Nick Saban press conference 12-03-08

After the firings of Phil Fulmer and Sylvester Croom and the resignation of Tommy Tuberville, which smells more like Auburn's boosters pushed him out, Nick Saban has decided to speak out about loyalty, of all things.

The coach who ditched LSU for a gig in the NFL, which he almost immediately scrapped to go to Alabama has a problem with the way SEC universities are treating coaches with good track records.


Only 10 years after winning a national championship at Tennessee, Phil Fulmer was pushed out of Tennessee. 8 bowl wins, a national championship, 2 conference championships, 7 division titles and a 152-52 overall record weren't enough to preserve his job after losing 7 this year.

Sylvester Croom appeared to be taking Mississippi State in the right direction after last year, when the Bulldogs went 7-5 and then went on to beat Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl. This year, however, Croom and Mississippi State went 4-8, and Croom is gone.

The latest casualty was Tommy Tuberville. While the Auburn brass insists that it was Tuberville's decision, fellow former Auburn coach Terry Bowden made it clear on Scott Van Pelt and Mike Tirico's radio show that the decision was most likely based on the boosters. Bowden said that it was never clear at Auburn who his boss truly was, whether it was the university or the boosters. In that sense, it made it very difficult for Tuberville. His overall record was 85-40 at Auburn, and he won 5 bowl games in 10 seasons. He also beat rival Alabama 7 out of 10 times, including 6 straight, a streak that was broken this year during Alabama's incredible undefeated regular season under Saban.

Coach Saban has a great point about the loyalty and respect that should have been shown  to these guys. However, the SEC is a ruthless place for football, and the Urban Meyer and Nick Saban's of the league are casting a wide shadow over their conference rivals. Teams like Tennessee and Auburn can't afford to miss out on big recruits and allow their program to suffer while Florida and Alabama run roughshod over the rest of them.

Also, the loyalty thing is something that Saban may want to direct at himself. Ask LSU fans how they feel about Saban leaving them for the Miami Dolphins, only to return to the SEC a few short years later to coach Alabama. It goes both ways, Nick.


Charlie Weis has a job. Tommy Tuberville and Phil Fulmer do not. What a country! [Dr. Saturday]