As an Alabama native, I’ve cheered for the Crimson Tide football team since the first time I heard Bear Bryant growl. I had no idea what he was saying, but that did not matter. I was raised in Bryant, Alabama, and I figured if the coach’s name was Bryant, and the team was called Alabama, that was good enough for me.
The guys who used to huddle around our TV in the family store each Saturday afternoon were passionate about “our” team. Frankly, Alabama didn’t have a lot to brag about in those days. Governor George Wallace was not exactly an ambassador of good will. We always ranked at or near the bottom in education. Thankfully, Mississippi and Arkansas sometimes kept us out of the cellar. Unlike our neighboring state of Georgia, we didn’t have a major league baseball team or a pro football team, so college football was our claim to fame.
We had quarterbacks like Joe Namath and Kenny Stabler, and Bart Starr before them. Each of them went on to dominate the NFL. Johnny Musso was a great running back, and those who followed him, like Shaun Alexander, Mark Ingram, and Derrick Henry also achieved professional success.
“The Bear” stepped down after the 1982 season, and after a few lean years, Gene Stallings restored the glory from 1990 through 1996. Alabama’s football program struggled mightily during the next decade, and then came Nick Saban.
I took my sons to watch LSU play Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2003. Saban was LSU’s head coach, and Bama fans went home unhappy. Saban’s squad walloped the Tide 27-3. On the way home I said, “Why can’t we get a coach like that LSU guy?”
Four years later, we did. In fact, we got that LSU guy. What transpired during the next 17 years was truly remarkable.
This is not the sports page, so I won’t overwhelm you with numbers. But he did win 206 games at Alabama, while losing only 29. He won 6 national championships. All of this in the face of increasing competition and constant pressure. It is indeed lonely at the top, and the other perennial powers, like Georgia, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and yes, even LSU were all aiming to dethrone Saban, year after year. For the past decade or so, as Saban reached retirement age, opposing coaches tried to lure recruits by telling them that Saban would step down soon. It didn’t seem to matter, Alabama always had a top 3 recruiting class. It appeared as though the Saban era would last forever. Until it ended.
Earlier this month, Saban announced that he had coached his final game. This shocked everyone, with the possible exception of his wife. At age 72, Saban, who is still in good health, decided to step down while he was still at the top of his game. He was a few inches away from battling for a national title just weeks ago. But recent changes in college football’s recruiting and retention process has made it more difficult to maintain a dynasty. Saban leaves with his legacy intact. I admire him for not overstaying his welcome.
His successor is former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer, 49. No one knows how Alabama’s new coach will do, but Saban leaves behind a strong organization. Even with inevitable player defections, the cupboard is far from empty.
As a side note, here is a message I would like to send to two other old warriors. Donald Trump (soon to be 78), be proud of your positive achievements, and step aside for a younger generation of Republican leadership. Joe Biden (81), you reached your goal, and can walk away knowing you did your best to lead a divided nation.
You have both made it to the very top of the political mountain. You have nothing left to prove. No one wants to go out a loser, but one of you surely will. And let's be honest, you're both making a lot of mistakes lately. That's not going to get any better in the years to come. Why risk it? You should both be like Nick, because the clock stops for no one.
David Carroll is a Chattanooga news anchor, and his new book “I Won’t Be Your Escape Goat” is available on his website, ChattanoogaRadioTV.com. You may contact him at 900 Whitehall Road, Chattanooga, TN 37405, or at RadioTV2020@yahoo.com.
