Jimmy Sexton, Nick Saban‘s agent, told Texas officials in January Saban’s success with Alabama had put him under “special pressure,” according to the Associated Press. As previously reported, Saban’s agent had these discussions back in January with Texas regents. Those talks lasted about 45 minutes according to the September report.
The bar has been set high at Alabama of course, and Saban is a huge reason why. In a stretch that has seen the sEC win seven straight BCS championships, Alabama has won three of the last four and is on pace to play for a third straight BCS title. For as storied a program as Alabama is, anything short of a championship is deemed a failure or a mistake with the system. With Alabama the lone undefeated team left in the SEC, the pressure is on Alabama to put the conference on their shoulders and keep the BCS championship streak alive in the final year of the BCS system.
Is that the pressure Saban’s agent is referring to, or is there more to the story? Saban has dealt with a number of problems with players including sports agents, alleged performance enhancing drug use by players and the need to suspend players for various infractions from time to time. Perhaps that is part of the equation as well, although these sorts of problems tend to happen almost anywhere you look. But things are different at Alabama.
But wait, there’s more to the story. It may just be agent speak, but Saban’s agent also informed the Texas officials in this meeting that Texas would be the only program Saban would leave Alabama for.
“Sexton confirmed that UT is the only job Nick would possibly consider leaving Alabama for, and that his success there created special pressure for him,” Texas regent Tom Hicks wrote in documents obtained by the AP.
this should come as little surprise, given that Texas would be the only school likely to be able to pay Saban enough money to lure him away from Alabama. With a new AD in place in Austin and changes looming with the football program, don’t expect Saban’s name to go away so quietly even if there is no chance he would leave Alabama.