By: Mike Huesmann
Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Dabo has the best resume and biggest trophy case of all candidates. He also is a Tide alumnus. But to me, he makes little sense as a candidate to replace Nick Saban. His teams haven’t been great when he didn’t have an elite QB in Watson or Lawrence. Additionally, his teams have regressed in recent seasons.
Most alarming for me, and why I wouldn’t hire him, is that he has shown a total lack of willingness and understanding to utilize the transfer portal and NIL. It is the way of the world now and those who can’t use the portal will perish. Saban showed that he could adapt and modernize, but Dabo has not done so yet.
Mike Norvell, Florida State
This one is more about Alabama than Norvell. He’s an elite coach who brought FSU back from the dregs of the Taggart years. But will he be given the same grace period and leash as other candidates at Alabama? He’s not one of them and if we know one thing about Alabama (and the whole SEC,) it is the sense of superiority that they feel over conferences and places they deem inferior.
A few losses for Norvell and we might hear that he only won in lesser conferences, “You see what happened when he played Georgia”, and much of the same rhetoric and insults we are seeing now directed at “Sunbelt Billy” Napier.
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James Franklin, Penn State
It’s become a cliche, but can he win the big game? Right now, he has not shown us that his teams can defeat equal or better teams. His recent record against Michigan and Ohio State, plus the bowl game against Ole Miss are not looking good for him. In the new-look SEC, he would have far more games of this caliber. What would the Tide faithful be saying if he loses a few of these?
Demeco Ryans, Houston Texans
He has never had to recruit or coach at the college level. This isn’t a job where you’ll have time to learn or get your feet wet. This is a job where you’re immediately thrown off the high platform into the deep end.
Being pretty good won’t suffice, it’ll be expected that this coach will be elite from day 1. It would be unfair expectations for Ryans, but that’s going to go with the job. How many of us are elite at any task we’ve never been asked to do?
