Why Nick Saban Won’t Leave Alabama

There’s been a ton of speculation that Nick Saban, the all-mighty coach at Alabama, will leave the school to take over the Cleveland Browns.

The argument is basically this:

Saban is one of the best football coaches of the modern era. He’s won titles at LSU (x1), and Alabama (x2), and has had unparalleled success in the SEC, the country’s hardest conference. He’s rectified two massive programs, and brought them to the forefront of people’s imagination again after years in the styx (especially LSU).

He’s one of the best recruiters in the land, and he can get almost any player from anywhere if he wants. (although not Jadeveon Clowney, who opted for one of the nation’s OTHER great recruiters, Steve Spurrier, instead). Oh, a lot of players under him go to the NFL…and perform. There’s not a school out there that seems to be a pipeline for the NFL like him. See Trent Richardson, Julio Jones, Courtney Upshaw, Dont’a Hightower, Mark Barron, Karreem Jackson, Rolando McClain and Mark Ingram for details. And that’s not all…. So much so, that we think that the nation’s No.1 recruit, DE Robert  Nkemdiche, will go there. At least, he will if he wants an incredible coach, motivator, and to be part of the NFL pipeline.

Oh, and his NFL stint with the Miami  Dolphins wasn’t exactly terrible, either. He had 9-7 and 5-6 seasons on a crappy team, turning both seasons round in the process. People now think that with Saban having accomplished everything there is in college football to accomplish (apart from a COMPLETELY UNBEATEN SEASON, WORLD DOMINANCE, AND STARTING HIS OWN RELIGION), that he’s going to try his ‘Program Resurrection’ at a place where he can be a world star…. the NFL – or more specifically, the Cleveland Browns.

This is why that people are talking about Nick Saban to return in the NFL. The NFL has now had some success with college coaches coming into the big leagues (see Pete Carroll coming back to the NFL from Seattle, John Harbaugh at San Francisco for details), and now that more and more NFL rookies are starting in the big leagues, they think Saban might well lead the programs to the promised land again, thanks to his brilliant motivation, his keen eye for detail, and the fact that he just wins, baby.

But Nick Saban won’t leave for the NFL. And here’s why.

1) He wants more unbeaten seasons at Alabama. The one’s not enough. Especially for Saban.

2) He can command the same wages as the NFL in college. If not more. If it’s about the money for him anymore.

3) He still thrives on beating other schools to recruiting the best players in the land, and then taking them to the pros. It’s that competitive instinct of his.

4) If he’s got a God complex (and most people think he has), then he’s God at Alabama. Why would he want to leave for the NFL, where the scrutiny’s off-the-hook, and every loss will be followed by the question: “Is Nick Saban really cut out for The Show?”

5) He’s tried the NFL once, and liked it so much he left again. Why should he try again?

BOTTOM LINE: Saying this, he’ll probably now go to the pros.