Alabama football: Nick Saban rule could be leaving college
By John Buhler
Alabama football fans rejoice, as the dreaded Nick Saban rule could be coming to an end.
Long overdue, the limiting Nick Saban rule looks to be on its way out of college football … finally.
Bryan Fischer of Athlon Sports reports there are discussions at the FBS level for the rule to be eliminated. For those unfamiliar with the rule, it prevents head coaches from leaving their campuses during the spring evaluation period during recruitment. Saban is one of the best recruiters and keeping him off the road during the spring only hurts college football.
Saban believes that some coaches just are not all that interested in recruiting. Even with the controversial rule in place for over a decade, it has not stoped the Alabama football program from winning six national titles during Saban’s tenure in Tuscaloosa. Simply, this outdated rule had more of a negative effect on lesser schools than on your typical blue-blood programs like Alabama.
Scoop: As part of a NCAA recruiting review, there have been discussions about eliminating the "Nick Saban rule," which prevents head coaches from going on the road during the spring evaluation period. Debate will continue at D1 Council next week.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) April 9, 2021
The Alabama football program’s success means the Nick Saban rule didn’t work
There is no secret to success at the college football level. It starts and ends with recruitment. If you have the best players, you are going to win more games than your rival teams do. So it comes as no surprise that the six programs that have won a playoff game in the College Football Playoff era (Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Oregon) continually dominate in recruitment.
Let’s be real. An in-person visit by a head coach in the spring would do wonders for prospects on the fence about linking up with a juggernaut or going to a program that is on the rise. Removing the Saban rule will help downtrodden blue-bloods like Florida State and Tennessee more than it will hurt the perceived attempt at creating a level playing field that was never there, to begin with.
Eliminating the Saban rule will actually do a world of good for the middle class of college football.
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