Ultimately, in the lens of a single season, the game of football is about wins and making the playoffs. Saban's three additional wins over two years did not trigger a Dolphins playoff berth in either season so it would be inaccurate to state that Saban is a real NFL coach while Spurrier is a failure.

Unlike Spurrier, however, Saban had prior NFL experience before coaching the Dolphins which some might think made him better suited for the NFL.

It seems to me that it's a mistake to say that any coach is not a good coach based on their record over a couple of years. Ultimately, it's players who win games, and not coaches. Joe Gibbs is obviously having a heck of time turning around the Redskins. And while Parcells got the Cowboys to the playoffs this year, last year he didn't and Gibbs got the Redskins in. Bill Cowher's Steelers won the Super Bowl and didn't make the playoffs this year. Does that make Joe Gibbs a bad coach? Or Cowher? Because of THIS year? Of course not. They have a long term project going on that requires patience and the juggling of pieces. And you only get to juggle pieces during the off-season. Spurrier and Saban probably both realized that it's a lot more fun being a college coach. In the NFL, every coach is good and every team is loaded with talent. It's quite easy to lose half your games in the NFL. At the college level, the coach is a god, and they have a lot more likelihood of success from year to year. They'll at least win the majority of their games.

Expectations will be higher at Alabama than they were with Miami. The college game can only be won at the highest levels if you play dirty. I'm not sure what this says, therefore, about Saban. However, I am sure that I would have taken the Bama deal. Even if you fail, you'll get a helluva buyout.

I don't think you can compare the ball coach and Saban's NFL tenures. The organizations they worked for were setup quite differently. Spurrier had to contend with the Danny and Vinny's player personnel decisions while Saban's owner gave him complete control and a lot more support.

I'm amazed that Spurrier did as well as he was able to and am dissappointed for him that he didn't get a legit shot at the pro level with a supportive and non meddling owner. Saban had his shot and he didn't stick with it long enough to have success...

Saban should be judged the same way Spurrier was. He didn't win enough, case closed. He realized that he wouldn't win and got the heck out while he was still considered a "genius". I will give him this, he was smart enough to realize a great deal. Welcome back to the SEC...we can't wait to beat up up on ya!

Lets face the facts here. Saban is a lier. Lier, Lier, Lier!
"I'm not going to be the Alabama Coach." Yeah right.
This man has a seriously weakened character, and he lied to everyone at press conference after press conference in Dec. 2006.
Then, he wasn't even present at the conference announcing he'd quit! He informed his coaching staff of his treachery by speakerphone, clasic.
He had a great life in beautiful south Florida, now he's run off, with his tail between his legs, to purgatory in Alabama. Never to be heard from again. See ya.

What's the solution?

Hire Mike Shula as Dolphins head coach and keep him for the next 26 years, like his Dad, or at least to when the world ends on Dec 21st 2012*.

*(according to the Mayan calender).

There is a clear difference between "the Ol' Ball Coach" and Saban's NFL tenure - namely a winning season in Saban's case. In football, at a minimum, all that a coach can be asked to do is win more games than he loses. Saban did that at least once in the NFL (albeit with somebody else's players). Also, while Spurrier resigned amidst heavy pressure, Wayne However-You-Spell-His-Name-Zinga wanted to keep Saban. In the end, I wouldn't count your chickens before they hatch in the hating Saban chicken coup. I am betting that Saban wouldn't have left the Dolphins job unless he had a feeling the team would be sold in a couple years, negating the promises from current ownership.

This is great news. I am now looking forward to the Saban-led Crimson Tide getting stomped by (1) Florida, (2) Arkansas, (3) South Carolina, and (4) everyone else in the SEC.

Further, it means another year in which the Dolphins under yet another new coach will most likely not challenge the Pats for AFC East dominance.

Saban's tenure was definitely "better". Let's remember, Marty took the Skins to an 8-8 record the previous season, which Spurrier turned into a losing record the next year. Saban took a 4-12 team and almost made the playoffs the following year. The knock I'll put on Saban was choosing Culpepper over Brees. But bottom line, both failed based on the contracts they received. I'm not an SEC football fan, but I find it hard to believe he will not have Bama returned to national prominence within the next 5 years. Being a Rutgers fan, I've learned quick what a difference a coach can make to a college football program.

Remember, while Spurrier was here, over the years he "lost" his players. He was not seen as a leader. The longer he stayed, he received less respect from the players - even if he was a nice guy. Being nice doesn't make you a good coach.

yes it would help to look at their records on a per-year basis.

also in the context of what the team did before and after them. In that case it is too early to say about Saban, but clearly Spurrier was not all that bad.

Plus *plus* Saban has yet to do anything at Alabama while Spurrier has a good thing going at SC. And in terms of recruiting power Alabama has to blow SC out of the water.

so...whether one was a better NFL coach than the other, is one thing, whether either were any good as NFL coaches has to be looked at in terms of the college success and the success of the team after they left.

No Saban was not any better than Spurrier. Saban had better talent, and at least Spurrier did'nt LIE to us Skins fans by saying he's staying ect. like Saban.

Granted Spurrier didn't have NFL coaching experience, as RB Fanatic said, but I believe Spurrier both played and coached in the AFL. In any event, Spurrier was a "coach in demand" because of his qualifications and it wasn't like he wasn't smart enough to learn. What he wasn't, was able to adapt to the NFL level, a charge that has been made (right or wrong) against the current Gibbs coaching tenure.
Is Saban a better NFL coach than Spurrier? I don't know, but I do know that by leaving as quickly as they did that neither gave their team or their teams fans an honest effort.

No, it doesn't. But I do have something else to say.

I don't live in Miami and I don't follow everything Saban does, but I can't imagine that Saban said as many idiotic things as Spurrier said. For example: "in order to win the NFC East, we only have to beat 3 teams, that shouldn't be too hard to beat 3 teams".

Coaches are leaders and the only "real NFL coaches" I know are good leaders. Good leaders should know and control the things they say to the media such that they are saying the things that will promote success and not saying the things that will set them up for failure.

i dont think you can compare...
saban apparently busted his tail as a pro coach...

the ol ball coach took it as a part time gig and played golf...he never took it seriously...

I live in Miami and grew up in D.C. as and continue to be a Redskins fan so I feel very close to this one. ..

The similarities are quite striking. .each coach came in with great fanfare from the college level where they had won national champioships. .each coach was highly sought after at the pro level. .each coach was thought would not leave the college level (at least not when they did) and each coach went to a pro team where (for all intensive purposes) followed a Jimmy Johnson assistant head coach who bombed as a head coach.. . and in each case lasted only two years and then ultimately left back for the college ranks. .

in each case I believe each failed and while Saban had more success (more so because his first year was considered a success than because of his overall record) I respect him much less because he was extremly dishonest with Miami.

Everyday he has been denying that he was even considering the Bama job, even worse he scolded the press for even daring to ask him. Say what you will about SS, he was honest and left D.C. for the right reasons and was upfront with the fans and the media. .

Down here the local media wants to tar and feather Saban, not for his record but for his "Nepoleonic" attitude this past year. The guy has been a jerk. .That makes him worse than SS.

As a Dolphins fan I am glad to see him go. He made bad coaching decisions. He is of low character, as he boldly denied he would leave and then quickly ran out of town without talking to the local media or fans. The only reason he won as many games as he did in his first season with the Dolphins was because of Ricky Williams. He is not an NFL caliber coach. He is a college coach and he even knows he isn't smart enough to be a winning coach in the NFL.

Quote Parcells - You are what your record is. Neither was special and neither was better than the other. Although 2 years is really not an good gauge of how good a coach you will be. Belichick won 13 games his first 2 seasons with the Browns.

I will say that I liked Spurrier for his quotes - i found them humerous (the same way i do Parcells). I can also see why he might have lost the players. But, if you can take it easy, get in your golf and still win close to as many games as someone working 22 hours a day... (i can hear my parents saying "just think what you could accomplish if you just applied yourself).

I'd also have to agree that SS handled leaving better. He was very classy in that manner.

Yes, he was a real nfl coach because he actually coached in the nfl for two seasons, plain and simple. Just because your unsuccessful does not mean you get disqualified as being a real coach, it just means you weren't cut out for the NFL. Ultimately, its about winning championships and there are great coaches who have not won championships. Does that not make them great? People may not like the fact that he just up and left, but had he not left this year, he would've probably been fired next year after another disappointing season. Everyone knows in this day in age, its put up or shut up. Gone are the days when a coach can actually have ups and downs in an nfl career (denny green & jim mora jr.) So, I don't fault Saban for leaving. College football is a business, but the NFL is BIG business, so everyone from here on out has to win now or face the consequences. Besides, I think college would be great for him because he is a good teacher, and he has knowledge of the game and those young guys will benefit from someone like him.

I live in Miami, I am extremely happy that saban left. He has made bad personnel decisions. He belongs in college, but to tell you the truth I didn't like the way that he lied to us. I just hope that the CANES meet BAMMA in a bowl game so we can stick it to him.
Dolphins are going to get a coach and this time I hope that they do not hire an amateur.

Spurrier was infinitely more fun. Better quotes and a better dude to be around. They're both lousy pro coaches.

Both will be remembered for their college careers, not their pro careers. Spurrier still has it and it's showing at South Carolina. We'll see what Saban does at Bama. I'm sure LSU, Auburn, and Arkansas may like to comment.

I really don't think 2 years is long enough to determine if a guy will succeed in the NFL or not. Anyway, I'm glad Steve is a Gamecock now and I don't think much of Saban's character.

I think there are certain coaches who are just better at coaching in college than in the pros. In college, the coach has absolute control. If a player goes against the coach, the coach can suspend him or pull his scholarship. That gives the coach complete control and allows him to demand the utmost respect from his players.

In the NFL, all the players are paid by the owner. They are all rich, and they don't have to pay attention to the coach if they don't feel like it, because they can just leave for free agency or force a trade.

Some coaches are okay with the lack of the control in the NFL. Others function better in college. I think Spurrier made a bad decision in going to Washington. Synder was never going to give him a fair shake. Saban had infintely more control in Miami than Spurrier did in Washington. And deny it if you'd like, but in the end, Washington's players knew Dan was in control, not Steve, and that neuters you as a head coach.

Spurrier is still a great coach. He hasn't lost a step, and he's proving it at South Carolina. I don't know why Saban left the NFL, because he had quite a lot of control over his team. We'll see how we does at Alabama.

Saban had a better record as a coach in the NFL. But if the positions were reversed, and Saban had coached for Washington and Spurrier for Miami, I think the records might have been reversed a bit.

You really need to take a look at how bad Mr. Gibbs has sucked since his return. He is awful and probably worse than Spurrier or Saban and he has won the Super Bowl--he is washed up and broke down now though.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA