EAST LANSING, Mich. – First it was the New York Giants. A year later, the Buffalo Bills. Then the Indianapolis Colts.
All National Football League teams. All interested in Michigan State football coach Nick Saban.
So far, he isn't biting. Although he won't completely shut the door on returning to coaching in the pros, Saban said he is dedicated to Michigan State.
Many of those closest to Saban said he is committed to staying in East Lansing. Still, the questions persist.
Prior to his hiring at Michigan State in 1994, Saban was the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns from 1991 to '94. With the Browns returning to Cleveland in 1999, Saban's name has surfaced repeatedly as a potential coach.
But Saban reiterated as recently as this month he wants to continue to build a life in a comfortable atmosphere that some college coaches enjoy.
"Everything is not hunky-dory in the NFL," Saban said. "I understand the positives and negatives from having six (two with the Houston Oilers) years of experience in that league, understanding the salary cap, free agency, the problems people have trying to have continuity in their teams, the number of coaches that get fired in the NFL every year. There's been 15 coaches (actually, 13) in the last two years fired. That's half of the coaches, right?
"There's 112 Division I teams in college ... I can't divide by two. ... What is that, 56? 56 guys didn't get fired in the last two years, that's all I know."
Nothing is forever
In the last two years, 38 Division I-A coaches have been fired, resigned or retired. A college football coach, unless you're Hayden Fry or Joe Paterno, is not forever.
Of the coaches who have left in those two years, only one – former University of California coach Steve Mariucci – has landed a head coaching job in the NFL. Mariucci only spent one year trying to revive the Golden Bears.
In an analysis of the 13 NFL coaching hires in the last two years (for the 1997 and 1998 seasons), 12 of the 13 coaches were NFL retreads or others who had positions as offensive or defensive coordinators. Jim Mora, who filled the Indianapolis opening, was the coach of the New Orleans Saints. The Bills promoted defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. The Giants selected Jim Fassel, previously the offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals.
If Saban went to Michigan State to secure a head coaching job in the NFL, it seems he chose the wrong path on his own adventure. Or he chose the adventure he really wanted, as he has repeated.
"I've had offers two years in a row," Saban said when asked if he would not entertain any other NFL advances. "So if I wanted to go to the NFL I'd certainly have the opportunity or could have gone, and if I wanted to stay at Michigan State I would choose to stay there. And I have made that choice, and I'm going to continue to make that choice in the future.
"I don't know why I have to be the guy that goes through this every year."
Saban is not the only one mentioned when a premiere coaching vacancy arises. Head coach Gary Barnett can sympathize with Saban as he enters his seventh season at Northwestern. After taking the perennial Big Ten doormat to Pasadena, Barnett became one of the most sought-after coaches.
"You find yourself in situations that are tough to deal with, and you try to deal with them the best you can," Barnett said. "Usually, because of this business, those things all happen in about a two-week period all at the most inappropriate time of the year it can happen. So you end up doing more damage control than you do anything else."
During Northwestern's back-to-back Big Ten championship seasons in 1995 and 1996, Barnett's name was linked to Notre Dame, UCLA and Georgia. In 1997, his name surfaced in the Texas search.
"It's not like most jobs where you can go visit, examine the situation, look at it, take time to look through the resources and make an objective decision," he said. "... You have to make fast decisions and most of them are around damage control than things you would do in another line of work. It's flattering, of course, but it's also disruptive."
Aloha bowl, fish bowl
Saban is 19-16-1 in his three-year tenure at Michigan State. The Spartans have gone to three consecutive bowl games, none on New Year's Day.
Last season, Michigan State beat Penn State 49-14 to earn a trip to Hawaii with a 7-4 record. There, the Spartans lost 51-23 to Washington in the Aloha Bowl.
In the midst of bowl hype, the rumors started about the Colts' interest in Saban. The question was inevitable: Did Saban's volatile situation contribute to the team's performance?
"I don't make excuses," said Sedrick Irvin, the team's star running back. "I can't talk for everybody, I'm not going to sit here and say that just because Coach Saban was leaving that's why we lost, or just because (Mike) Tyson bit (Evander) Holyfield you know, that that distracted everybody. I don't make excuses. We lost, we lost, we just hope it doesn't happen again."
Amp Campbell, a preseason All-Big Ten pick and an All-America candidate at cornerback, said the rumors about Saban's future made it difficult to focus.
"I think it was real hard because, you know, once you get adapted to a coach you don't want to lose him," Campbell said. "He's the type of guy that I thought this team didn't want to lose because he's a great coach. We were praying that he didn't leave, and luckily he came back."
Larger than life
Two large pictures adorn 72,027-seat Spartan Stadium this season. One shows Irvin scampering down the field. The other portrays Saban in control on the sidelines.
When Saban took over, the football program faced an NCAA investigation from the previous regime and subpar talent. Michigan State has looked to Saban to resuscitate the program and to enable it to recruit state players the same caliber as rival Michigan.
The 1998 recruiting class, anchored by linebacker Josh Thornhill and running back Shawn Foster, was rated fourth in the Big Ten by The Sporting News.
Freshman quarterback Ryan VanDyke has generated the most publicity. The 6-foot-6, 215-pounder out of Marshall, Mich., challenged junior starter Bill Burke in preseason practice for the job and still may see significant playing time.
VanDyke orally committed to Michigan State in June 1997, long after Saban took his first ride on the coaching carousel.
"I remember seeing it on the news that night, and I was talking to my dad and we were going to schedule visits with Notre Dame and Ohio State," VanDyke said.
After Saban announced he would stay at Michigan State, VanDyke canceled plans to visit other schools.
"He's told me that he has no desire to go to the NFL," he said. "(Saban) likes it here. He just likes the college atmosphere."
Conventional wisdom indicates recruits look for continuity and stability in a coaching staff when considering a school. It would appear Saban's recruiting savvy is not impaired by the rumors surrounding his career.
"I don't think it damaged our program at all," Michigan State athletic director Merritt Norvell said. "It kind of told us we had a good coach. I think it really enhanced our program because it told us we had the right guy in the right place."
Continuity counts
Saban and his No. 23 Spartans opened the season with a 23-16 loss to No. 15 Colorado State in the Black Coaches Association Classic.
Ahead are challenges against Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State – the big three of the Big Ten.
Saban said he wants to develop a team that can compete consistently with the conference's elite.
"I think continuity in a program is really important," he said. "When I came there, I came with the idea we were going to stay there. We like it there. I have little kids, small, 7-, 11-year-old kids – they like the college community. My wife (Terry) likes the college community."
Saban is under contract though the 1999 season.
"This is old history," Norvell said of the NFL rumors. "This is stuff that's over the dam. We've got a coach under contract. We're happy with him, we want him to stay. We realize that every time there's a job opening in the NFL, his name will come up. ... It's a dead issue right now, and I want to leave it that way."
But the issue won't go away soon. Not as long as the Browns need a coach.
Although his team has improved each year under his leadership, Saban knows there's room for improvement. The way he talks, it is difficult not to believe he will stay to follow through on the goal to elevate Michigan State among the best of the Big Ten.
"Our administration, (university president) Peter McPherson, have all worked hard to create an atmosphere, an environment, where we have a chance to be successful – with our players as people, as students and as football players," he said. "That's philosophically what we want to accomplish. We really appreciate the job we have, and we look forward to the challenges of the future."
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