EVA

The trickle down from Saban’s retirement has been brutal. And yet another clear example of why there need to be significant reforms in how the transfer portal works. Through no fault of their own, poor San Jose State and South Alabama now have to endure 30 days of open season on their roster, yet they’re not allowed to be active in the portal to help themselves until it re-opens after spring ball.

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DeBoer’s lack of experience in the SEC/south is concerning, but Saban had no experience prior to LSU, nor Urban prior to Florida, etc. There are successful counterpoints to enormous flops like Harsin at Auburn. The bigger concern is his lack of recruiting profile. Washington currently has what would be a bottom quarter recruiting class in the B1G. Granted this may be a bit of sour grapes, but lots of UW people think DeBoer is getting out prior to the roster collapsing after all the Petersen/Lake-era guys have cycled out. That is not going to cut it in the SEC shark tank. And that’s not necessarily something that can be amended by simply hiring a bunch of killers for assistants. An elite recruiting culture starts at the top, and if that’s not in DeBoer, then that’s not what DeBoer-Bama is going to be. I don’t have any inside info on this, but a name I might keep an eye on for DeBoer’s staff is South Alabama HC Kane Wommack. They were on staff together at Indiana, and Kane knows the lay of the land down here really well. Has a lot of the recruiting connections that DeBoer will need.

Flawless victory.

Jimmy Sexton is milking this coaching search for every penny. True legend of the sport.

FSU just re-upped Mike Norvell for 8 years at $10 million per, *seemingly* taking him off the Bama board.

GET A JOB.

Somewhat significant development this morning: Doesn’t necessarily mean he’s been offered or taken the job, but would indicate that he’s in the mix and definitely DOES NOT want to potentially be put on the spot about the Bama job right now.

The Eugene news anchor who kicked the Lanning rumors into overdrive had to walk the plank tonight.

Hmm….Not a direct denial I’m really thinking it’s gonna be DeBoer. Which I have reservations about, but like I said…I have reservations about all these dudes.

Lanning is a super promising coach. He knows what it takes to compete at the Bama/UGA level because of his experiences at those places, and he would be an absolute dog on the recruiting trail, which is a must for whoever gets hired. But we are evaluating him based on a very small sample size as an HC. And within that sample…what exactly are his greatest accomplishments on the field? 0 championships. 1-4 record against his rivals, including losing a get-back game against Washington this year, which great coaches almost never lose. That said, the only no-brainer, slam dunk, this-party-will-never-end candidate is Kirby, and he ain’t answering the phone. So any other choice is going to have a mix of pro’s and con’s and hinge on accurately weighing that decisional balance. So I don’t hate taking a swing on potential here. If Lanning hits, you’ve got you’re guy for the next decade+.

Bama AD Greg Byrne actually hired RichRod at Arizona! So maybe not AS crazy as you might think…and he’s just right down the road at Jacksonville State. He could be in Tuscaloosa in time for brunch today. But seriously, I’ve been trying to sift through the noise, and besides Dan Lanning, I think these are the other two names to really pay attention to: 1. Kalen DeBoer. Obviously very hot after what he’s accomplished at Washington. Also a Jimmy Sexton client. Bama actually tried to hire his OC earlier this year, so his system is clearly well thought of in Tuscaloosa. 2. Mike Novell. He’s actually the slightly older, more accomplished version of Lanning IMO (Lanning was even on staff with/for Norvell at Pitt, AZ State, and Memphis). Might be willing to move on from FSU for the same reason FSU wants to move on from the ACC after this year’s CFP debacle. Plus the $$$, naturally. I think Steve Sarkisian has the reputation within Bama that Lane Kiffin wishes he had, but I don’t think the timing is right for Sark to even really consider a move, and I doubt he’ll be seriously approached. Even as recently as, like, 2 years ago Dabo Swinney and Mario Cristobal would’ve been serious players but…it’s been a rough 2 years for their reputations. Dabo is looking more and more like post-2011 Les Miles, and Mario is cementing his rep as a guy who can recruit but not coach.

The numbers seem quaint in retrospect, but bear in mind that Bama massively reset the market on coach salaries when they hired Saban, and people thought they were crazy to do it. They’ll do it again if they feel that strongly about the new guy. Lots of credible Bama insiders reporting that Lanning is in Tuscaloosa tonight. He didn’t fly across the country for an interview (if he, in fact, did) EDIT: That’s also being reported on the Oregon side of things now, too. Still seems kinda hazy, though.

Kiffin has gone out of his way to kiss SO MUCH Saban/Bama ass to set himself up as the successor. The second Dan Lanning is announced as the guy, Kiff is going full heel.

Lane Kiffin may end it all if he doesn’t get this job. (He’s not getting this job.)

Hey, Pete Carrol is out of a job. Let’s get him in at Bama. Imagine the damage that guy could do now that paying players is legal. Funniest possible outcome, of course, would be Brian Kelly leaving LSU for Bama. We already know he’s open to leaving!

Being born in the early 80’s, I spent most of my early years living through the absolute worst of Alabama football. I felt a bit like Tony Soprano and the Italian mafia at the turn of the century —“I came in at the end. The best is over.” Even when Saban came in 2007, I figured it would probably be 4 or 5 good years and a title (maybe two!) before he moved on. I certainly never imagined that I’d find myself living through not only the Second Golden Age of Alabama football, but the greatest dynasty in the history of the game. What an incredible run to live through, and I never took any of it for granted. Records are made to be broken, but I feel immensely confident in saying that there will never be another one like Saban. One of one. The all-time greatest. Now: PAIN. The bad days are here again.

Penix made a business decision on that last dropback lol

Penix is feeling every injury he’s ever had right now.

THEYRE NOT GONNA KEEP THE MARGIN UNDER 15 TONIGHT

There it is. 14-point game, btw. Which I guess is technically what I asked for.

Man, does anybody want to win the national title tonight? Good defensive adjustments, sure, but both offenses got real sloppy in the second half, too. Not exactly championship caliber 3rd down play tonight.

They just did this and the guy dropped it!

Washington made some good 2nd half adjustments on UM’s straight run game. I feel like more QB run game to even out of the numbers is probably the answer.

Great head of hair on 13 for Washington.