Saban is a great coach, and seems to be a good person. BUT he isn't perfect and won't always do what we all think is right. I've said it many times on these boards, we will not usually know the whole story. So while things can seem to be real clear for us on what "he should do" with Q. Williams and T. tillman (I wanted both of them cut myself).....we always have to keep that fact in the back of our minds. We just don't know what all is involved.
(Here comes my little coaches rant) :rofl3:
Even in my little High school football world, I have situations pop up between myself and players that people on the outside just don't get. For example, I caught a player in my program (non starter....played very little and prob never will) stealing another players Football shorts last season. I really wanted to boot the kid, but I knew that the varsity head coach (I was his Var OC and JV Head coach) had caught a varsity player doing the same a month earlier and allowed him to stay on the team with a warning that any more nonsense and he was gone. So I told him that I was going to give him another chance, made him return the shorts, apologize to the kid he stole from, and I made it clear if anything else happened he was gone. Well, the last week or two of the season sure enough he was involved in something pretty minor where he showed a staff member disrespect and so I booted him. A few players and a few parents (who had no idea what had happened earlier...and I never told them as it was none of their business) really raised a stink and tried to question my decision and pressure me to allow him back not knowing that he had already had his "chance" and blown it again being dishonest and disrespectful. To this day they have no idea of the whole situation and still think I was just being a hardazz.
In my earlier days coaching, I used to think I had to make sure I explained myself in those situations at the expense of anyone that had screwed up so that I wouldnt look bad. As time has gone on, I have come to realize that while there's something reasonable about that, I think that most players or parents that want to question a coach already have a lack of trust anyhow that really arent worth wasting any time on. Their attempt to question my decision for example is just their attempt to tear down my decision making and role on the team as the disciplinarian. I also think a coach shows character in that situation by not explaining himself. It's not their place to question us on how we handle team discipline. I doubt they understand the wedge they create when players or parent do question the coaches role on team discipline. No doubt it hurts the team. It causes a pause in action on the field in tight spots when the players dont trust you, it can creat doubts in what you do or how you do it. It can be very devisive. It all comes down to the fact that they either trust and respect the job you are doing or they dont.
Most of the time, problems that come up like this are presented by people that have an axe to grind anyhow. The same is true I think of alot of fans critics on their teams coaches. They lose faith or never had it, or didn't like something and so they look for opportunities to point fingers. :shakeno:
I bet I could come up with almost one story or another each week of a season that I as a coach have something exactly like what I described happen and people have no idea why I respond to this player or parent the way I do. I think thats why as a coach you just can't let what people think of you bother you or alter any decision that you make. Even if it costs you your position. Most the coaches I know nowadays, even the really successful in demand guys (not just the new young coaches) all have the understanding that there is a strong possibility they will someday get ran out of town or leave under fire. If your losing, the odds are just higher that it will happen sooner rather than later. I say this because nobody in truth honestly believes they don't have enough talent to be a winner. They all think that they have enough talent to win and complete for league titles year after year. Nobody, especially at the level I coach, has a reality based view on the team's talent from year to year. So if things are good its because the kids are so talented, and if things are tough its that the coaches are holding the players back.
With this in mind, I like the way Saban handles his situations. I really like the way he poses questions to the media that he thinks they are asking. What would you do? Who would you draft? I love it. Because he takes one little question and puts their question right in their lap. He's not being a wise azz when he asks those questions. He's simply saying, "things are not always so black and white in my world."
No doubt there will be many things that come up with Saban where we will wonder how in the heck he came to that decision, and think he's hard or soft, because we don't know whats going on behind closed doors. For example, I've read alot on the boards lately about how good V. Carey is and how he will start for us this year at LT. I think thats great. I really hope it happens and I think our new Offensive coaches are the best we've had in a long, long time. But I heard last year that V. Carey was so dumb coming into our organization that he "couldnt open a bag of Fig Newtons to save his life if he was starving." His overall understanding of his responsiblities was so low in a system so dumbed down (vanilla) that some wondered if he was our next "Eddie Blake"... So maybe, just maybe he shouldnt have been on the field last year. Maybe he was like MOST NFL OL and wasnt ready as a rookie to play. Maybe the staff knew a bit more than we give them credit for.
I'm learning alot from Nick Saban right now watching him handle the media and fans. I would take half my current pay to work with this guy for a year or two. He really does have a strong projection and I like the way he is organizing things and handling the public in a difficult situation. I really have alot of respect for guys like Saban, JJ, Shula, and even old Wanny for getting to the level they have reached in coaching. I see how competitive it is on just the HS and small college level. I see hundreds of coaches at clinics throughout the year striving to get better and educate themselves, only to have "the all knowing fan" question every move and even X's and O's (the biggest of all the ignorant moves by fans) that these coaches use. I think thse guys deserve alot of credit for working in the environment that they are in and I can identify with them when i see all the second guessing going on. I think Saban is one of the best I've seen at handling it in the ways that he does. He takes no crap and doesnt let the wrong question slide. He puts second guessing into the lap of the person doing the second guessing.
(Here comes my little coaches rant) :rofl3:
Even in my little High school football world, I have situations pop up between myself and players that people on the outside just don't get. For example, I caught a player in my program (non starter....played very little and prob never will) stealing another players Football shorts last season. I really wanted to boot the kid, but I knew that the varsity head coach (I was his Var OC and JV Head coach) had caught a varsity player doing the same a month earlier and allowed him to stay on the team with a warning that any more nonsense and he was gone. So I told him that I was going to give him another chance, made him return the shorts, apologize to the kid he stole from, and I made it clear if anything else happened he was gone. Well, the last week or two of the season sure enough he was involved in something pretty minor where he showed a staff member disrespect and so I booted him. A few players and a few parents (who had no idea what had happened earlier...and I never told them as it was none of their business) really raised a stink and tried to question my decision and pressure me to allow him back not knowing that he had already had his "chance" and blown it again being dishonest and disrespectful. To this day they have no idea of the whole situation and still think I was just being a hardazz.
In my earlier days coaching, I used to think I had to make sure I explained myself in those situations at the expense of anyone that had screwed up so that I wouldnt look bad. As time has gone on, I have come to realize that while there's something reasonable about that, I think that most players or parents that want to question a coach already have a lack of trust anyhow that really arent worth wasting any time on. Their attempt to question my decision for example is just their attempt to tear down my decision making and role on the team as the disciplinarian. I also think a coach shows character in that situation by not explaining himself. It's not their place to question us on how we handle team discipline. I doubt they understand the wedge they create when players or parent do question the coaches role on team discipline. No doubt it hurts the team. It causes a pause in action on the field in tight spots when the players dont trust you, it can creat doubts in what you do or how you do it. It can be very devisive. It all comes down to the fact that they either trust and respect the job you are doing or they dont.
Most of the time, problems that come up like this are presented by people that have an axe to grind anyhow. The same is true I think of alot of fans critics on their teams coaches. They lose faith or never had it, or didn't like something and so they look for opportunities to point fingers. :shakeno:
I bet I could come up with almost one story or another each week of a season that I as a coach have something exactly like what I described happen and people have no idea why I respond to this player or parent the way I do. I think thats why as a coach you just can't let what people think of you bother you or alter any decision that you make. Even if it costs you your position. Most the coaches I know nowadays, even the really successful in demand guys (not just the new young coaches) all have the understanding that there is a strong possibility they will someday get ran out of town or leave under fire. If your losing, the odds are just higher that it will happen sooner rather than later. I say this because nobody in truth honestly believes they don't have enough talent to be a winner. They all think that they have enough talent to win and complete for league titles year after year. Nobody, especially at the level I coach, has a reality based view on the team's talent from year to year. So if things are good its because the kids are so talented, and if things are tough its that the coaches are holding the players back.
With this in mind, I like the way Saban handles his situations. I really like the way he poses questions to the media that he thinks they are asking. What would you do? Who would you draft? I love it. Because he takes one little question and puts their question right in their lap. He's not being a wise azz when he asks those questions. He's simply saying, "things are not always so black and white in my world."
No doubt there will be many things that come up with Saban where we will wonder how in the heck he came to that decision, and think he's hard or soft, because we don't know whats going on behind closed doors. For example, I've read alot on the boards lately about how good V. Carey is and how he will start for us this year at LT. I think thats great. I really hope it happens and I think our new Offensive coaches are the best we've had in a long, long time. But I heard last year that V. Carey was so dumb coming into our organization that he "couldnt open a bag of Fig Newtons to save his life if he was starving." His overall understanding of his responsiblities was so low in a system so dumbed down (vanilla) that some wondered if he was our next "Eddie Blake"... So maybe, just maybe he shouldnt have been on the field last year. Maybe he was like MOST NFL OL and wasnt ready as a rookie to play. Maybe the staff knew a bit more than we give them credit for.
I'm learning alot from Nick Saban right now watching him handle the media and fans. I would take half my current pay to work with this guy for a year or two. He really does have a strong projection and I like the way he is organizing things and handling the public in a difficult situation. I really have alot of respect for guys like Saban, JJ, Shula, and even old Wanny for getting to the level they have reached in coaching. I see how competitive it is on just the HS and small college level. I see hundreds of coaches at clinics throughout the year striving to get better and educate themselves, only to have "the all knowing fan" question every move and even X's and O's (the biggest of all the ignorant moves by fans) that these coaches use. I think thse guys deserve alot of credit for working in the environment that they are in and I can identify with them when i see all the second guessing going on. I think Saban is one of the best I've seen at handling it in the ways that he does. He takes no crap and doesnt let the wrong question slide. He puts second guessing into the lap of the person doing the second guessing.
