| Alabama Got Their Man, Saban Highest Paid College Football Head Coach |
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| Written by Steven Hastings | |||||||
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Wednesday, 03 January 2007
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 Nick Saban has turned his back on Miami and is heading the Alabama to take over as the Crimson Tide football team’s head coach. The announcement ended an exhaustive search and five weeks of denials from Saban. The offer makes him the highest paid coach in college football.Wayne Huizenga announced the departure at a news conference this morning a little after 10 AM. Huizenga, the Miami Dolphins owner, was informed of the decision in a meeting early that day at Saban’s $7 million dollar Fort Lauderdale mansion. "I've been through this with Nick for quite some time now, and I feel the pain and so forth and so on of Nick and Terry, and it's not a very simple thing," Huizenga said. "I think Nick's great. I'll be Nick's biggest fan. I'll be cheering for him to win that bowl game." Since the dismissal of Mike Shula, the University of Alabama has been on a hunt to find a top tiered coach to restore the program back to national prominence. The job was offered to West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez a few weeks ago. After taking a night to sleep on the decision he decided he would stay at West Virginia. The Mountaineers showed their appreciation by coming from behind to win the Gator Bowl over Georgia Tech on New Years Day. It is reported that Alabama gave Saban an 8 year $32 million dollar deal with $17 million being guaranteed. This makes him the highest paid head coach in all of college football. Officials at the University of Alabama have scheduled a press conference for 4 PM EST presumably to announce the news officially. With the Saban era ending after two losing seasons, the search is on in Miami to find the next head coach of the Dolphins. "There's only one thing I want to do, and it's win," Huizenga said. "I don't care what it takes, what it costs, what's involved, we're going to make this a winning franchise. It's no fun owning a team if you're not winning, I can tell you that. And we are absolutely, positively going to get back to being a winning team. And sooner rather than later." Leading the search for a coach will be Joe Bailey, chief executive officer of Dolphins Enterprises, and Brian Wiedmeier, the Dolphins' president and chief operating officer. The Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons are also seeking a new coach. The Dolphins' next coach will be their fourth in nine seasons. Miami has not reached the AFC championship game since 1994.                        |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 09 January 2007 ) | |||||||