It’s the snub that no one’s talking about today.
And it has nothing to do with the College Football Playoff.
It has to do with the best coach in college football.
Why is Nick Saban not one of three finalists for the Maxwell Football Club College Coach of the Year?
Seriously. Why?
— Was it not enough that he didn’t win it in 2009 when the Crimson Tide went 14-0 and won the BCS title? (TCU’s Gary Patterson won)
— Or in 2011 when he won his second national championship at Alabama.
— Or what about in 2012 when Alabama finished 13-1 and won its second consecutive BCS championship and third in four seasons. (Penn State’s Bill O’Brien won)
And this is not a knock on the three finalists: Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, Oregon’s Mark Helfrich and Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen. All three are deserving for what their teams accomplished this season.
Don’t feel bad for Saban. He’s won his share of awards. He’s a two-time AP Coach of the Year, a three-time SEC Coach of the Year and he’s won several other coach of the year awards. And there certainly are other deserving coaches this season, including Arizona's Rich Rodriguez, Baylor's Art Briles and TCU's Gary Patterson (with Saban, they all were semifinalists).
But the Maxwell award has been handed out 25 times since 1989. Bo Schembechler won it that season. Joe Paterno won it three times. Gene Stallings claimed it in 1992 after leading Alabama to the national championship. Bob Stoops, Pete Carroll and Urban Meyer have won it. So has Greg Schiano, Mark Mangino and Mike Leach.
But not Saban.
Since 2008, Alabama has been so good under Saban — a mind-boggling 84-10 —that come award time, we look for someone else. He's supposed to win. When did expectations of winning become an elimination category?
Coaching at the college level is more than mastering the X's and O's.
Alabama has claimed so many recruiting national titles that what Saban does on the recruiting front gets watered down nationally. Should he win with all those 5-star and 4-star players? Yes. But he’s also responsible for getting those players to Tuscaloosa.
You want to give Lane Kiffin credit for Alabama’s amped-up offense this season? Go ahead, Kiffin deserves credit. But it starts with Saban, who took a chance on bringing Kiffin on board (not everyone loved that move), and made work.
With a team that has holes in spots it hasn’t during most of his tenure at Alabama, Saban continues winning games. That’s what Saban does. He wins.
And like him or not, you won’t find Saban beating his chest. Like most FBS coaches, he could care less about winning a national coach of the year award. He won’t even Google to find out the winner.
Even if it should be him.