Crimson Red Sports

Cecil Hurt's take on Butch Davis:  http://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1244929

First RR, now BD.  Bama got really lucky that we ended up with CNS.

In a lot of ways besides improprieties. But speaking of which, every day that passes without a BAMA violation or player arrest is a great testimony to what CNS has done in Tuscaloosa. We are under the microscope, perhaps moreso than any other team, because not only is the NCAA watching but every jealous "also ran" in the country. The media, as well as our competitors would love to "get the goods" on the Tide. While it is almost impossible to run a program without a single incident, we have come close to that and should be headlined a shining star for doing things the right way.

You imply it, but don't say it.  Butch might have sent us down an ugly path if he'd taken the Bama job.  Whew.

You said it.

Not under the careful tutelage of CMM. But we got so much more in the way of coaching/recruiting prowess that further discussion is negligible.

I am glad they all jumped ship. We got CNS and are clean now. I don't feel we was lucky, I think God fully Blessed us after prayers for something good! RTR!

The story behind us getting CNS and how it happened is a classic in itself, only Mal can tell it like it was and I sure enjoyed it. Yes we were very lucky.  ;)

So do your best Mal impression and give us all the details.

Mal had treated himself to a couple or three of his favorite drinks and was in a talking mood that night. I wish I could imitate him because it is a very funny story. He even told us his favorite Bear stories and that was hilarious as well.

My theory on the Bama offer to CRR was that CMM never intended to hire Rodriguez. They needed to stall for time until CNS was ready to talk. So when Bama offered CRR they made sure the increase in pay was a number that WVU could afford to match. CRR ended up with a raise and we ended up with CNS.

Mal never talked to RR at all, only his agent. Mal asked the agent to not say anything about their discussion of a possible hire but when Mal got to his hotel and turned on the sporting news they were reporting Bama was offering RR a job. Mal said  that ended any further discussion about RR with the agent.

WVU had about had it with CRR prior to him going to Michigan. It may have been Rita that pissed them off the most. Everytime she'd hear of some perk a "big time coach" was getting she'd send CRR to demand it. Their list of demands became endless. For instance she would hear a coach had use of the school plane so many times a year. She wanted it too. WVU was fed up with both of them before he defaulted on his contract. BTW, WVU later won a large settlement against him.

I also spent some time with CMM. Christmas party in NYC. Best guy ever-- I'll go to my grave defending CMM.

This is great to hear.  I always wondered what in the world was Mal thinking even talking to RR.

So how did the Saban hire unfold?  I remember hearing a rumor back in 2007 that Saban and Mal had been talking before Shula was fired, but Saban wanted him to wait until the end of the NFL season before they entered into any serious discussions.

The first time that Mal ever talked with Saban,  was the night before he took the job and he had Terri with him, Mal had been dealing with Jimmy Sexton only. Sexton told Mal that he wasn't sure if Saban would take the job or not, that he had been given information that he might be interested in the job at Bama due to the Shula issue . The person that informed Sexton about Saban's interest was an ex Bama player that might have been on his staff at Miami, not sure about who he was.

Finally Sexton set up a meeting and Saban brought Terri with him. Saban had mixed emotions about leaving Wayne Huizenga, Dolphins owner, and said he would have to go home and think about it some more. Saban agreed to call Mal the next day, mid day, with his answer.

Well, the next day came and Mal was waiting on the call and it had gotten well past mid day and no call. Mal finally gave up and checked out of his hotel and headed to the airport. He was even checking his voice mail at home to make sure he had not missed the call. Mal was very distraught, to say the least ,and had no idea how he would explain to evryone about his failure. Finally the call came before Mal got to the airport, and the rest is history.

Saban never lied to the media about him negotiating a job with Bama, it all happened the night before he took the job.
 

Ummmm sounds like a bunch of sports nutts need to aplogize but we know that ain't gonna happen. RTR!

I figured that was the case.

Thanks for posting this.

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Didn't CMM say that CNS showed no interest in the job and the only reason he continued to pursue CNS was because of a conversation with Ms. Terri where she said how much she and CNS liked the college game?

Yes and I think that was because of his respect and dedication to Huizenga,Terri was ready to get out of Miami. I managed the Gene Stallings Rise Tournament at that time and when CNS arrived in town he was invited to play. I took him and Cedric to the driving range before the tournament and had a chance to talk with him some. I asked him had the past couple of months been kind of tough due to the hiring process. He asked me how much I knew about the NFL and it's demands. He said it was 12 months a year, 7 days a week, and 24 hours a day and there wasn't much time for family. He then told me that the people in Tuscaloosa don't realize how happy that he and Terri were to be here.

Thank the good Lord for Terri. Great post Jamos. #+

No kidding great post! #+ I had no idea you had this degree of T-Town stroke. From now on ALL your posts should reflect this level of inside info. CNS's home phone? TIA

I put this one on the home page.  Jamos, you are racking up the e-creds today.

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I always had a feeling that it happened something like this. Kudos jamos for the info, and bigger kudos to Miss Terri.  #+

This^  #+