This guy has a death wish

[Ogre]

Article from Josh Moon in the Montgomery Advertiser:

COMMENTARY: Saban must accept share of blame for UA's troubles

By Josh Moon
 

It's been quite a week for the Alabama football program. Two arrests. Two recruits in court. Tons of excuses. Few answers.

Nice job there, Nick Saban and Co.

Hey, here's a recruiting tip for you fellas: I hear this O.J. guy out on the West Coast has a nice 40 time.

All along we believed UA officials paid Saban $4 million because they thought he was the best coach in the land. Turns out, they were just planning ahead and figuring he'd need the extra cash for bail and attorneys' fees.

What a sad seven days for the UA faithful. Allow me, if you will, to recap this week's episode of The Crimson Tide Goes To Court.

The show started last weekend with the arrest of Jeremy Elder on two felony charges after he allegedly robbed two UA students at gunpoint.

What did the world's largest Jesse James impersonator get for his hard work? A whopping $26. That's right, four value meals and a pack of gum. For that, he traded roughly 10-20 years of his life. (Obviously, Mr. Elder was not an economics major.)

Later in the week, two UA recruits proved just how versatile this program is when it comes to the court system. These guys aren't one- or two-trick ponies sticking to disorderly conduct or robbery. No sir. They can do it all.

Take star wideout Julio Jones, for example. He was called to testify in a murder trial. During his testimony, he admitted to hanging around with a known drug dealer and running across the street just prior to that dealer being shot and killed.

And Jones wasn't the only soon-to-be-Tide player to have his name appear on a docket. According to court reports, recruit Burton Scott was also in court last week after a 44-year-old woman sued Scott in an attempt to establish child support payments.

I actually feel sort of bad for Scott. Ordinarily, this sort of thing wouldn't be mentioned anywhere. But because it happened this week, on the heels of so many other problems at Alabama, his personal issues have become statewide news.

But Scott's troubles didn't remain news for long. Instead, Tide team captain Rashad Johnson sent the week out with a bang by landing himself in handcuffs, which is exactly the way you want your team captains. He was charged with an old favorite around the Capstone -- disorderly conduct outside a club on the strip.

After the week that was, if you're scoring at home, that's eight arrests in Saban's year on the job. Eight.

And fans and supporters are in full-on spin mode, blaming everyone but Saban.

From what I can tell from listening to fans, these arrests can be blamed equally on the kids, the kids' parents, Mike Shula and the Tuscaloosa police department. But not on Saban.

As I've said before, I have a problem assessing the blame in these situations. I mean, how do you make someone do anything? How do you force a college kid not to drink and party and act like a fool? How do you get inside the head of a player who's warped enough to allegedly hold up two other students in a dorm parking lot? How do you monitor 85 players 24 hours a day?

But at the same time, one statement from fans kept ringing in my ears all week "Auburn is recruiting the same kids we are."

And you know what, that's true. Now, the UA faithful were using it in defense of their coaches, attempting to prove that AU coaches would have happily taken the same athletes. And they're right. The Auburn team is largely made up of players who had a choice between going to AU or UA, just as the UA players had the same choice.

What that means, though, is that either the Tigers coaches have been extremely lucky in signing only the trouble-free players, or there's a better system at AU for keeping these kids out of trouble. I believe it's the latter. It has to be. Auburn isn't that lucky (see: 2004).

And with that being the case, there is some blame for Saban. There is something more he and his staff could do to prevent some of this nonsense from happening.

It's time for him to get it done. He gives good lip service to accountability and respect during his press conferences and speeches -- you know, when he's demanding it from others.

It's time he started practicing what he's preaching. Whether he likes it or not, these kids are his responsibility and the image of the Alabama football program is his to elevate or destroy.

Whether they'll admit it or not, Alabama fans are embarrassed by the arrests and pitiful conduct of their players. They're tired of the jokes and jabs from rivals.

They may never come right out and say it, but they want Saban to handle this nonsense. They want him to bring the hammer down and put a stop to it. They see him deal with the media in his brash, authoritative manner. They want the same guy to handle their troubled program.

If he doesn't do something soon, they might just start believing he's part of the trouble.
Josh Moon a sports writer for the Advertiser, can be reached at jmoon@gannett.com. You can also read his blog at moonjosh.blogspot.com.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080226/COLUMNISTS17/802260332/1002/SPORTS

[wesfau]

This guy clearly has not heard of Saban's reputation as a stern disciplinarian.

[Snaggletiger]

Coach will straighten this cat out at his press conference today.  Moon crossed that line and he must pay.

[ssgaufan]

Saban acts like a big tuff guy with all of the reporters, but then cowers like a little bitch when he's dealing with players that could break his ass in half.  He's nothing more than a bully.  I'll pick on the little kids and act like a badass around them, but I'll act right around the big kids (cause I'm scared, and they could expose me as a fraud).  Saban is a real piece of shit.

[Subterranean Jack]

The article is right on and it's time the UAT fanbase heard it. Unfortunately, or not, it isn't coming from the one person who bears the responsibility-- Saban. Big indicator of things to come.

This spring will be pivotal in Saban's career at UAT. Either he pulls the plug on 10-12 troublemakers, regardless of talent, experience, or star ratings, or the media will build the on-going and future scandals into an Indiana Jones-like rolling boulder situation. UAT already has Miami (thug U) and FSU (criminoles) status, without the cute nickname (take on the challenge guys! I'm sure you're up for it).

 

[Lurking Tiger]

The article is right on and it's time the UAT fanbase heard it. Unfortunately, or not, it isn't coming from the one person who bears the responsibility-- Saban. Big indicator of things to come.

This spring will be pivotal in Saban's career at UAT. Either he pulls the plug on 10-12 troublemakers, regardless of talent, experience, or star ratings, or the media will build the on-going and future scandals into an Indiana Jones-like rolling boulder situation. UAT already has Miami (thug U) and FSU (criminoles) status, without the cute nickname (take on the challenge guys! I'm sure you're up for it).
 

Concurrence.

I think we will see a lot of "Pa-Roll Tide" and "Criminal Tide" headlines this year.

It couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of douche bags.