NFL Speculation is the Ultimate Compliment to Nick Saban

Alabama is a touchdown favorite over Clemson. If the Crimson Tide play half as well as they did in the semifinal against Michigan State, Nick Saban will wake up on Tuesday morning with his fourth national title in the last seven years. Speculation that the 64-year-old will entertain a jump to the NFL, which is already prevalent, will hit its fever pitch. The insinuation will anger those who wear houndstooth, many who will be nursing championship-caliber hangovers.

But it shouldn’t. Such nuisances are a small price to pay in exchange for a crimson-and-white dynasty that steamrolls everything in its path.

Saban, whose first foray into professional football ended poorly, may or may not be interested in proving he can win at that level. For every amateur headshrinker who says he’ll jump at the opportunity, there’s one who questions why he’d leave the comfort of Tuscaloosa and roots he’s established there.

The latter school of thought seems more logical, although no one outside of Saban’s inner circle really knows what’s going through his mind. And those people aren’t exactly rushing out to share that information with the media. Instead of trying to predict what he’ll do, let’s take a look at why this type of talk ratchets up whenever Saban is closing in another crown.

America loves a winner. It tires of a repeat winner. We grow tired of watching dominance year after year. Alabama is so good they bore people. Those people then assume that so much winning has also left Saban a bit disinterested.

There is nothing more for him to prove in the college game. He’s not just at the summit–he’s been there so long many wonder when he needs to go back into town for provisions or find another mountain to climb.

Worse, greatness is no longer accepted on its own terms. LeBron James is nothing if he’s not better than Michael Jordan. Andrew Luck is a failure if he’s not the next Peyton Manning. In the same way that great players can’t be appreciated for what they are, killjoys will look at Saban’s lackluster performance with the Miami Dolphins as a serious enough blemish to mention when discussing his legacy.

Saban has no peer when it comes to recent college success. It’s hard to know what to do with him. Consider the public outcry while LSU was planning to fire Les Miles. Miles is considered a great coach. In reality his teams have finished better than No. 14 in the final poll just twice in the last eight years. Alabama is in the midst of its eighth consecutive top 10 campaign.

Saban is a unique case. If he does leave, it won’t be for greener pastures. No NFL job offers the godlike authority he wields at Alabama. So the very notion that he would change hats is borne out of an awed respect. It’s people who are unable to comprehend what such routine success feels like.

Personally, I don’t think Saban is bored — or that he’s going anywhere. But talk that he might is just another example of his greatness. It may scare Crimson Tide supporters who don’t want to envision a post-Nick world. Hell, it should. It’s a good problem for them to have, a flattering piece of evidence to prove the last decade has been rich with titles and bereft of defeat.