Deconstructing Nick Saban

Nick Saban, it seems, has been taking lessons from Les Miles when it comes to interview questions. Unfortunately for Saban, he doesn't have nearly the flair, savvy or amusement factor of Les Miles. Saban is stone-faced and comes across almost arrogant, while Miles is funny, and engaging.  Need proof?

After the SEC conference championship game but prior to the Sugar Bowl, Saban said that the Tide was still the only team to have an undefeated regular season in a "real BCS conference." HUH?

First of all, it's interesting that Saban completely erases a conference championship game that he lost, but by golly, we are fairly certain it becomes a huge factor when BCS Bowl Selection Day comes around, doesn't it? Isn't that what we hear every year from coaches who win conference championships?

That they played the extra game, and as a result, that should hold more weight than a team who doesn't play a conference championship game? Then again, can we then discount the FCS games that these teams also play, which except for maybe a handful out of several hundred, are pretty much a win for these "real BCS conference" teams?

Utah did play Weber State, but they also played Oregon State and Michigan; not bad having two-thirds of your non-conference games against "real BCS conference" teams. Bama played Clemson, Tulane, Western Kentucky and Arkansas State; one real "BCS conference team" out of four. That's twenty five percent, folks.

Saban's quote is eerily like Miles' quote last year where he talked about his team being "undefeated in regulation" play. I mean yes, it's true, but it's also hilarious. The bottom line is that LSU had two losses, but technically, he is correct in that they were undefeated in regulation play. Sigh.

But the difference between Miles and Saban is Miles doesn't really take himself too seriously- he opens his mouth and the words come out however they come out- Miles knows he has no editing process and really doesn't care. It's what makes him charming. Saban, on the the other hand, is deliberate in thinking and careful about what he says. There is a difference.

And Saban's quote about being the only real undefeated BCS conference team probably didn't go over too well in Salt Lake City. Keep in mind, the Mountain West had kicked the Pac-10 all over the place in regular season, and when everything was said and done, they also went 2-0 against the SEC as of last night. Not a real conference? Might want to re-check that attitude Nick.

It's during his post-Sugar Bowl conference that  Saban's character really tells the tale.

The following quotes were in response to the questions of,  "First, you played Florida, now you played these guys.  In your personal final poll, where would you put Utah?  The second question is, now that you have been there two years at Alabama and all of the good things you did this season, what has it positioned you for next year in the future?"

Saban: "You know, we're building a program, all right?  And I am really proud of what this team accomplished.  But we played, I think, 16 total freshman this year, 14 that played enough to letter, two guys that got injuries that they didn't play that much.  So we had a lot of young players on this team.  We had nine seniors on this team.  The seniors did a great job for this team.  But we need to continue to improve as a program for the future.  We need more good players, more depth in the program.  We need quality big people.  We need quality skill guys.  We need a lot of things for us to continue to improve to be the kind of program that is recognized as kind of a dominant program on a national level. "

Time to deconstruct Saban.

"You know, we're building a program, all right?"

Yes, Nick, we know. Only when you lose is it suddenly building a program. When you are winning, you are the only "real BCS conference" team that is undefeated (in regular season).

"And I am really proud of what this team accomplished.  But we played, I think, 16 total freshman this year, 14 that played enough to letter, two guys that got injuries that they didn't play that much. "

Hmmm. Let's focus on the fact that you went undefeated through the SEC in regular season with all of that youth, but couldn't compete against a MWC team because of your youth. Let's let that sink in a minute, and then read what Saban said after he went 12-0 beating the Auburn Tigers.

"I'd like to say that when I came here, change was probably inevitable, but the growth that everybody has had was optional," Saban said. "Everybody had to buy into it, and I just want to say that the seniors that we have on this team were the key to changing the culture."

So how come the senior leadership was the reason why the Tide went 12-0 regular season, and the youth was the reason why they lost to the Utes?

The deconstruction continues.

"So we had a lot of young players on this team.  We had nine seniors on this team.  The seniors did a great job for this team.  But we need to continue to improve as a program for the future."

Saban is still excusing the youth on his team for losing. The reason why the Tide lost was because Utah was a better team and the Tide didn't respect the Utes. In fact, red flags should have gone up when the Tide struggled against LSU (who still hadn't settled its QB situation) Kentucky and Tulane.

Alabama was a product of the media hype over the SEC. Nothing more, nothing less. Give a conference more props than others based completely on perception, and this is exactly what happens. Take a bow, media. You did this.

Bama played one top 25 scoring offense in regular season - Florida - and lost. Utah was the second team they played in the top 25, and they lost again. This isn't an upset. They were over-hyped. Their SOS (Sagarin) was No. 58 compared to Utah's No. 70. Twelve spots better than a MWC team? That's it? Only Kentucky (No. 73) had a worse SOS ranking than Bama in the SEC.

More deconstructing....

"We need more good players, more depth in the program."

Uh, didn't the nation's top recruiting class help you out? With your non-conference schedule (Va Tech, Florida International, North Texas and Tennessee-Chattanooga) already set for next season, it looks like you have enough to cruise through the cupcakes (except for Va Tech), be 5-0 before you take on Ole Miss and probably be ranked in the top 5. Hooray.

 You don't need more "good" players to go undefeated in the SEC regular season, you just need "more good players" for playing against non- "real BCS conference" teams.

"We need quality big people.  We need quality skill guys."

Notice the word "more" wasn't included here? Saban is simply stating they need quality big people and skill guys. Not more of them.  Are your big people just big and not quality type guys?

You have a lot of youth on your team, so aren't they going to be there for the next two years, at least? What about the recruiting class you reeled in? I could see a coach from Duke or Idaho saying this, but the youthful Bama? Are you kidding me?

"We need a lot of things for us to continue to improve to be the kind of program that is recognized as kind of a dominant program on a national level."

What you need is to recognize that all teams in perceived "weak conferences" can and will show up to play in high-profile games. It's up to the coach to keep them motivated- it's on him, and he did admit to that.

Realistically, Bama has been irrelevant in football since the Stallings' sanctions, so how much freaking motivation does it take for players to be "up" for the Sugar Bowl?

Sixteen years isn't long enough to get excited?

Prior to the BCS, wasn't the Sugar Bowl the destination goal of every SEC team? Like the Orange Bowl is for the ACC, and the Rose Bowl is for the Pac-10 and Big Ten?

Saban has said that he gave Utah plenty of respect prior the the Sugar Bowl, but, Glenn Coffee said, "I felt like as a team we may not have given them their due respect. As a football team that is something that we should never let happen."

Terrence Cody also said, "I think we did (underestimate Utah) a little bit."

Saban said during the post-game press conference, "Well, you know, I apologize if anybody was offended by that ('real BCS conference team' remark)."  We have a tremendous amount of respect for Utah", he said.  "We have a tremendous amount of respect for their team.  And I apologize.  I certainly misstated that."

And there you have it.

He misstated it. What that means, nobody knows. Either he didn't mean to insult them by his remark, or he did and he regrets it. We'll assume it's the former.

But looking at his team's remarks, you wonder if Saban didn't take them very seriously.

Alabama shouldn't feel bad losing to Utah. The Utes went undefeated, and beat the No. 4 team in the nation convincingly. They left no doubt.

If I had a vote, I would vote Utah No. 1. They earned it. They deserved it. Without watching Oklahoma and Florida, they still get my vote. The team Florida lost to waxed Texas Tech, and an Oklahoma State team that gave Texas problems got beat by Oregon.

The debate over conference strength has imploded in just over a week. Check out the bowl wins by conference. A grave injustice has been done, and someone needs to make it right.

The AP awaits.