rjd970
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I want to preface this by clarifying that I'm not saying Bama doesnt have a great program anyway and Saban will go down as one of the best coaches in history. Sabans staff is top notch across the board, and they know how to scheme and evolve with the game. As much as I dont respect Kiffin as a person, I do respect him as an offensive mind. Facilities are stellar, and they have a culture of winning that is above and beyond other programs. Saban is a great coach, and will win championships anyway.
But lets be clear, being this dominant for so long is historically unprecedented. While there are traditional powerhouses, the parity of college football will never allow one team to be good for too long on any given stretch. Sooner or later, teams cycle out. When it doesnt, it is historically indicative of some form of cheating or rule bending. Eventually the house of cards fell with Nebraska of the 90's, Miami of the early 2000's, and USC of the mid 2000's. When teams are year-after-year that dominant in recruiting and winning, it always comes out that an unethical culture and flat out cheating, beyond what everybody else is doing, is behind it.
Saban is from the Bilicheck coaching tree, to assume there isn't something shady going on down there that is above and beyond what everybody else is doing is the height of denial. Under his vaunted Process at Bama and LSU, Kirby Smart and Muschamp were defensive geniuses, McElwain was an unstoppable offensive mind, and even Dooley was a special teams and recruiting guru. These coaches that have gone elsewhere can't come close to matching, or even really compete with his success. Now at Bama, this "Process" has achieved results that are unprecedented, no matter who he sticks in the system. So what gives? Why is he so much better now? Is it really Sabans Process that is so great, or is it the Process he operates under at Bama?
Historically, this level of disparity is only explainable in in terms of expanse and levels of cheating the system. The real difference is I see no chance for this house to fall. There is a culture at Bama that allows them to be THIS successful. Alabama has provided an opportunity for a great coach to bend rules others cannot. Is there iron clad proof of this? Of course not. And that is the intent. All bases are covered, and everyone will be quite as long as the wins and money keep rolling in. Given Bamas history with the NCAA, any fan without blinders can put two and two together. Something simply isnt right.
I think this is pretty much the order of things for the foreseeable future. As long as Bama keeps signing the players they do, it will be Bama then everybody else. They have some built in advantage that isn't close for the rest of the conference. New cars, PED allegations swept under the rug, top cover at the NCAA and SEC offices. Ole Miss beat them twice and ended up under investigation. Combine a coach like Saban with unlimited wiggle room with the rules, influence at the NCAA and SEC offices, and working for a program that has been labeled a "habitual repeat offender" by the NCAA with an abysmal infraction record....and you get this kind of dominant advantage no other team can compete with year in and year out. As long as Bama is allowed to continue to conduct business this way, it will always be Bama at the top.
This is an excellent summary by Face put together that ties all this together:
http://www.volnation.com/forum/tenn...erlying-people-processes-corrupt-program.html
Bama has unethically gamed the system so well that the SEC is literally an annual contest for second place. We all might as well get used to it. It's frustrating and sad for the teams that have to compete with this every year. And really, unless you are a Bama fan, this takes the fun out of watching football. Im always going to be a college football fan and enjoy watching every Saturday. I just hope for the integrity of the game, at some point, somebody higher up on the food chain will step in and say enough is enough, something obviously isn't right here.
But lets be clear, being this dominant for so long is historically unprecedented. While there are traditional powerhouses, the parity of college football will never allow one team to be good for too long on any given stretch. Sooner or later, teams cycle out. When it doesnt, it is historically indicative of some form of cheating or rule bending. Eventually the house of cards fell with Nebraska of the 90's, Miami of the early 2000's, and USC of the mid 2000's. When teams are year-after-year that dominant in recruiting and winning, it always comes out that an unethical culture and flat out cheating, beyond what everybody else is doing, is behind it.
Saban is from the Bilicheck coaching tree, to assume there isn't something shady going on down there that is above and beyond what everybody else is doing is the height of denial. Under his vaunted Process at Bama and LSU, Kirby Smart and Muschamp were defensive geniuses, McElwain was an unstoppable offensive mind, and even Dooley was a special teams and recruiting guru. These coaches that have gone elsewhere can't come close to matching, or even really compete with his success. Now at Bama, this "Process" has achieved results that are unprecedented, no matter who he sticks in the system. So what gives? Why is he so much better now? Is it really Sabans Process that is so great, or is it the Process he operates under at Bama?
Historically, this level of disparity is only explainable in in terms of expanse and levels of cheating the system. The real difference is I see no chance for this house to fall. There is a culture at Bama that allows them to be THIS successful. Alabama has provided an opportunity for a great coach to bend rules others cannot. Is there iron clad proof of this? Of course not. And that is the intent. All bases are covered, and everyone will be quite as long as the wins and money keep rolling in. Given Bamas history with the NCAA, any fan without blinders can put two and two together. Something simply isnt right.
I think this is pretty much the order of things for the foreseeable future. As long as Bama keeps signing the players they do, it will be Bama then everybody else. They have some built in advantage that isn't close for the rest of the conference. New cars, PED allegations swept under the rug, top cover at the NCAA and SEC offices. Ole Miss beat them twice and ended up under investigation. Combine a coach like Saban with unlimited wiggle room with the rules, influence at the NCAA and SEC offices, and working for a program that has been labeled a "habitual repeat offender" by the NCAA with an abysmal infraction record....and you get this kind of dominant advantage no other team can compete with year in and year out. As long as Bama is allowed to continue to conduct business this way, it will always be Bama at the top.
This is an excellent summary by Face put together that ties all this together:
http://www.volnation.com/forum/tenn...erlying-people-processes-corrupt-program.html
Bama has unethically gamed the system so well that the SEC is literally an annual contest for second place. We all might as well get used to it. It's frustrating and sad for the teams that have to compete with this every year. And really, unless you are a Bama fan, this takes the fun out of watching football. Im always going to be a college football fan and enjoy watching every Saturday. I just hope for the integrity of the game, at some point, somebody higher up on the food chain will step in and say enough is enough, something obviously isn't right here.
