[BostonCard]

I think the difference lies in the interpretation of Saban's accomplishments.  My first inclination was to agree with Lex, that to compare Shaw's results to Saban's is an unfair comparison.  But I think you were talking about the process.  Saban most certainly has exploited the advantages that Alabama confers and maximized the results.  It is fair to wonder whether Shaw has, especially when it comes to recruiting.

I'm still inclined to agree with Lex that we might draw the wrong lessons from Saban's tenure in Alabama (not that there aren't lessons to be learned but you do have to extrapolate carefully from one environment to another; Saban, though great at LSU and now Alabama, didn't exactly set the NFL on fire), but I do agree that Shaw should look a bit at what others are doing to maximize the recruiting advantages they do have.  In that sense, i might look a little closer to home, and see how, for example, Tara Vanderveer constructed the top ranked basketball team in the country and has really kicked it up a notch recruiting-wise in the last three or four years, or even the men's basketball program, which, regardless of what you think of the on-the-field results, has figured out how to market itself to elite players.

BC

[BostonCard]

I think the difference lies in the interpretation of Saban's accomplishments.  My first inclination was to agree with Lex, that to compare Shaw's results to Saban's is an unfair comparison.  But I think you were talking about the process.  Saban most certainly has exploited the advantages that Alabama confers and maximized the results.  It is fair to wonder whether Shaw has, especially when it comes to recruiting.

I'm still inclined to agree with Lex that we might draw the wrong lessons from Saban's tenure in Alabama (not that there aren't lessons to be learned but you do have to extrapolate carefully from one environment to another; Saban, though great at LSU and now Alabama, didn't exactly set the NFL on fire), but I do agree that Shaw should look a bit at what others are doing to maximize the recruiting advantages they do have.  In that sense, i might look a little closer to home, and see how, for example, Tara Vanderveer constructed the top ranked basketball team in the country and has really kicked it up a notch recruiting-wise in the last three or four years, or even the men's basketball program, which, regardless of what you think of the on-the-field results, has figured out how to market itself to elite players.

BC