The Alabama Crimson Tide are probably not looking at Colorado’s Deion Sanders to replace Nick Saban.
Even on For The Win’s initial list of candidates to take over the Crimson Tide, Prime Time didn’t make the cut. This isn’t a matter of believing in Sanders as a coach so much as the fact that he hasn’t accomplished enough on the field yet to justify landing arguably the biggest opening the sport has seen in decades.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith knows all of this. He also knows Sanders appears happy in Boulder right now. But on Friday’s edition of First Take, Stephen A. made a pretty great point about why Sanders is the perfect person to keep the Tide rolling after Saban retired and it mostly comes down to recruiting.
Who should replace Nick Saban at Alabama? Stephen A. Smith says Coach Prime.
"Go ahead and be happy in Boulder, Colorado. God bless you… I was there twice in my life and the only reason for that was him." pic.twitter.com/BDvvDbIvQc
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 12, 2024
“I’m thinking about today’s generation of players. Catching the pulse of the players. I’m thinking about NIL. I’m thinking about the transfer portal, which obviously were things that Nick Saban had some degree of a problem with. And then I’m thinking about Deion Sanders. He’s got the top-ranked transfer class right now. His second year that he’s pulled that off. So when you look at it from that perspective, the ability to recruit talent, I think if you’re going to replace the greatness of a Nick Saban, it starts and ends, first and foremost, with being able to recruit. And you can’t tell me, for a big time program like Alabama, somebody like Prime Time goes there, that you’re going to have athletes that will not follow.”
Smith opened and closed his remarks by noting that this is not going to happen, but it’s an interesting point nonetheless.
Keeping the momentum going during the transition from Saban is the most important part of nailing this hire for Alabama. Sanders would certainly be able to get players and recruits excited. Even if he’s not the best tactician on the sidelines, Alabama could do what Colorado did and try to surround him with as many elite assistants and coordinators as possible.
Would it result in wins and national titles? That’s a different question altogether. But if the idea is simply to keep talent flowing into Tuscaloosa — and just as importantly, stop it from transferring elsewhere — Sanders makes a ton of sense.
And that’s all before considering all the Aflac commercials Saban and Sanders could continue to star in.
