Has the ‘Alabama mystique’ gone?
The news that safety sensation Caleb Downs and starting offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor put themselves into the transfer portal a few days after the retirement of Nick Saban and the rehiring of Kalen DeBoer has made a lot of people ask the question: ‘Has the Alabama mystique gone?”
Saban had the mystique – in the same way as any long-tenured, high-winning head coach (see Mssrs Bryant, Paterno, Spurrier, Meyer, Hayes, Schembechler and Smart for details) – does.
When a team wins and wins and wins and wins and wins in the way that Alabama did under Saban’s time, it gets the reputation as a development factory for the NFL. Saban dined out on this while recruiting (He used to say: “We develop you, you make a shit load of money in the future) – and he had the mathematical back-up. HIS alumni have made a staggering $2.3 BILLION in the pros.
But now that there’s another head coach in town, that mystique’s gone.
MONEY
Right at the time of Saban’s resignation, the players that have/will walk out the door during this 30-day portal will be free agents, in the same way as pro players will be on March 13th.
They would have had encouragement along the way, with family members and ‘advisors’, and rival coaches and assistant coaches – as well as their teammmates from high schools that went somewhere else – all putting fast opinions in and the promise of eternal riches outside of Alabama.
If Downs and Proctor took ‘Saban discounts’, they don’t have to now, because the guy has exited, armed with a Diet Coke and Little Debbies.
ON THE OTHER SIDE
Some Alabama players aren’t going in the portal. Star quarterback Jallin Milore – who is in one of the Top 5 offensive schemes in the country under DeBoer – ain’t going anywhere.
“Coach DeBoer stands out as one of the most successful and accomplished offensive-minded college football coaches,” Milroe told ESPN. “His coaching style and approach bring good energy to the team.”
Junior offensive guard and three-year starter Tyler Booker, DB Malachi Moore and Deontae Lawson have also said that they are staying around.
“I want to wish them well wherever they go, but just because Coach Saban is gone, that doesn’t mean the standard is gone. He taught us that standard,” Booker said. “It really comes down to, ‘Why did you come to the school?’ I came to Alabama obviously to play for Coach Saban and play to his standard, to be challenged every day and be held accountable by my teammates, the people in this building and the fans…No amount of money could buy me away from Alabama and my legacy here.”
It helps that Booker, Moore and Lawson are all projected to be first round picks!