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Growing Nick Saban coaching tree includes good, bad and ugly
By John Hollis
Published:
Often imitated, never duplicated.
His run of success over the past eight years established Alabama coach Nick Saban as the gold standard by which all college football coaches are measured, but particularly those in the ultra-competitive SEC.
Saban’s larger-than-life shadow hangs over the SEC like heavy fog, leaving the rest of the lapped field in the conference grasping at the next best thing since they can’t actually beat Saban.
Getting a Saban 2.0.
The legendary Crimson Tide coach who already has won four national titles has watched his coaching tree grow exponentially as of late, as his competitors desperately cling to the hope that they can land the next Saban for themselves from those who directly learned from him.
Current head coaches who worked for Saban at Alabama or at previous stops with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, LSU, Michigan State and Toledo include Mark Dantonio (Michigan State), Jimbo Fisher (Florida State), Jim McElwain (Florida), soon-to-be Georgia coach Kirby Smart, Dan Quinn (Atlanta Falcons) and Jason Garrett (Dallas Cowboys).
Dantonio and Fisher have been spectacular, with Fisher leading the Seminoles to the 2013 national championship. McElwain did a remarkable job in Gainesville in his first year and is a slam dunk to be this year’s SEC Coach of the Year.
And those are just a few of the many Saban disciples dotting the college football landscape. Others in coordinator positions include Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, Georgia (for now) defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, Houston offensive coordinator Major Applewhite, Louisville defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and both Gators coordinators set to match wits with Saban at the Georgia Dome on Saturday in offensive coordinator Doug Nussemeier and defensive coordinator Geoff Collins.
But Saban-lite hasn’t always translate into guaranteed success either.
Muschamp was a bust in his four years as Florida’s coach, going 11-13 over his final two seasons, including a stunning home loss to FCS opponent Georgia Southern in 2013, before getting fired to open the door for McElwain’s arrival.
Muschamp, however, could soon be getting another shot as his name has been mentioned most recently in connection with the vacant South Carolina job.
But he was by no means the biggest disappointment from the Saban coaching tree.
Just mention the name of Derek Dooley to Tennessee fans and their eyes will roll in disgust. Dooley, the son of Georgia icon Vince Dooley, had worked for Saban at LSU and later followed him to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins before returning to college to become head coach at Louisiana Tech. He proved completely overmatched during his disastrous tenure as the Vols head coach from 2010 to 2012. He was fired, but not before the program reached new depths that set it back years.
Dooley, the wide receivers coach for the Dallas Cowboys, left Knoxville with a 5-19 SEC record over his three seasons, listing a Music City Bowl loss to North Carolina in 2010 as his only trip to the postseason.
Imitation may be flattery, but duplication is a little harder.
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
