Hey folks - as a member of the DawgNation community, please remember to abide by simple rules of civil engagement with other members:
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
Options
Steve Spurrier provides candid thoughts on Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher verbal spat
System
Posts: 10,410 admin
Steve Spurrier provides candid thoughts on Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher verbal spat
ATLANTA — Steve Spurrier heard enough about the Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher war of words to have some questions of his own.
Comments
I hate to agree with Spurrier about anything but have to agree with him on this.
It's the wild west of recruiting now. Saban had it down to a science, then the rug was pulled. Frankly, it's a mess and the NCAA doesn't have the guts to address the situation. Even the NFL has salary caps...
Thankfully Spurrier has never been associated with UGA. He is a classless, big mouth buffoon desperately trying to cling to any shred of relevance. He is an embarrassment to the schools he represented. Persona non grata most places he goes. Remember the year when UGA beat Spurrier so bad he quit? Retired from coaching never to coach again. Good times.
By getting so mad about what Saban said, it makes Jimbo look guilty, you don't act like that unless you're guilty, and then he says he don't lie, or cheat, well I remember when he was the Florida State Head coach, and Jameis Winston was his QB.
In order for Jimbo to be guilty of anything, there has to be something that he is guilty of. I don’t care who the coach is be it Saban, Fisher, Spurrier, Kirby, or whomever, wherever the NCAA draws the line great coaches are going to push the envelope right up to the line.
Spurrior is correct, Saban didn’t lie. What he seemed to fail to say is Jimbo did nothing wrong. Since the NCAA didn’t draw a line when it comes to NIL, there’s no rule to break. So what if A&M bought their team? So what if a five star throws away tens of millions of future dollars to take a million now to go play in obscurity for Coach Prime?
Since the NCAA blew the top off Pandora’s box and it has blown up in their faces, I believe Kirby has the best plan for navigating this unknown, take the players who want to come to UGA and be developed for future success. Let the rest chase their NIL deals and immediate gratification. One thing is for sure, one recruiting class does not a team make. Jimbo will soon find that out!
@MikeGriffith
LOL...I have a hard time believing that was all Spurrier had to say on the subject. I'd like to hear more. Maybe he's worried the Gamecocks, Gators and Semi-holes will be brought into this fight.
You remember the back-and-forths between Spurrier and Bowden. "FSU stands for, Free-Shoes-U", Spurrier. That was in response to players partaking in after-hours shopping sprees at a Sporting Goods Store.
Saban offered Fisher the OC job at BAMA in 2007, but Fisher, then FSU OC, was made co-HC @FSU and Head Coach-in-waiting. So...he stayed. He was HC during the Jameis Winston "Crab legs incident" and follow-on rape cover-up that occurred.
FSU was not a clean program, neither is Texas A&M. Both A&M's HC and AD have been involved in nefarious activities at their former jobs. The AD, was also Athletic Director at Ole Miss when Hugh Freeze bought their players..
Jimbo assumes everybody operates the machinery, the same way he and Bowden did.. it's interesting he didn't have anything to say about the chaos in College Football recruiting or the Transfer Portal. That's because, he likes things the way they are. It plays into his wheelhouse. He knows how to cheat without cheating.
Saban, Smart, Day and others are getting on board and that's what this is all about. Saban was trying to inspire and educate his Booster base to Pony up more money and get aggressive in the recruiting game, cause now, it's out of his hands. If he gets involved, it's a violation that would lead to sanctions and they don't want that.
The Collectives and Boosters don't need a crystal ball or one-on-one meeting with the Coach, to figure out who the target recruits are for their respective Universities. All they need to do, is scan Rivals, Sports247, ESPN and other recruiting sites...they'll tell them which players their HC's are after. Then...go make em an offer they can't refuse. LOL
You can't change the spots on a leopard...but, you can paint over them.
Very well thought out post!
Agree with this line:
“Spurrier is correct, Saban didn’t lie. What he seemed to fail to say is Jimbo did nothing wrong.”
That is typical Spurrier-ese.
He loves to take smart-A jabs. As you said, he “agreed” with Saban but didn’t state that, at least as of now, Jimbo appears to have followed the rules (not that I am taking up for Jimbo, by any means).
Saban’s remarks, at the very least, were misleading and at the most were inflammatory and libelous. And Spurrier’s remarks, therefore, were very disingenuous. He needs to stay the heck away from this debate.
Who the heck even cares what he has to say anyway!? The cowardly quitter……..
NIL still cannot be used as an enticement to get a player to commit to a school. Can the players profit - yes. Can Jimbo say "If you commit/sign, we already have a 50K NIL deal with your name on it" - no. The latter is pay for play, which is still against the rules.
The specifically is what A&M is being accused of. This would not be the first time they have tried to buy players, not the first time Jimbo ran a dirty program, and the first time a perennial 8-4, 7-5 team sign the highest rated class in recruiting history.
To some of the commenters below, Spurrier does not know if Jimbo did not do anything wrong so why would he say Jimbo didn't do anything wrong when he has no way of knowing that? You and I don't know that either. I could say it but I would be lying because I just don't know!
Spurrier probably also knows that for Saban to make a comment like that, that is was very calculated at minimum, and that it is most likely that Saban actually knows something or somethings that none of us do. If so ,then Jimbo might knows he probably knows too. Hmmm. And that is why Jimbo might have came out swinging FULL FORCE to get Saban to think twice. No not think twice, cease and desist immediately. Makes sense. Uh-huh. Saban also does have players on his team now that was also recruited by A & M too. Do you think that they have not been interrogated, or shall we say gently asked to be filled in on the recruiting tactics of A & M?
Who knows, a trap may have been set and ole Jimbo walked right into it and crossed the line. Who knows. I do know this though. It sure is going to be a lot more interesting than expected over the next few years! Thanks to these two going at it and the NIL fall out. Oh and thanks to Kiffin. And let us not forget Leach and Kiffin, just being Leach and Kiffin. Then throw in Auburn and their boosters running the dumpster fire, I mean program, over there.
Speaking of that, Auburn is in a world of hurt right now in the West aren't they? Times like this in the past, well, we should all know what went down behind the curtains so they could keep up with Bama. And now they got A & M to deal with too? And Ole Miss and Ark? Miss St will give them a go. LSU is now on the mend also and with a very experienced major coaching hire who will recruit very well. UGA will take care of them for the foreseeable future every year. Looking real gloomy. Lots of losses on their horizon for awhile. Hell Auburn might just want to leave the SEC LOL! Oh I forgot how I started on this. This historically is when they will pony up. You all know what I am talking about. And if possible, have the new coach they just tried to run off, be the scapegoat if it gets found out. They are pretty experienced at that kind of thing though. Been perfecting the process for decades so, if it does, either A it will be way down the road and or B, not enough proof, cause they are just that good at it now. About once every 10-15 years or so they just gotta do what they just gotta do to keep up with the Bama...and in a big way. Not their everyday ponying way. Like in a Cam Newton kinda way. Like a bunch of big time recruits kinda way first and then, BAM pull the big string! Better watch them the next 3 years. Like a **** hawk!
I am interested in the Old Ball Coach’s comments. I vote for less background to skim through to get to the news.
The Ol'Ball Coach. Still trolling after all these years. LOL
"the first time a perennial 8-4, 7-5 team sign the highest rated class in recruiting history."
You've hit on the key point, rxmaster.
Fisher's had success as a recruiter -- but nothing that compares the top class in NCAA history. And by a fairly large margin. And by a team that hasn't even one its division.
The question is: Was Jimbo simply leveraging the power of A&M's large and wealthy alumni base without getting into specific NIL deals? Or did someone at A&M cross the line by getting too explicit?
In his comment, Saban implied the latter. Maybe, it was Saban's way of pushing to NCAA toward a policy change. Maybe, he's even trying to agitate for an investigation of A&M (a reach, unless someone steps forward). Maybe, it was to signal that the Bama alumni base needs to step up (although Bama alums will never be able to pony up the same cash that A&M can). Or, maybe, in a relaxed moment, he just was letting slip frustration at a change that threatens his dominance. Whatever the case, Saban was going out on a limb.
It's not like all the other coaches ain't trying to use every tool at their disposal to their advantage. Maybe, A&M found the right way to reap its natural advantage with NILs while not crossing any lines.
But Jimbo's over-the-top reaction makes his look insecure and guillty, and his AD piled fuel on that impression. Plus it's just ****. And it makes me want to see him fail even more than I did before.
There's probably an investigation already underway. Spurrier knows this, which is why he was unusually brief and restrained in his comments. LOL
Something occurred to me last night. It makes sense now, why Jimbo went postal on Saban.
Saban didn't mention the $30 mil price tag. Others did that for him, beginning with "Sliced Bread" in February.
Imagine if you were a highly recruited 5-star athlete that signed with A&M this year...... You get on campus and meet half of the other 23 4&5-star guys that came out of the Top 100. The rest will join the team for Summer OTA's and conditioning, after Graduating HS. You were approached with a $200,000 NIL deal and you're happy about it. You and the other guys start talking and comparing notes on various promises and deals. Most are fairly satisfied with where they stand.....Then it hits! News of $30 Mil used to buy the signing class. You know you were in the Top 10 of the Class and you only got $200,000. Everybody else "said" they got similar deals. Uh-oh...where did all the money go? Who got the most money? Which of my teammates is lying about what they got? Am I the only one that got suckered? Coach won't talk talk to me about it. He says he doesn't have anything to do with NIL deals and can't discuss it. $29.8 MIL went somewhere and it wasn't to sign me. I'm getting rooked. F__k the Aggies, if that's all they think of me...I want out.
That is going through the mind of every player on that team and discontent is contagious. The rookies and the veterans are all quietly questioning their decision to go to, or stay in, College Station. They're bitter 'cause they didn't get their fair share.
It doesn't matter if there actually was $30 MIL or not. If the players believe there was, then the effect is the same. Perception is 9/10ths of reality.
This has Jimbo scared shitless. Team morale and chemistry, headed in the wrong direction, is a very, very difficult thing to turn around. It could cost him the team and several transfers before everything is said and done.
I understand now, why he was so adamant and defensive. It's already begun. The team is going to tear itself apart from within over greed and distrust. I've seen it before and it ain't pretty. That little show he put on, was for the benefit of the players, especially the ones that haven't arrived yet. He's trying to convince them that $30 MIL didn't exist. The guys that aren't on campus yet, are probably asking questions and wondering why they aren't getting big bucks, like the internet, media and Fans say they are.
"SHOW ME THE MONEY" is going through a lot of young Aggie minds right now, like a runaway train. Jimbo is doing everything he can to stop it...while Saban is pouring on the coals. LMAO
Coach Prime Sanders and his #1 recruit are trying to do the same thing. They can't have 98% of the team thinking 2% got a $1 MIL deal. It would destroy team chemistry. I'm willing to bet, there aren't many players, playing for Jackson St. getting NIL deals. And, Sanders remarking that he doesn't get paid $1 MIL doesn't mean a darned thing. He would coach that team for free...he doesn't need the money.
Denying that these deals exist or that the money is on the table,, is falling on deaf ears. I think that horse is out of the barn. They might as well go ahead and admit it and at least preserve "trust", cause once that goes...game over.
You got to like the Ol’ Ball Sack coach! 😀He’s always told it like it is. He was great for college football during his time. I’ll put him above Saban as the greatest coach in my lifetime. Like him or not, the man was a heck of a coach.
I'm thinking there ain't gonna be another Saban-Sanders AFLAC ad this year. Just a hunch. ;-)
I'M betting they merge with the All State "Mayhem Man". LOL