Crimson Tide fans breathe sigh of relief as Nick Saban officially becomes the University of Alabama's head football coach following his contract approval.
Alabama fans can rest easier. Nick Saban is officially the school's head football coach.
"But wait," you say. "That's old news."
If this were the University of Florida or the University of Oklahoma or Ohio State University it might be old news. But this is the University of Alabama. And while it is true that six months have elapsed since Saban announced he was leaving the NFL's Miami Dolphins to rejoin the college ranks, this is a school where signing the dotted line is not necessarily a given. A school where - by recent standards, at least - Mike Shula was out of the ordinary.
When he was fired following the 2006 season, Shula became the latest reincarnation-of-Bear-Bryant-hopeful to be shown Tuscaloosa's door for failing to return the Crimson Tide to glory days that have been miserably absent since Gene Stallings announced his retirement a decade ago.
Before Shula, there was Dennis Franchione and Mike Price. Franchione was the heir apparent to Bryant's untouchable legacy when he turned a 3-8 Tide squad into a 10-3 team in just two seasons. But following Bama's 21-15 win at Hawaii to conclude the 2002 season (and Alabama's first 10-win campaign since 1999), Franchione traveled to College Station, Texas, to interview for the Texas A&M vacancy . . . and never came back. Instead, he informed his players of his departure via teleconference, a move that still has Tide fans smarting today. When he left, he left a 10-year contract extension on the table. Unsigned.
And who could forget the Price debacle? Bama fans were still licking their wounds from Franchione's departure weeks later when Price was brought to T-Town from Washington State. But Price didn't even make it to his first game before a story broke in Sports Illustrated, alleging that Price had been sighted in a Florida strip club yelling "Roll Tide, roll." Athletics Director Mal Moore promptly fired Price, and Price left Tuscaloosa with his initial contract still on the table. Unsigned.
So don't blame Crimson Tide fans if they spent the last six months waiting with baited breath for Saban's John Hancock to be permanently inked on a Board of Trustees-approved contract.
That move came last week. Saban signed the contract on Wednesday, and the Trustees awarded it their approval a day later, officially making Saban the highest-paid coach in the history of college football.
A lucrative deal
Imagine the surprise of LSU fans if you had told them in 2004 that Nick Saban was only three years away from returning to the Southeastern Conference to coach one of the Tigers' biggest rivals. Imagine their disdain when it actually played out.
No one could have imagined that Saban would spend just two years in the professional ranks before leaving by his own choosing. But the Alabama deal, which will pay him a minimum of $32 million over eight years, was too good a deal to leave on the table.
According to the Associated Press, Saban's base salary is $250,000. But an accelerating talent fee will see him earn a total of $3.5 million this season and top $4 million by 2010. Then there is a hefty incentives package, which promises Saban $25,000 for being named the SEC's coach of the year up to $125,000 for winning the SEC Championship and $400,000 for winning the national championship.
Saban's salary package will come up short of the $4.5 million per year he was paid to coach the Dolphins. But the opportunity to return to the college ranks, where he will stand out as a man among boys in the coaching profession, was too good a deal to pass up. For Alabama, the opportunity to lure a coach who won two SEC crowns and a national title in five seasons at LSU made the $32 million price tag well worth it.
As for Alabama fans? They're just happy to have a coach who is bound by contract.
