What could happen when a school needs the football coach more than the football coach needs the school?
Jeff Schultz channels Orson Swindle to come up with a convincing response.
… Alabama officials almost gloated in 2007 when the football program finally was clear of probation. That’s when Saban was hired. In his second season, he led the Tide to a 12-0 regular season record, before losing to Florida in the SEC title game and Utah in the Sugar Bowl.
But now the school is on three years probation and must vacate 21 victories between 2005 and 2007. Some of those came under Saban.
That will forever be on his resume. You think that’s not on his mind? You think he needs this?
Get The Picture 
ai’ight, this could irritate Nick so much that he’ll Gulfsteam to Memphis to outrecruit Lance Thompson again or hire a Bobby Bowden to be a graduate assistant if and when FSU can figure out how to get shet of Bobby.
In the meantime, Jimmy Sexton has told his bat boy to pine-tar up the handle of Jimmy’s Louisville Slugger for the not only horrible but incomprehensible Take Away of Wins From Nick so that wonderful little bit of negotiating leverage can be battered so hard into the foreheads of the Alabamians at contract renegotiation time that they’ll never ever do anything to screw around with Nick’s win total again. It’s Nick’s win total, not the dadgum money, that’s important (wink) to him, ai’ight.
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I know the insinuation there is that Saban will now want to leave as he’s been allegedly looking to do since the day he got to campus, but there’s no logic to that. He doesn’t get those wins back if he leaves, and the penalties do not in any way affect his ability to get more wins in the future. No scholarships were lost, no postseasons banned. If he left, it would be to go to a school where he would again have to start over, rather than stay at a school where he’s coming off a 12 win season, will start the year as a concensus top 10 team, and has recruiting rolling for the third straight season.
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I don’t think Saban cares about the vacated wins in the least.
I do think he cares about the three years probation, though.
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Sure he cares, but I do not believe it provides him anymore or less incentive to leave tuscaloosa. If a job he covets comes along he will leave regardless of probation. With that said, I am not sure what job he would hold in higher asteem, perhaps Penn State or Notre Dame, but I have to believe the proximity to speedy football talent will keep him in the South. I think he is as likely to put down roots in t-town as anywhere, especially with West Opelika’s diminishing relevance.
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