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Bye-Bye Nick Saban...and Good Riddance

By Matt Infante

By now I am sure all of you have heard, Nick Saban is leaving the Dolphins to become head coach at the University of Alabama.  Before I get into how I feel about it, here is how Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga feels about it.  These quotes are from his press conference announcing Saban's decisions:

"I met with Nick at his home this morning, with his wife Terry," Huizenga said. "There are a lot of reasons why decisions get made in life. The net is he's not coming back. He's leaving this afternoon for Alabama and we have got to move forward."

Is Wayne mad?

"No, I'm not upset," Huizenga explained. "It's more involved than what you think. I've been through this with Nick for quite some time. I feel the pain of Nick and Terry. It's not a simple thing.

"I think Nick is great. I'm Nick's biggest fan. I do think he could have won here."

Then Huizenga went on to let us all know that he will do whatever it takes to make this franchise a winner:

"In my opinion, the Dolphins always have been about winning," he said. "We want everyone to know that it's really all about winning now. I don't care what it takes, what it costs ... we are going to make this a winning franchise."

My feelings on this subject are simple. I was always a big Nick Saban supporter. I always felt like he was the right guy for this job and that he would right this ship. And now...he's still a good coach...only now he's a quitter and a liar. After only 2 seasons, he quit on the Dolphins. And all this comes after he flat out told the media that he was not interested in the Alabama coaching job. That's the part that really hurts the most. Why lie, Nick?

Now, I'm not going to scream and shout about what he did. I'm just disappointed. I really thought he was going to be the savior of this franchise...the Dolphins' Bill Bellichick. But I was wrong. One thing is for sure, though. I can't ever see Nick coaching in the NFL ever again after this fiasco. How could any NFL owner ever take him seriously again? I just don't see it.

So where does this leave the Dolphins? I'm not sure. One thing I am sure of, though, is that this is NOT the end of the world. This team will not miss Nick Saban. Only thing that worries me is the fact of having to possibly learn new systems hurting the development of this team.

As for possible replacements, it is kind of early to discuss this.  I wouldn't mind seeing Dom Capers given a shot.  Other possible names are Ron Rivera, Russ Grimm, Ken Wisenhunt, or even Jim Mora, Jr.   I would have to say, though, that the guy that I want the most right now would be Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. He is widely considered to have an innovate offensive mind and could turn this offense around. However, he is being interviewed soon by the Cardinals. The one thing that really worries me is the possibility that Mike Mularkey could actually become the next head coach of this team.  How bad would that be?  Mularkey, in my honest opinion, should be fired, not promoted.

So, yet again, another eventful offseason.  We just cannot seem to win, can we?  And we have not even discussed how this could affect Jason Taylor and his possible early retirement, as well as the return of Ricky Williams to Miami.  Looks like we have a long offseason ahead.

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