Throughout the 2006 season, rumors gurgled that then-Dolphins coach Nick Saban wasn’t happy. I heard over and over and over again that Saban didn’t like the NFL game, specifically due to the inability to stack the deck via his uncanny recruiting skills.
Saban’s contract with then-owner Wayne Huizenga allowed Saban to leave for the college game, whenever Saban wanted.
And so he did, after only two years on the job -- and after providing one of the all-time great sound bites at a press conference during which he was badgered about possibly becoming the Alabama coach.
“I’m not going to be the Alabama coach,” said the man who would soon become -- and to this day remains -- the Alabama coach.
Thus was born Exhibit A whenever we believe an NFL coach may be telling something other than the truth. Lying is common in pro football, and it usually happens for strategic reasons. And even though some believe Saban was telling the truth at the time he said “I’m not going to be the Alabama coach,” his words were sufficiently broad to prevent a change of heart.
But his explanation to Chris Mortensen of ESPN in the aftermath of the decision seems to suggest that Saban was simply trying to get past a tough question that had no good answers.
Either way, the only thing we know for sure eleven years later is that I’m not going to be the Alabama coach.
