Nick Saban's potential to become college football's commissioner should it arise just got a major message from an extremely outspoken Big Ten football coach. In order to address the uniformity issue in college football, this coach says Saban is essential for the job.
Nick Saban earns huge compliment from 19-win Big Ten coach about CFB commissioner idea originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Former Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU Tigers and Michigan State Spartans coach Nick Saban may not give himself enough credit about how much he could give back to college football if he were to step in and become the "commissioner" of college football.
But other coaches in the industry see the vision for Saban to take on a larger role in the sport while comfortably in retirement as a "College GameDay" analyst while in-season, including Nebraska Cornhuskers coach Matt Rhule.
During this past week's edition of Rhule's podcast, "House Rhules," Rhule gave an incredible sales pitch for why Saban would be an undeniable fit for the position.
“Because he’s been in the trenches, he has experience, he has the vision," Rhule said. "And you also have to have someone who has the guts and the toughness to make hard decisions, because you’re not going to make everyone happy. That’s why the NFL has Roger Goodell, he’s going to do things, even if people don’t like them, he’s going to do what’s right for the game. And they protect the league."
Saban, though, doesn't appear rushed to make a major decision.
“I don’t want to be in that briar patch of being a commissioner, but I do want to do everything I can to make it right,” Saban told The Associated Press in August.
Saban, though, does think there are some ways to enhance the sport to make it better than what it currently is.
“For years and years and years as coaches, and when we were players, we learned this, we’re trying to create value for our future,” Saban said. "That’s why we’re going to college. It’s not just to see how much money we can make while we’re in college. It’s, how does that impact your future as far as our ability to create value for ourselves?”
If Saban were to change his mind, though, Rhule suggest that clarity and stability would be two things the Hall of Fame coach would be able to provide to a sport that sometimes has instability in various off-field areas.
“For us, our conferences are our leagues, so everyone is protecting their own conference, which is why things end up being maybe a little disjointed as a result,” Rhule added. “So, shoot, come on Coach Saban, do it, man. We need you.”
If Rhule can get more teams to buy into Saban's vision, immediate breath of fresh air would be massive for a sport that continues to grow every year.
Category: General Sports
