By Rock Westfall
Last month, when Notre Dame was shockingly upset at home by Northern Illinois , I wrote about the perils of a player's coach related to Marcus Freeman . I mentioned that Freeman’s predecessor, Brian Kelly , was a miserable prick but that he won at a much greater rate.
On Saturday, an even bigger upset took place , perhaps the biggest in the memory of millions of fans. The Vanderbilt Commodores beat the #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide 40-35 as 23-point home underdogs. Vanderbilt had not beaten Alabama since 1984 and had never defeated a #1 ranked team.
Fresh off its “Game of the Millennium” win over Georgia , the Crimson Tide was rolling. But, apparently, they were preoccupied with studying highlight videos, basking in the smiles of Southern belles on campus, and admiring their headlines far too much.
Kalen DeBoer and Alabama allowed the impossible to happen—something that is utterly verboten.. The University of Alabama can NEVER lose to Vanderbilt in football. NEVER. Yet it did. And Alabama got exactly what it deserved.
"Games like this change your life," Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia said.
Indeed, they do.
Kalen DeBoer’s coaching honeymoon at Alabama ended in Nashville on Saturday night. And he deserves ZERO empathy. None.
Alabama’s loss was yet another lesson on the perils of a player’s coach and softer approach. Like Brian Kelly and unlike Kalen DeBoer, Nick Saban was a miserable prick.
But Saban retired as the GOAT.
The Impossible Was No Accident
For millions of college football fans, the new fad is to watch multiple games simultaneously. Yours truly watches seven at a time, with Alabama and Vanderbilt not originally on my list. But when I saw on the crawl that Vanderbilt led Alabama 23-7, and with most of the other games in that time-window being blowouts, I got sucked into putting the game on. Of course, everyone figured the Tide would eventually get rolling and break the hearts of underdog fans everywhere. Instead, Vanderbilt, which led from the start, was never headed.
When Alabama closed the gap to 23-21 and 30-28 in the third quarter, you just knew that Vanderbilt would buckle and finally collapse. Instead, they answered the threats with scores. Ultimately, the Commodores clinched the impossible dream with a first down against the leaky Alabama defense, making unexpected clutch plays with poise and efficiency.
Vanderbilt achieved an unimpeachable win for the ages , outgaining Alabama 418-394 while holding a 26-17 first-down advantage. Vandy held a 2-0 edge in turnovers and committed only three penalties for 20 yards compared to six for 57 yards by the sloppy, undisciplined Tide. Most alarmingly, Vanderbilt was the manlier team, with a stunning 42:08 time of possession.
How could Alabama and DeBoer let this to happen ?
Well, there are legitimate reasons.
Alabama and DeBoer Pay The Price for Kinder, Gentler Culture
The new book The Price is a must-read for college football fans. It gives great insight into understanding today’s game and the factors that contribute to success and failure. It also chronicles Nick Saban in mesmerizing detail.
Authors Armen Keteyian and John Talty go into the reasons for Saban’s retirement and DeBoer’s hiring. The most fascinating part includes interviews with Saban’s former assistant coaches. It doesn’t take long to conclude that Saban was a maniacal tyrant who obsessed over every detail of the game. Coaches were subjected to a college football version of a North Korean work camp but conceded that they learned invaluable lessons that would eventually make them head coaches elsewhere.
While few coaches wanted to stay with Saban long-term, they appreciated the 'doctorate' in championship coaching, even at the cost of a happy work environment and a personal life.
Saban's Alabama coaches were forced to stay on top of their subject matter, knowing that the 'Nicktator' could spring unexpected pop quizzes at a moment's notice that had to be answered to perfection. The fear factor was pronounced, but so were the rewards.
The biggest takeaway from the book is that Saban was the GOAT because of his unsurpassed drive and relentless, obsessive zeal.
Since the arrival of DeBoer—a fine but different type of football coach—repeated reports have surfaced indicating that Alabama players are much happier now than they were under 'Nick the Prick.'
Players have talked of how much better the “vibes” are under DeBoer than under Saban. Saban coached through fear and was no one’s friend. DeBoer is actually humane to his players and staff, allowing them to have lives outside of the Alabama football complex.
Having seen these college football transitions before, I always raise my eyebrows at such feedback. It’s quite an alarming tell. That is because it rarely works or is sustainable.
Where From Here for Alabama and DeBoer?
We have seen this movie before. The winning jerk leaves his program, and the benevolent replacement gets initial love from the players, only to have them take advantage of the softer culture later with an eventual accumulation of losses that the jerk never permitted.
It never ends well for players' coaches. Just look at the Miami Dolphins under Mike McDaniel , who replaced the much tougher Brian Flores . McDaniel has been showered with praise by the 'pajama boy' media for how much he cares about his players and for shedding tears of compassion when they are injured.
Like DeBoer, McDaniel has been called perfect for today’s era of “relationships.” However, McDaniel’s teams are soft and tend to flop when it matters most. He now finds himself in one of the hottest seats in pro football. His players show little respect for him. They have nothing to fear.
Compare that to Saban, who once walked over a convulsing player during a practice.
Nick Saban demonstrated that football is often not a fun game for those who want to succeed. There are no shortcuts, and being a demanding taskmaster offers a coach a better chance at success if he commands all of the facts.
Nick Saban is the GOAT because nobody was more focused and willing to pay a greater price.
Kalen DeBoer won big wherever he has coached, and he resuscitated a moribund Washington Huskies program by taking it to the national championship game in only his second season. His teams have never had dominant defenses, relying on winning shootouts instead.
So far this season, the once-dominant Alabama defense is slipping into the middle of the college football pack. At Vanderbilt, the Alabama defense failed to deliver clutch stops throughout the game. It's also worth noting that, one week prior, Alabama blew a 30-7 lead to Georgia, falling behind 34-33 before pulling it out at the end in a classic shootout.
DeBoer is a competent football coach and, by all accounts, a good and decent man.
Unfortunately, those traits do not always equate to championship football.
Nick Saban is the GOAT for a reason. He forced players and coaches to do things they did not want to do to perfection and without compromise. "Fun" in football is winning championships. However, the price to pay for winning it all is often not enjoyable and is far too high for many players and coaches.
Welcome to Tuscaloosa, Kalen DeBoer.
Nick Saban never lost to Vanderbilt. You just did.
The Crimson Tide just gulped down a box of rat poison.
Kalen DeBoer is now on the clock.
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