vermeil is a SB winning coach, and he hasnt brought the SB to K.C.. J.J. was a SB winning coach, and he didnt bring one here. I guess my point is you never know what you're going to get. and Saban is as good as any.

 

[GCS VP]

Steve Walsh.

Pete Carroll wasnt as bas as some make him out to be.


If Saban does turn us down....

Then Im fine with giving Bates a Two year deal,and Spielman another draft.

Either way I think were in good shape.