Randy Smith
Last year schools in the Southeastern Conference didn't fire a single head football coach. None. That was surprising because of the Nick Saban factor. In case you've never heard of the Nick Saban factor pay attention. Alabama under Saban has won half of the national championships in the last decade. Five of ten trophies now are in trophy cases in Tuscaloosa. No coach has ever had that kind of success and that has put a lot of pressure on the other thirteen coaches in the SEC.
Every school with the exception of Vanderbilt, at least on some level, feels they should compete for a national title....and that's the Nick Saban factor.
Arkansas fired Chad Morris late in the season after less than two years on the job and Ole Miss fired Coach Matt Luke following an Egg Bowl loss to Mississippi State last week. Of course one has to wonder how much the stupid act of a player on all fours, raising his leg and imitating a dog urinating had to do with that decision. Two coaches let go and three more, (Muschamp, Moorhead and Mason) barely survived.
The Nick Saban factor is a very real thing. And it's a real compliment to what has been done at Alabama since he took over eleven years ago. Schools are always trying to "keep up" with Saban with new and better facilities as well as trying to hire that next coach to take them to the next level. It's a lot of pressure to win and that pressure gets worse the more money the coach makes. It's not only in the SEC, it's nationwide.
Clemson hired Dabo Swinney about the same time Alabama hired Nick Saban and after a slow start at Clemson, Swinney has equaled what Saban has done in the last few seasons. Two of the last three championship trophies are in Clemson, South Carolina and Swinney's paycheck is also comparable to Saban's. However, in the SEC no coach has been able to equal Saban's success at Alabama. Gus Malzahn at Auburn has come closest with three wins in the last seven seasons. No one else is even close among SEC coaches.
We all must wonder just how much longer Nick Saban will be around. He's 67 years old and looks like he can easily coach another ten years, though I don't expect him to coach until he's 77. When he is gone, things will likely even out in the SEC and maybe the Nick Saban factor will be replaced with the Jeremy Pruitt factor. Who Knows?
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Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com