Crimson Tikes: You Have to Make That Call, Right?

So LSU decided that Brian Kelly wasn't right for its football program, something just about everyone else said when it hired him from Notre Dame.

Kelly's buyout is somewhere around $54 million — but reportedly the sides are working out a deal to have only half that, the majority of which will be paid by one donor. LSU is reportedly saying that money is no object, and that it will conduct a nationwide search for his replacement ...

You have to think that the first phone call has to be to someone Alabama fans know well, who still plays golf regularly in Tuscaloosa, right?

Crimson Tikes: You Have to Make That Call, Right? | Anthony Sisco

Last Friday , Nick Saban was asked about the Florida and Penn State openings, and he made it clear that he doesn't want his agent Jimmy Sexton giving his wife any ideas.

"I want to stay retired, and I do not want him near Miss Terry," he said on the The Pat McAfee Show. "Because when she hears some of these numbers, she gets interested. And I am not interested. No way, I have so much fun working with you. Why would I go and do that?"

By the way, happy birthday to Coach Saban, who will turn 74 on Friday. He'll be spending it in the football mecca known as Salt Lake City. Here's hoping that College GameDay has at least a cake for him when previewing Cincinnati and Utah, because you know they're going serve up another return-to-coaching question since it is the school where he won his first national championship.

The Best of Crimson Tikes

Crimson Tikes: Say What? | Anthony Sisco

"Crimson Tikes" is the brainchild of Anthony Sisco, who is passionate about all things Crimson Tide. Although his career paths have taken him in different directions, the cartoon centered around Alabama athletics has been a labor of love for the past few years.

He and his wife live in Hickory Flat, Ga., where they raised two kids and a multitude of pets. He attended Alabama through its distance learning program to study writing and literature. Although Sisco still loves to visit Tuscaloosa whenever possible (the self-described lifelong zealot of Alabama football considers the campus "hallowed ground."

Originally out of Huntsville, his background includes two years in the U.S. Army, stationed in Monterrey, Calif.; plus 30 years of full and lay ministry that stretched from Atlanta all the way up to New England. Mix in 20 years of various entrepreneurial pursuits and you’ll see hints of what he describes as spiritual insights and philosophical musings, all with a Peanuts-type approach to the Crimson Tide.”

Sisco's compilation books include: “Crimson Tikes - The Tradition Rolls On,” “Bouncing Back,” “Out of Order” and “The Best of Crimson Tikes.” His latest is "Bama Fans Only" and can be ordered at www.anthonysisco.com.

Crimson Tikes: Bama Fans Only cover | Anthony Sisco