Very often in college football, the coaches are the story, and with 24 new ones heading up Division I-A programs, the story lines seldom have been more compelling than in 2007.

Wait a minute. Story lines? Try soap operas, with the ultimate handwringer debuting in the Southeastern Conference at Alabama, which mostly has slipped and slogged through mediocrity for two-plus decades since Paul "Bear" Bryant checked out.

The Bear's current stand-in — the boys in 'Bama were right on in saying he could not be replaced — is nomadic Nick Saban, whose long and awkward courtship by the school last winter eventually wooed him from the NFL (Miami), rewarded him with an eight-year, $32 million contract and made him the poster boy for academicians and others with axes to grind against big-time college football.

Saban does like the scenery to change, but he's not a job-jumper on a par with, say, Arizona State's Dennis Erickson, who must have Mayflower on speed dial.

His nine coaching jobs since 1982 include a two-year stint at Washington State and one-year stints at Wyoming and Idaho — the latter school gingerly rolling the dice in hiring him for a second time only to be jilted 10 months later when the moving van loaded up and left for Tempe, Ariz., in December.

So, along with a handful of others — Butch Davis at North Carolina, Randy Shannon at Miami, Jim Harbaugh at Stanford, Troy Calhoun at Air Force — go ahead and count charting Erickson's debut season in the desert among must-follow angles of 2007.

Saban's wanderlust isn't nearly as alarming as Erickson's. Since 1995, coaching has taken Saban to Michigan State (1995 to 1998), Louisiana State (1999 to 2004) and Miami (2005 to 2006).

Still, LSU fans, slap happy from the school's 2003 co-national championship, thought Saban's departure to coach the Dolphins meant he was done with college towns.

Imagine the Cajuns' surprise when he began house hunting in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Forgive-and-forget isn't a popular concept in bayou country; there was an ugly backlash among Tigers fans that figures to spill into autumn, particularly when LSU visits Alabama on Nov. 3.

At the SEC's preseason media briefing, Saban was asked (we're guessing by a Louisiana scribe) how aware he was of the ill will snaking through the swamps.

His answer: "You know, I'm very aware of all the things that happened. One of our ladies, administrative assistants, who worked for us at LSU . . . went to a wedding in Baton Rouge (and) got her tires slashed at the wedding. So I think we're very aware of the backlash; live it every day.

"I absolutely hate to see people on my staff who we care about, love and want to see have success have to be penalized, you know, for that. But at the same time, I can't answer that question any differently than what I've already answered it.

"We have respect and admiration for the people in the state of Louisiana. What was accomplished there at LSU was special to us."

Saban went on to say he hoped not to create any animosity by returning to the SEC at a rival school, and that, at Miami, "We learned about ourselves, made a mistake in terms of what we did, in terms of what we want to do, where we feel we should be, and you can't go back.

"I mean, there was no opportunity for me to go back to LSU. This was a great opportunity that we had (at Alabama). We chose it. It wasn't personal. It wasn't meant to hurt or harm anyone at LSU. Now, I can't say that any better, any more, whatever. I'd like for somebody to record it and we just push the button and go from there. How's that? I'm just kidding (smiling)."

Right. Those who know Saban know he wasn't kidding. There's nothing he'd like better than never to be asked about LSU again in this lifetime or the next.

So what are the chances of that happening? Three-word answer: Nil and none.

Saban's first Crimson Tide team returns nine offensive starters and five on defense. His first recruiting class finished No. 10 (Rivals.com). Fans are in a frenzy that can't be duplicated outside the Deep South (the Crimson Tide's spring game drew 92,000).

That said, this remains a transition year for Saban and the school's storied program, so don't expect 'Bama to challenge for the national championship just yet.

The choices here for that task are, of course, Southern California, pretty much the preseason consensus choice; Michigan, which features prototypical pro quarterback Chad Henne and workhorse tailback Mike Hart; Texas, with savvy sophomore quarterback Colt McCoy flinging to the Big 12 Conference's best receiving corps; and LSU, which has been fairly spectacular under Saban's replacement (Les Miles is 22-4) and should prosper offensively under new coordinator Gary Crowton.

If their team reaches the BCS Championship Game in their backyard (Jan. 7, New Orleans Superdome), Tigers fans might back off just long enough to prompt a slight decline in the HSI (Hate Saban Index).

Hey, Nick, just kidding.

Division I-A coaching changes

School New coach Former coach

Air Force Troy Calhoun Fisher DeBerry

Alabama Nick Saban Mike Shula

Ala.-Birmingham Neil Callaway Watson Brown

Arizona State Dennis Erickson Dirk Koetter

Army Stan Brock Bobby Ross

Boston College Jeff Jogodzinski Tom O'Brien

Central Michigan Butch Jones Brian Kelly

Cincinnati Brian Kelly Mark Dantonio

Fla. International Mario Cristobal Don Strock

Idaho Robb Akey Dennis Erickson

Iowa State Gene Chizik Dan McCarney

Indiana Bill Lynch Terry Hoeppner

Louisiana Tech Derek Dooley Jack Bicknell

Louisville Steve Kragthorpe Bobby Petrino

Miami Randy Shannon Larry Coker

Michigan State Mark Dantonio John L. Smith

Minnesota Tim Brewster Glen Mason

North Carolina Butch Davis John Bunting

N.C. State Tom O'Brien Chuck Amato

North Texas Todd Dodge Darrell Dickey

Rice David Bailiff Todd Graham

Stanford Jim Harbaugh Walt Harris

Tulane Bob Toledo Chris Scelfo

Tulsa Todd Graham Steve Kragthorpe

Rocky preseason top 25

1. Southern California Booty will kick some.

2. Louisiana State Talented , solid on both sides.

3. West Virginia Offensive juggernaut.

4. Michigan Talent everywhere.

5. Florida Urban renewal.

6. Louisville Kragthorpe won't miss a beat.

7. Texas Longhorns reloading.

8. Wisconsin Best defense in Big Ten.

9. Virginia Tech Beamer will be beamin'.

10. Oklahoma Never count out Bob Stoops.

11. Auburn Key is developing offensive line.

12. Ohio State Talented but green in spots.

13. UCLA Bruins tested and talented.

14. California Jackson is dangerous.

15. Rutgers Scarlet Knights will ride Rice.

16. Penn State Joe Pa is back big time.

17. Tennessee Big questions on offense.

18. Georgia Defense a work in progress.

19. Boise State No one has more momentum.

20. Arkansas Heisman for McFadden?

21. Texas Christian Devastating defense.

22. Nebraska West Coast offense comes along.

23. Florida State Seminoles surging back.

24. South Florida Grothe underrated.

25. Boston College Led by Ryan's arm, brains.

Best (and worst) of the rest

26. Southern Mississippi

27. Brigham Young

28. Hawaii

29. Alabama

30. Missouri

31. Miami

32. Texas Tech

33. Clemson

34. Texas A&M

35. Iowa

36. Oregon State

37. Houston

38. Purdue

39. Notre Dame

40. Georgia Tech

41. Utah

42. Navy

43. Oklahoma State

44. South Carolina

45. Arizona State

46. Maryland

47. Oregon

48. Virginia

49. Wake Forest

50. Kansas State

51. Kansas

52. Minnesota

53. Pittsburgh

54. Kentucky

55. New Mexico

56. Tulsa

57. Ohio

58. Mississippi

59. Arizona

60. Illinois

61. Troy

62. Miami (Ohio)

63. San Jose State

64. Colorado State

65. Colorado

66. Western Michigan

67. Fresno State

68. Ball State

69. Nevada

70. Texas-El Paso

71. Iowa State

72. North Carolina State

73. Wyoming 74. Michigan State

75. Indiana

76. Bowling Green

77. Toledo

78. Central Florida

79. Southern Methodist

80. North Carolina

81. Washington

82. Mississippi State

83. Air Force

84. San Diego State

85. New Mexico State

86. Cincinnati

87. Washington State

88. Vanderbilt

89. Marshall

90. Northwestern

91. East Carolina

92. Northern Illinois

93. Middle Tennessee

94. Central Michigan

95. Arkansas State

96. Baylor

97. Memphis

98. Florida Atlantic

99. Connecticut

100. Rice

101. Stanford

102. Duke

103. Tulane

104. Syracuse

105. Army

106. Temple

107. Akron

108. Louisiana Lafayette

109. Alabama-Birmingham

110. Kent State

111. Louisiana Tech

112. Louisiana Monroe

113. Idaho

114. Nevada-Las Vegas

115. North Texas

116. Utah State

117. Eastern Michigan

118. Buffalo

119. Florida International

Predictions

SAM ADAMS JIM BENTON B.G. BROOKS RANDY HOLTZ

Atlantic Coast Florida State Virginia Tech Florida State Virginia Tech

Big East West Virginia West Virginia West Virginia Louisville

Big Ten Michigan Michigan Michigan Wisconsin

Big 12 Texas Texas Texas Texas

Conference USA Memphis Southern Mississippi Southern Mississippi Southern Mississippi

Mid-American Toledo Central Michigan Ohio Ohio

Mountain West Texas Christian Texas Christian Brigham Young Texas Christian

Pacific-10 Southern California Southern California Southern California Southern California

Southeastern Louisiana State Louisiana State Louisiana State Florida

Sun Belt Troy Middle Tennessee Troy Troy

Western Athletic Hawaii Hawaii Boise State Boise State

National champion Southern California Southern California Southern California Southern California

Heisman Trophy Darren McFadden John David Booty Darren McFadden Darren McFadden winner Arkansas Southern California Arkansas Arkansas

Back to Top