1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …

The man isn’t going anywhere. So stop asking, a’ight?

This is the problem with greatness. We never really spend the appropriate time embracing or enjoying or celebrating it.

Because in this gotta-have-it, gotta-feed-it society, once you’ve reached greatness, the only narratives left are who’s knocking you off that pedestal or when are you retiring? Or both.

But why rush glory? Why skip to the end and miss the once in forever journey of Nick Saban?

“Age? You’re kidding, right?” an SEC coach told me. “If you’re drafting coaches right now — for the foreseeable future — the 70-year-old is first off the board.”

Or as SEC commissioner Greg Sankey once told me, “Nick could decide to run a Fortune 500 company, and I have little doubt it would be among the most successful Fortune 500 companies.”

Yet every season begins the same way. When will he retire? When has he had enough?

And the silent killer: Is he slipping?

That narrative arrived after the 2020 season, when Alabama won it all with its best-ever team under Saban. Just like it did in 2014, when Ohio State beat Alabama in the Playoff semifinal with a third-string quarterback.

Like it did in 2018, when Clemson beat Alabama in the national championship game for the 2nd time in 3 years, the last a beatdown unlike any other for a Saban team in the Playoff.

Or like it did in 2019, when a perfect storm of events led to the greatest single season in college football history from LSU quarterback Joe Burrow.

That’s why the questions this season shouldn’t be so surprising. Even though Alabama played an SEC-only schedule through a raging pandemic in 2020 and annihilated everything in its path to win another national title, all we see in the lens of “when will he retire” is what unfolded in 2021 — and to an extent, this offseason.

Saban not only lost to a former assistant for the first time last season, it happened twice. First to Texas A&M and Jimbo Fisher in the regular season, and then to Georgia and Kirby Smart in the national championship game.

It was in Indianapolis, when Georgia won the national title for the first time in 41 years, that a torch was apparently passed. Kirby Smart, the one coach who helped build Saban’s famed Process at Alabama as Saban’s chief lieutenant for 4 of those national titles, had built his own model in red and black.

Nevermind that an easy argument could be made that with injured WR Jameson Williams (lost in the 2nd quarter with a torn ACL), Alabama would’ve won the game. Suddenly, there was a flaw.

Then the offseason arrived.

It began with Fisher beating Saban on a handful of 5-star recruits, the type of elite off-field battles that have gone Saban’s way by a wide margin with every other coach not named Kirby Smart.

Then Saban got annoyed with the way NIL was unfolding wide of its initial intentions and declared it would create an uneven playing field — when, by all accounts, it was shortening the distance between the elite of the sport (of which Saban was part) and everyone else.

Then it boiled over when Saban, speaking in Birmingham this spring, proclaimed Fisher had “bought” his entire No. 1-ranked recruiting class.

And the noise got louder.

Is Saban out of touch with the future of college football? Is he upset because the road to winning is now significantly more difficult? Will it force him to leave the game he has dominated?

All nonsense. All talking points to get through an 8-month offseason.

Saban isn’t alone in this nonsensical search for finality. When will Tom Brady walk away? Or Tiger. Or Belichick. Or Nadal.

Meanwhile, guess who’s building another monster of a team that will have its best defense in years, and the best offensive player in college football surrounded by dangerous skill players?

Guess who just got a commitment from the No. 1 player in the state of Georgia (take that, Kirby), and currently sits — I know this going to shock you — No. 1 in the 247Sports composite recruiting rankings for the 2023 class?

The king, everyone, is lying in the weeds and eager to pounce.

2. Under the radar

If Saban had simply said nothing all offseason, the annual parlor game of when will he retire still would’ve happened — just not to this extent.

But that’s who Saban is, and frankly, it’s what makes him unique. In a profession full of those playing it safe, Saban steps in the box on any issue and swings for the fence.

There is never a hint of deflection or deception. If he says last year was a rebuilding season at Alabama — an utterly ridiculous statement to everyone outside the Crimson bubble — he 100 percent believes it.

No matter how it minimizes what Georgia accomplished, or how out of touch it sounds coming from a coach who was an injury away from winning it all.

He says these things not for public consumption, but for player absorption. Everything — every single thing — Saban says is directly tied to his players.

You say he makes excuses every time he loses (a valid point), and he’ll tell you he’s pointing out fact. He’ll say his players weren’t mentally focused after the kick-6 disaster in 2013, and didn’t care about playing Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.

An excuse? Absolutely. The truth? Absolutely. But it doesn’t sound like any less of an excuse.

He made that statement because he wanted the 2014 team — and every team after that — to understand if you stare at yesterday, you miss tomorrow.

He acts this way because his players always — and always is a wildly powerful word in the ever-flexible lives of young men — know where he stands. There is never, ever, reason for any player to think otherwise.

He’s Col. Nathan R. Jessup, without the code red.

Are we clear?

In for the long haul, The Epilogue

A few years ago, I asked Saban when the end does finally come, what will he do?

He hemmed and hawed and spoke about his love of competition and teaching and watching young men grow, and how he hasn’t really thought about it. All true, all good things.

Then he admitted that, other than football, he enjoys clearing the brush on the shoreline of his property on Lake Burton in the North Georgia Mountains. Think about that for a moment.

A man who could do whatever he wants, who runs a multi-billion corporation (Alabama Football, Ltd.) and could run a Fortune 500 company, enjoys hopping in his skiff with a few garden tools and clearing the brush.

You know why? Because what’s going on in that lake isn’t right.

The brush grows and gets too thick, and it changes the delicate, successful cycle of something he’s in charge of. The brush changes shade on the lake, which changes the algae, which changes feeding habits of life in the lake and before you know it, the entire ecosystem is at risk.

Not on his watch. Not ever.

When he leaves college football, he no longer has control of the big Crimson lake. Maybe the next coach doesn’t stress that, at the end of the day, the greatest motivator for today’s player is their ability to generate future NFL and professional value for themselves.

Maybe the next coach doesn’t believe in the responsibilities of self-determination, or the preparation and consistency it takes every day individually and collectively, that leave everyone involved with a sense of belonging and inner strength to overcome any obstacle.

Then the damn ecosystem is in trouble, and who else can fix it?

The man isn’t going anywhere. So stop asking, a’ight?

4. The template

As we head into Kirby Smart’s first defense of a national title as a head coach, the Alabama template is moving firmly into place at Georgia.

All the way down to the way Saban uses his program to rehabilitate wayward coaches.

Smart brought in former Florida and South Carolina coach Will Muschamp last year as an analyst, and he was quickly moved to special teams coordinator when Scott Cochran was extended a leave of absence. Muschamp is now co-defensive coordinator with Glenn Schumann, but there’s little doubt who runs the Georgia defense.

Smart brought in former Colorado State coach Mike Bobo this offseason as an offensive analyst. Both Muschamp and Bobo are close friends with Smart and were no-brainer hires.

The real move could come in 2023, when Georgia offensive coordinator/QBs coach Todd Monken could land a head coaching job after another impressive season from undersized QB Stetson Bennett.

Would Smart go outside the program to hire a wayward coach — former Florida coach Dan Mullen, or current coaches who could be out of jobs by the end of 2022 (Scott Frost, Dino Babers, Scott Satterfield) — or elevate Bobo?

5. The Weekly Five

The top 5 odds to win 10 games this season, according to our friends at FanDuel:

1. Alabama (-3,500)

2. Georgia (-2,000)

3. Texas A&M (+155)

4. Ole Miss (+350)

5. Tennessee (+450)

6. Your tape is your résumé

An NFL scout analyzes a draft-eligible SEC player. This week: preseason All-SEC Texas A&M G Layden Robinson.

“He’ll play inside here. Don’t think he has the length, athleticism and feet to play outside. He’s a big, strong guy, good low center of strength. I like how he’s active with his hands, he’s actively pursuing, not reacting. He’s not the most athletic guy, and those quick guys inside get by him at times. The best thing he has going for him is he hasn’t reached his ceiling, and he plays with a nasty attitude.”

7. Powered Up

This week’s Power Poll, and one big thing: Most likely award candidate.

1. Alabama: QB Bryce Young (Heisman, Maxwell, O’Brien).

2. Georgia: DT Jalen Carter (Outland, Lombardi).

3. Texas A&M: CB Antonio Johnson (Thorpe).

4. Kentucky: QB Will Levis (Unitas).

5. Arkansas: C Ricky Stromberg (Rimmington).

6. LSU: WR Kayshon Boutte (Biletnikoff).

7. Mississippi State: QB Will Rogers (O’Brien).

8. Tennessee: WR Cedric Tillman (Biletnikoff).

9. South Carolina: RB Christian Beal-Smith (Doak Walker).

10. Ole Miss: TE Michael Tregg (Mackey).

11. Florida: LB Ventrell Miller (Butkus).

12. Auburn: DE Derick Hall (Hendricks).

13. Missouri: K Harison Mevis (Groza).

14. Vanderbilt: LB Anfernee Orji (Butkus).

8. Ask and you shall receive

Matt: How in God’s green earth can you not have Sam Pittman among your Top 25 coaches in college football? I would’ve thought at least in the top 15-20. But nowhere? What gives, man? Shirley Farmer, Dallas.

Shirley:

What Pittman has accomplished in such a short time is remarkable. It’s not just a different team or culture, it’s a different program. The ways it plays, the way it carries itself on and off the field — and how it’s seen outside of the walls of the SEC.

Pittman made 2 very smart hires from the jump — DC Barry Odom and OC Kendal Briles — and kept both for another season when both could’ve gone elsewhere for significantly more money. A staff that works smart and enjoys each other is a wildly underrated factor to winning — and winning games you shouldn’t.

That said, I want to see how Pittman and that unique staff react as the hunted. It’s a different beast. They’ve played hard and smart, and have been well prepared as the underdog and the overachiever. They’re not that anymore. Now they’re expected to win, and in some instances, win big — against a brutal schedule.

That can change the dynamic of a locker room and stress the chemistry and personality of a team. Pittman has made every right move in 2 seasons at Arkansas. If this Hogs team performs to expectations, he’ll be top 15-20 in next year’s rankings.

9. Numbers

62.3. Two weeks into fall camp, and there’s some separation in the LSU quarterback race. Maybe not significant, but Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels is getting more first-team repetitions than Myles Brennan and Garrett Nussmeier (if only because Nussmeier has an ankle sprain).

LSU coach Brian Kelly has been fascinated since spring practice with Daniels’ ability to extend plays that break down and stress defenses with his speed and athletic ability in the run game. But the key to Daniels’ success in the SEC — and the reason he is getting more first-team reps — is a completion percentage significantly better than his career 62.3 number at Arizona State the previous 3 seasons.

Kelly wants the number in the high 60s, where Notre Dame QB Ian Book was in 2018 when he led the Irish to the Playoff. Daniels’ biggest problem at ASU was a lack of patience when going through progressions. He didn’t trust his protection and escaped too early.

“Just getting him comfortable with what we’re doing, and playing within our system,” Kelly said. “He has a lot of talent.”

10. Quote to note

Florida coach Billy Napier: “One of the things you’ve got to do as a staff is teach your players what winning football looks like. We’ve always taken tremendous pride in not giving the other team anything, and I think undisciplined penalties are things you can eliminate.”