The Dallas Cowboys are suffering through the most disappointing season in NFL history. The team won’t make the play-offs and their franchise quarterback is on the shelf, most likely for the entire season. Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones frustration will grow into more and more inglorious embarrassment in the days leading up to the Superbowl because he and his beautiful stadium/museum/corporate events facility/billboard are hosting Suprbowl XLV.And yeah, Jones’ head coach is losing control and respect like the democrats lost seats in the U. S. House of Representatives.
Unfortunately for Alabama fans, head coach Nick Saban will be mentioned for the Cowboys job from now until Wade Phillips’ successor is named. Even worse, Saban in Texas makes sense for a lot of reasons.
Saban is already on the radar in Big D, and Dallas’ pain is temporary. Jerry Jones has three rings and will get more. The questions are simply “How much will it cost him?” and “When?” For a job like this, there can only be so many swimmers in the candidate pool. How many men on earth could really fill out a application for this job? Consider the short list of available, worthy pro candidates, Bill Cowher, John Gruden and the NFL list of available coaches starts getting watered down pretty quickly from here. Now consider the best coaches in colleges with experience as an NFL assistant and head coach. What’s the first name to pop into your mind? If you say Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, stop reading this and put yourself in time-out.
Saban will never be Bear Bryant. Never, not in the hearts of the Alabama faithful. We all know this. The most beloved and respected man in Alabama is six feet under. You can’t compete with that. Hell, Saban can’t be the most adored coach in Tuscaloosa, why shouldn’t he head to the big city.
Speaking of the big city, spend a minute thinking about opportunities for the coach’s wife kids and grandkids in Tuscaloosa versus Dallas. No contest. And despite how generous Alabama has been paying Saban, here is no salary cap for head coaches in the NFL. With the head coaching position, a contract offer from Jones would be un-capped.
There is also a logical connection between Dallas and Alabama. The Bear was an Arkansas native. Jerry Jones was a captain on the lone Arkansas national champion team in 1960. Of course, now Arkansas plays in the SEC west, and Jones now gets the displeasure of watching the Crimson Tide beat his Razorbacks annually. Hiring Nick Saban could actually improve the records of Jerra’s two favorite teams. (If Jones were crazy enough to try to lure Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino back into the league that could hurt his two favorite teams).
Personality wise there is a fit, also. Wade Phillips is laid-back, a true player’s coach. The problem is the players aren’t playing well. When most coaching changes are made the organized, detail oriented task master replaces the jolly guy with his feet up on the desk.
Saban has unfinished business in the NFL. When he left LSU for the Miami Dolphins in 2005, he had not won a college national championship. Now he has, but he has not won a Superbowl. Alpha-males and short guys love challenges. Back in the recesses of his brain Saban has to ask himself, “Could I?”
There are plenty of reasons why Nick Saban may not want the Cowboys job, and plenty of reasons why jerry Jones may not want him. But if you think the phone lines are not and will not be connecting Dallas and Tuscaloosa, then you probably don’t have much respect for Auburn's Cam Newton either.
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