Pockey why do you have Saban so far down on your personal list?
For me it in large part due to age and will he be a good fit here. I conceded that he is one of, if not the best XandO guys, motivator and recruiters in the college ranks. The reality is Texas is a MUCH bigger job than even Alabama. Bigger school, bigger state and all that implies and then you have the other reponsibilities most notably the LHN.
Say what you will about Coach Brown but he did a masterful job of juggling the responsibilities over the years. If any ONE area of the job is neglected, the whole enchilada can go rancid. Piss off the donor base and you have problems. Believe it or not Texas does take it's academics seriously and if there is a systemic neglect of that with the football team the Coach loses the faculty support. Coach Brown had that support as well as anyone could expect.
The LHN is so huge for the University I don think even I have a full appreciation if what it will mean to th school. No other school is positioned to have its own dedicated network. Some schools may have the Radio/Film/Television program to support their own network but they don't have the fan base to support it. Some may have the fan base but their RTF Dept is more like Ned and the First Grade (See aggy.)
The HC at UT has to be a media savvy guy and have the vision to leverage the LHN in recruiting and broadening brand awareness even further. The HC has to be able to shift focus quickly from, say, a practice environment to a Studio interview without batting an eye and not looking irritated that he's there.
I actually think it is very easy to fail as the HC at Texas. It's very hard to succeed at Texas as HC but if you find the right guy it will be like magic. It could get so big so fast that we'll just sit back and enjoy a loooong ride. Texas has more assets available to it than any other program including the NFL (this was said to me by the Commissioner of the NFL.)
The problem at Texas s if you neglect one thing of the many things you have to juggle as the HC it all can spoil. That's what happened to Coach Brown. It was not the wins and losses. It was how the losses occurred and when they occurred.
He totally screwed the pooch on QB recruiting and he put his chips in on a DC that was ........ oh let's just let that one die.
Can Saban juggle like he's the main attraction at Barnum and Bailey? He hasn't at Bama. He just hasn't. He's been able to have a singular focus on the football team. He's been largely isolated from things like parents and the donor base. My brother's college roommate is the past President of the Ivory Club and he's expressed a frustration with Saban for being so distant and aloof. He rarely makes fund raisers, apparently. Maybe it's just that he picks fund raisers that this guy isn't invited to, I dunno. Point is, he's lived a charmed life at Bama. He hasn't even been called out for some of the terrible press conferences he's had. He wouldn't be able to get away with that at Texas. Be arrogant and snide to a LHN anchor in a interview, film session and Bristol calls Paatterson and says " WTF? We're paying you 300 mil to put up with this. It's not ood TV product. Get your guy in line!"
Yes, I do believe that would happen. But only at Texas and only because the LHN is "our" network.
But who am I to judge? It's not like I'm being offered 10 mil a year to Coach at UT. Heck, if I was, I'd be your juggler, I'd throw up a chainsaw in one hand followed by an egg then a water ballon. Ya, I'd juggle for that kinda scratch.
If it is indeed Saban, I hope he's a juggler too.
