The Alabama Crimson Tide haven’t been bad this season, but they’ve failed to live up to the expectations set by now-retired head coach Nick Saban.
The Tide are currently sitting at 6-2 under first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer and in danger of missing the new-look 12-team college football playoff. Should they miss the playoffs, there’s a chance DeBoer’s stay in Tuscaloosa is a short one.
One prominent figure at ESPN thinks he knows who’s right for the job.
“Florida State, I don’t care about last year, I understand they were undefeated, and then you know what … after their quarterback got hurt, they didn’t get picked for the college football playoff, and they were salty about it,” Smith said on First Take. “They didn’t show up and got obliterated by Georgia in a bowl game. But they looked awful this year. They should have hired Prime Time at Florida State, his alma mater. They should have hired him at Texas A&M, you know, the SEC, they should have hired him.
“And I ain’t gonna lie to you, even though I didn’t say anything about it at the time, because the man was a two-time Pac-12 coach of the year and won a national championship, couple of national championships in the NAIA, and had Washington in the national championship game last year, damn it. The way Alabama’s looking, I think they should have hired him at Alabama.”
Fans reacted to the bold proclamation on social media.
“Stephen A knows nothing about college football, why is he talking about it,” one fan said on Twitter.
“And Stephen A should have less opinions and be in an unemployment line but we all can’t have our cake,” one fan added.
“Poor Mike Elko. He gets A&M to 1st place in year 1 and is already being called on to be replaced,” one fan added.
“And people wonder why nobody watches daytime ESPN anymore,” one fan added.
“Stephen A. should stick to the NBA/NFL. Norvell has a $60M buyout at FSU. He’s not going anywhere. A&M made a terrific hire in Mike Elko. Bama hired DeBoer who took UDub to the playoffs last yr. Deion’s in a good spot at CU,” one fan added.
Fans clearly don’t think Sanders is right for the Alabama job, but perhaps they should take Smith’s words a little more seriously. Usually, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.