CLAY TRAVIS: NICK SABAN IS BAD FOR THE SEC

[Hog Waller]

Not a fan of Clay, but is there some truth in his opinion?  I think Bama's success attracts good coaches who want to be apart of possibly the strongest conference, but is Bama's success ultimately hurting the SEC in their ability to keep those good coaches in the conference because they can't keep pace with Saban?

http://smokeroom.com/2017/01/09/clay-travis-nick-saban-is-bad-for-the-sec/?utm_campaign=thedcmainpage&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social

[Snouty]

By that reasoning Bear Bryant was bad for the SEC because he won so many championships over decades.  The SEC has been respected and feared by other conferences for many, many years.  It always attracts some of the best coaches in the country.  Besides, Nick Saban won't be around forever.

[ATLHog]

Not a fan of Clay, but is there some truth in his opinion?  I think Bama's success attracts good coaches who want to be apart of possibly the strongest conference, but is Bama's success ultimately hurting the SEC in their ability to keep those good coaches in the conference because they can't keep pace with Saban?

http://smokeroom.com/2017/01/09/clay-travis-nick-saban-is-bad-for-the-sec/?utm_campaign=thedcmainpage&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social

HOGVILLE: BRET BIELEMA IS BAD FOR THE SEC

[311Hog]

SEC: THE SEC IS BAD FOR THE SEC

[Pyotr Tchaikhogsky]

He is 100% correct.  And not just good coaches...good players too.  If Bama wasn't interested in you, why would you go to another SEC team and have very little chance at a conference title?  You'd go somewhere else where you can compete.

[code red]

Steel sharpens Steel....Clay is full of crap.

[Atlhogfan1]

What good coaches have left due to Saban?

UM leave due to Saban?  Perhaps he didn't want to be in same conference.

Otherwise? 

[hawgon]

Steel sharpens Steel....Clay is full of crap.

Bama is steel. Everyone else is bronze and copper.  Steel destroys those.

[Peter Porker]

By that reasoning Bear Bryant was bad for the SEC because he won so many championships over decades.  The SEC has been respected and feared by other conferences for many, many years.  It always attracts some of the best coaches in the country.  Besides, Nick Saban won't be around forever.

Now, bama is the only school that's respected and feared.

[Peter Porker]

Steel sharpens Steel....Clay is full of crap.

Tell that to Vandy and Kentucky.

[Tusks]

Bama is steel. Everyone else is bronze and copper.  Steel destroys those.

rock paper scissors

[hogsanity]

Saban does not fire coaches, impatient administrations at schools do this, usually because of fan unrest. LSu and LEs Miles is a pretty good example. Richt at GA was another one.

[cityhog]

Tell that to Vandy and Kentucky.

and Arkansas....when was the last time we won anything of note in football?

[code red]

Tell that to Vandy and Kentucky.

I think there is more parity in the SEC than most of you guys and the media would care to admit.

[Peter Porker]

http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll

Final AP poll. 1 SEC team in the top 12.

[DeltaBoy]

http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll

Final AP poll. 1 SEC team in the top 12.

DANG!!!

[Fatty McGee]

http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll

Final AP poll. 1 SEC team in the top 12.

Oklahoma over Ohio State in the poll?  That game wasn't even close.

[hoggusamoungus]

and Arkansas....when was the last time we won anything of note in football?

Don't know if this answers your question but 2016 was my 50th year of attending Hog games and in that time, I've seen three conference championships (SWC in 1975, '88,'89). 

[RazorBassin]

Don't know if this answers your question but 2016 was my 50th year of attending Hog games and in that time, I've seen three conference championships (SWC in 1975, '88,'89). 

I've tried to tailor my expectations from thinking about this very thing.  I had to take a step back from how serious of a fan I am when it comes to Hog football.  I never let it ruin my weekend anymore.  Hell, I don't even let it ruin my afternoon anymore.  I still watch every game, root just as hard for them, follow recruiting, talk shows, etc., but I don't let the Hogs win/loss record set the course of my weekend anymore.  Seems to be a much happier life, lol :razorback:

[hoggusamoungus]

I've tried to tailor my expectations from thinking about this very thing.  I had to take a step back from how serious of a fan I am when it comes to Hog football.  I never let it ruin my weekend anymore.  Hell, I don't even let it ruin my afternoon anymore.  I still watch every game, root just as hard for them, follow recruiting, talk shows, etc., but I don't let the Hogs win/loss record set the course of my weekend anymore.  Seems to be a much happier life, lol :razorback:

Same here.  I went to Charlotte, cabbed it back to the hotel after the game and was asleep about ten minutes later.

[Hogarusa]

Mark Richt, Les Miles, Bobby Petrino, Steve Spurrier, James Franklin, Urban Meyer, and Gary Pinkel have all left in the last 5-6 years. They werent replaced with better coaches. Its not Sabans fault.  The SEC is weaker without them.

[Hogarusa]

Oklahoma over Ohio State in the poll?  That game wasn't even close.

they dont vote based off the way teams looked week 3

[PorkSoda]

Mark Richt, Les Miles, Bobby Petrino, Steve Spurrier, James Franklin, Urban Meyer, and Gary Pinkel have all left in the last 5-6 years. They werent replaced with better coaches. Its not Sabans fault.  The SEC is weaker without them.

everything goes in cycles.  the SEC has been tops for a long time, but is on a down cycle.  Even when the SEC is down, that only means other conferences have a chance to be competitive. 

[Fatty McGee]

they dont vote based off the way teams looked week 3

Haven't seen enough from either to believe OU could make up a 3 TD deficit in the interim.

[Smokehouse]

Depends on what perspective you mean. The fact that a small handful of schools can control almost all of the elite talent as long as their coaching staff is good to great is bad for a lot of schools chances at winning the title. Saban (as a great coach) at one of those schools hurts even worse with the rest of the SEC hoping Bama makes a mistake with their post-Saban coaching hire.

From the financial side, having a dominant school or two is probably good for the conference, so long as there's a reasonable chance they might get beaten during the season. Creates lots of interesting games but still gives you a good shot at being in the title game at the end of the year. If there was more parity and conference champs end the year with 2-3 losses the conference is less relevant nationally just out of perception, regardless of how good all the teams beating up on each other are.

[onebadrubi]

http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll

Final AP poll. 1 SEC team in the top 12.

3 in the top 15 and 5 in the top 25.  Tells a little different story than you portrayed didn't it.

[phadedhawg]

I'm ready for someone else to take the mantle for awhile.  Having a top heavy league is getting a bit stale. 

Alabama are great and they've earned their success.  I'm just tired of patting the same school on the back and saying "good job".

[Peter Porker]

3 in the top 15 and 5 in the top 25.  Tells a little different story than you portrayed didn't it.

Now do that with the ACC and Pac-12. How many Big 10 teams in the top 10.

No, the story i tell is quite accurate.

[hawganatic]

Alabama has won the last three Iron Bowls.  How much longer do you guys think Malzahn has at Auburn if he keeps dropping this game (other factors like just not being good not being accounted for).  How many top coaches do you think want to coach at Auburn, knowing that regardless of what they do with the program, they will probably be fired in 3-4 years solely due to this one game?

Any time one team/person/entity dominates like Alabama is, it hurts everything around them.  Competitiveness is what keeps people engaged.  This is why I can't stand when Arkansas fans chant SEC and pull for teams like Bama.  The better they are, the harder our road becomes.

[hawganatic]

Saban (as a great coach) at one of those schools hurts even worse with the rest of the SEC hoping Bama makes a mistake with their post-Saban coaching hire.

Even if they make a bad hire it is going to take several years for Bama to wind down.  You could plug Houston Nutt into Saban's position and he would win for at least 3 years.

[Smokehouse]

Even if they make a bad hire it is going to take several years for Bama to wind down.  You could plug Houston Nutt into Saban's position and he would win for at least 3 years.

True, but that's better (for the Hogs winning percentage) than the alternative.

[ChitownHawg]

Not a fan of Clay, but is there some truth in his opinion?  I think Bama's success attracts good coaches who want to be apart of possibly the strongest conference, but is Bama's success ultimately hurting the SEC in their ability to keep those good coaches in the conference because they can't keep pace with Saban?

http://smokeroom.com/2017/01/09/clay-travis-nick-saban-is-bad-for-the-sec/?utm_campaign=thedcmainpage&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social

Last year the media was making a fuss that Coach Geno of Connecticut W basketball team was bad for basketball. His response was something like "Don't like it then do better."

Sports are always better served by trying to reach the best rather than the best playing down to the competition.

[Atlhogfan1]

Mark Richt, Les Miles, Bobby Petrino, Steve Spurrier, James Franklin, Urban Meyer, and Gary Pinkel have all left in the last 5-6 years. They werent replaced with better coaches. Its not Sabans fault.  The SEC is weaker without them.

Not due to Saban except perhaps Les (probably would get some debate on how quality of a coach he is) and UM.

Yet to be seen if it is weaker without Richt.  Last night was another example of how underachieving UGa has been with a program 75 miles away winning the NC a year after playing for it. 

[code red]

Soooo....in the same vein I guess Tiger was bad for the PGA in his hayday.

[HotlantaHog]

Since 1998-99, Tennessee, Florida, Auburn, LSU and Alabama have all won national titles. Georgia came very close and might have if they had a playoff when they were really good.

When Florida State was really great in the ACC, Miami was a constant rival. Florida, FSU and Miami all used to be top 20 teams that played each other every year.

In the Big Ten, Ohio State and Michigan have been great often during the same years.

There is no reason another SEC team can't build a terrific program that competes with Alabama and occasionally wins championships. It's even possible you could have one other team build its own dynasty that competes with Alabama and a regular one-two punch.

In some ways, teams like Georgia, Florida and LSU have an advantage against Alabama because their recruiting territories are closer.

[Razorback de Nosferatu]

The Bama dynasty is getting old, and I'm ready for it to end.

But is Saban responsible for the sudden surge in mediocrity throughout the rest of the league?  Prolly not.  Saban has nothing to do with the near-constant underachieving that goes on at Auburn and Texas A&M and that went on for years at LSU. He's sure as heck not the reason why nobody in the East could take advantage of a golden opportunity and win what was truly a hapless division for an extended period of time.

That said, the SEC is now a one man show.  Even if Bama had won last night, it wouldn't have done the conference any favors when it comes to national perception of our league.  That needs to change.  It's not good for the SEC to look like "Bama, and then everybody else."

But I think it's absurd to say that Saban is somehow to blame for this.

[Razorback de Nosferatu]

Posted twice, my apologies  :razorback:

[Redhogs]

HOGVILLE: BRET BIELEMA IS BAD FOR THE SEC

HOGVILLE: BRET BIELEMA IS BAD FOR ARKANSAS. And I agree.

[S.A.D.C]

Mark Richt, Les Miles, Bobby Petrino, Steve Spurrier, James Franklin, Urban Meyer, and Gary Pinkel have all left in the last 5-6 years. They werent replaced with better coaches. Its not Sabans fault.  The SEC is weaker without them.

There is no doubt that the quality of coaching has declined in the last 2 years in the SEC.  The question is why?  It isn't all is due to Saban.  But, it's highly doubtful that it has nothing to do with him either. 

[hogsanity]

Soooo....in the same vein I guess Tiger was bad for the PGA in his hayday.

Tiger was great for the pga in terms of exposure. People tuned in to see him, some to see if he would win, others to see if he would lose. I am not talking hard core golf fans either, but casual fans wo wold tune in if he was on the leader board.

The bad part was when he began to falter, and during his long absences, the casual fans went away and so did many of the harder fans. I consider myself a pretty big golf fan, I played in college, and I followed things pretty closely, but once he became "mortal" i pretty much quit watching except the majors, or I might tune in on a Sunday afternoon to have something on while I catch a nap.

Bama is just boring, not that they play boring football, but it is boring knowing that they rarely lose, and almost just as rarely even get challenged.

[Pork Twain]

Mark Richt, Les Miles, Bobby Petrino, Steve Spurrier, James Franklin, Urban Meyer, and Gary Pinkel have all left in the last 5-6 years. They werent replaced with better coaches. Its not Sabans fault.  The SEC is weaker without them.

Most of those coaches were either fired, retired, or left under scandal.  It is not like they were afraid of Bama.

[code red]

Tiger was great for the pga in terms of exposure. People tuned in to see him, some to see if he would win, others to see if he would lose. I am not talking hard core golf fans either, but casual fans wo wold tune in if he was on the leader board.

The bad part was when he began to falter, and during his long absences, the casual fans went away and so did many of the harder fans. I consider myself a pretty big golf fan, I played in college, and I followed things pretty closely, but once he became "mortal" i pretty much quit watching except the majors, or I might tune in on a Sunday afternoon to have something on while I catch a nap.

Bama is just boring, not that they play boring football, but it is boring knowing that they rarely lose, and almost just as rarely even get challenged.

I disagree.  I guess those of us who love the x's and o's see the brilliance.

[jm]

There is probably some truth. I do not believe any coach except Urban (who undoubtedly left due to competition) left because they were afriad of the competition, but look at the coaches who have replaced them. Say what you want about BB but he had the guts to give it a try.

[Biggus Piggus]

Bama is steel. Everyone else is bronze and copper.  Steel destroys those.

Rock beats steel. Paper beats rock. Therefore, Bama is paper.

[hogsanity]

I disagree.  I guess those of us who love the x's and o's see the brilliance.

I am talking about for the casual fan. They are boring because most weeks there is almost zero chance they will be challenged much less beaten. Most of their games are get ahead by 17 or so then just pound the ball in the 2nd half.

I love watching them if for nothing else than their defense.

[Razorbackers]

CLAY TRAVIS: BAD.

[Smokehouse]

Tiger was great for the pga in terms of exposure. People tuned in to see him, some to see if he would win, others to see if he would lose. I am not talking hard core golf fans either, but casual fans wo wold tune in if he was on the leader board.

The bad part was when he began to falter, and during his long absences, the casual fans went away and so did many of the harder fans. I consider myself a pretty big golf fan, I played in college, and I followed things pretty closely, but once he became "mortal" i pretty much quit watching except the majors, or I might tune in on a Sunday afternoon to have something on while I catch a nap.

Bama is just boring, not that they play boring football, but it is boring knowing that they rarely lose, and almost just as rarely even get challenged.

I think college dynasty teams do the same for the sport as Tiger did for the PGA. There are more hardcore football fans than hardcore PGA fans, obviously, so the effect is less drastic but there's still a large group of casual fans out there (bandwagon fans, if you want) who are much more likely to tune in and watch Bama in the playoffs than a bunch of smaller schools (say if the playoff was Washington, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Virginia Tech or something crazy like that).

I don't watch a lot of golf, but I do like following it better now that there's some actual intrigue on who will win a tournament rather than waiting for someone to beat Tiger, and I would be happier with greater parity in CFB. But numbers wise I'd bet it almost always plays out that dynasties (especially ones in big media markets, who have predetermined advantages to becoming dynasties anyway) are better for getting viewers and injecting money into the sport, so long as it doesn't get to the ridiculous point like U-Conn in NCAAWB.

[S.A.D.C]

Most of those coaches were either fired, retired, or left under scandal.  It is not like they were afraid of Bama.

the firing deal is part of what is mentioned in the article.  Specifically:  Les and Richt the winning-est coaches in their schools history- still winning at a high level and shown the door.  The thinking is that Saban's dominance had something do do with that.  Winning 10 games a year suddenly wasn't enough if you didn't beat Saban. 

[S.A.D.C]

CLAY TRAVIS: BAD.

DBAP

[HiggiePiggy]

There is no doubt that the quality of coaching has declined in the last 2 years in the SEC.  The question is why?  It isn't all is due to Saban.  But, it's highly doubtful that it has nothing to do with him either. 

Out of all of those coaches listed only les Myles was fired mainly because of bad offense and Alabama. Mark was fired more because of not being able to capitalize on a very down east. Petrino was fired because of off the field issues. Steve spurrier retired. Urban Meyer pretty much left for Ohio state( retired for a year) franklin left for a better job and pinkel I believe retired because of health issues.