Alabama Football Post-Saban

[CatsbyAZ]

Since Nick Saban’s sudden retirement Alabama’s roster is suffering a mass exodus.

As of yesterday, 28 players have entered the transfer portal. Some were announced before Saban’s announced departure, but it’s after Saban left that the surge of players entering the portal were of a higher value and key contributors going into next season. OL Proctor (to Iowa), WR Isaiah Bond (to Texas), CB Dezz Ricks (to A&M), CB Antonio Kite (to Auburn), and most recently, Freshman Caleb Downs, considered by a number of Tide fans to be the best athlete on the roster and already among the best defensive backs in the nation.

To further breakdown Alabama's roster, 13 total starters are lost to graduation, declaring for the NFL early, or have entered the Transfer Portal. This is followed by 10 second-string players departing for those same reasons.

[UAEebs86]

That's a shame.

[Merkin]

Maybe Byrne can call for more red outs and grey outs.

[84Cat]

We'll probably be similar in a few weeks

[CalStateTempe]

Build a bigger screen GB

[ASUHATER!]

DeBoer will get 1 year of a grace period where they'll tolerate him going like 10-3 and beating Alabama and finishing in the top 15 of the rankings but by 2025 he better be in the playoff and winning the SEC

[MountainCat]

Don’t forget the last coach Alabama hired from the state of Washington and how that turned out…

[Merkin]

Don’t forget the last coach Alabama hired from the state of Washington and how that turned out…

Mike Price was always really high on my hire list for Arizona. Took WSU to the Rose Bowl twice*.

But yelling "Roll Tide" while fornicating with a hooker was probably not his smartest move.


*-Mike Leach was also very successful at WSU. Why UA with better facilities and a much bigger city could not replicate that has always been a mystery to me.

[CatsbyAZ]

Saban giving account to what convinced him to retire: 1) Players acting like crybabies after losing to Michigan in the Rose Bowl, 2) Players transferring if they don't immediately play, and 3) players wanting to get paid.

[Chicat]

I’m glad he said it wasn’t “bad” that the players want to be paid because how many millions did he make over the years while the kids who were out there getting their knees blown up and their heads knocked into CTE hell got nothing?

[gronk4heisman]

I guess it is a lot easier when you can pay players in secret in ways other schools can't. When it is a level playing field it is not worth the trouble.

[Merkin]

I guess it is a lot easier when you can pay players in secret in ways other schools can't. When it is a level playing field it is not worth the trouble.

Exactly. He can't pretend he is John Wooden with blinders on regarding Sam Gilbert. Without a doubt he knows money has been and always will be paid to Bama players no matter what the rules are. There are rumors about cash payments to players when he was at LSU.

And about NIL Nick...

[UAEebs86]

To quote Daniel Tosh:

Burn in hell Saban

[CatsbyAZ]

Watching Alabama lose in an alarming upset to Vanderbilt last Saturday, I started wondering whether more barn-burners are in store for a Crimson Tide team that for two weeks in a row can't stop an offense. Gone is the killer instinct that could stop any offense cold or at least do its part to keep Bama in games they eventually lost. It's nearing twenty years since we've seen a Bama defense that can't reliably get off the field, which is the case for 6 straight quarters now.

"Losing to Vanderbilt, though, constitutes a collapse, an inability to clear the SEC’s lowest hurdle, not the highest bar, a failure to win a game in which then-No. 2 Alabama was a 24-point favorite. Losses like Alabama’s 40-35 Saturday stupefier in Nashville don’t just halt a first-year coach's honeymoon. They threaten the marriage’s long-term health."

[azcat49]

Cry me a River Bama fans. So you lost a game, big deal. Try being an Az Fan for a lifetime.

We also questioned play calling, player discipline and his wardrobe (the lei). You beat a top 10 team the week before then dropped one. Hey that’s just like us.Are we Bama

[CatsbyAZ]

Not a happy day in Tuscaloosa. With Alabama officially missing the CFP, Bama fans are airing out their disappointments, singling out coach Kalen Deboer and Jalen Milroe for blame. To quote an irate Xitter thread from @AlabamaFN:

"The expectation is to win championships; point, blank, period. Anywhere else, your first year might have been considered a success. Not here. You decided to sink the ship with an obviously flawed and limited quarterback. You were just too soft in year one..."

"As for Jalen Milroe, you will go down as the most disappointing quarterback in recent Alabama football history in my opinion. You couldn’t read a defense to save your life, had terrible awareness in the run and passing game, couldn’t go through progressions and were a true example of what a wildly inconsistent quarterback looks like...I do blame you for your lack of accountability and leadership. I do blame you for your selfishness and your propensity to make business decisions."

"The lack of real leadership and accountability from the upperclassmen on this year’s team was obvious throughout most of the season. As a leader, one must DEMAND that every single player is fully bought-in. If not, send their ass off. A true leader MUST lead by example every single day. Alabama didn’t have that this season."

"In the end, Alabama got what they deserved: a meaningless bowl game. Our beloved football program is in a state of absolute mystery currently. I’m not 100% certain about anything as far as the Crimson Tide are concerned right now. What I do know is that changes have to be made."

Alabama is off to Tampa to face Michigan in the Outback Bowl (or whatever corporate name it's changed to).