Well, shit, don’t tell me the world hasn’t been waiting for this.
Is there more to the Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher feud? Will NIL be what drives Nick Saban from college football?
These are just a couple of the questions that Paul Finebaum intends to answer in an upcoming, yet-to-be titled book on the subject.
The ESPN analyst is stepping away from the mic (figuratively, of course) and dusting off the writing utensils to collaborate with AL.com’s John Talty in an account of the rivalry between Alabama’s head football coach and two of his coaching proteges, Texas A&M’s Fisher and Georgia’s Kirby Smart, in the context of college football supremacy and with new rules that allow amateur athletes to be paid by businesses for use of their name, image and likeness.
I know I’ll be on the edge of my seat as publication day approaches.
Among the topics to be explored is the dynamic between Fisher and Saban but also Saban and Smart.
Finebaum said what transpired between Saban and Smart leading up to the championship game was “genuine,” but he thinks “the relationship with Saban is completely different, though.” He contends Saban views Smart completely different than Fisher.
“I think they are both complicated relationships,” Finebaum said. “To me, the scope of all of this is Shakespearian. You have Saban and his two prime courtiers. One is, at least publicly, playing the game of worship and deference in spite of winning a championship against him. The other has simply broken the cord and has gone scorched Earth. To me, it is a fascinating dichotomy between Saban and these two individuals. I think it screams for more.
Yeah, they’ll be teaching from it in eleventh grade English classes for years to come. And before you ask how much of Finebaum’s audience can read, don’t bother. They’re gonna wait for the movie.
Hollywood has taken notice, one industry insider tells AL.com. The industry is eating up sports content right now…
“I don’t have any doubt the entertainment industry will have an interest in this,” Finebaum said. “Because no one knows about this yet, we haven’t been down that road yet. I’ve heard through some friends of mine in the industry, that Hollywood would look at this very seriously.
“I think it is a made-for-Hollywood story. It’s an incredibly compelling story, involving the greatest college football coach of all time at a critical moment in his career and the two disciples that are challenging him for supremacy.”
Hollywood? Who’s gonna play PAWWWLLL!!! in the movie?
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