Potential Benefits of Saban's Retirement for Arkansas

If the Crimson Tide steal a coach from the right school, the next four months will be a blast for the Razorbacks

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Jan 11, 2024 6:45 AM EST

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – When the news of Nick Saban retiring from Alabama dropped Wednesday afternoon, there was a clear air of excitement across Arkansas.

For a lot of Razorbacks fans, the weight of years and years of losing to the Tide with Saban running the team lifting was a welcome feeling. Of course it was shortly washed with the realization that Arkansas doesn't have to play Alabama next season, but a lot of teams that could collect a loss beneficial to the Hogs do.

So, if there were a season where it would have been in the best interest of the Razorbacks to have Saban in power, this would have been it. However, there are still ways Arkansas can benefit from the coaching change.

The first is if the next coach in Tuscaloosa comes from the Hogs' schedule. There's a narrative out there that the reason Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin suddenly decided he's no longer interested in going to Auburn is because Saban gave him a call and told him to hang tight because he plans to retire.

Now, there is nothing to support this. It's likely fans more or less writing their own fan fiction across social media, but it does make for a fun thought. If Kiffin were plucked from Oxford, it would bring an abrupt end to a steady wave of momentum that keeps building over in Mississippi. Putting a stop to that would be a huge plus for Arkansas.

However, while that scenario helps Arkansas, it's not as fun as things could be. If everyone is writing his or her own movie, then the most interesting way this story turns is they money guys over in Alabama load up the truck and steal Steve Sarkisian away from Texas before the psychotic Longhorns boosters have a chance to figure out a way to keep him there.

It would be the perfect welcome to the SEC gift. Not only would it serve as a bit of revenge for knocking off Alabama earlier this season, it would serve as revenge for Texas trying to steal Saban away a while back. Longhorns boosters were so convinced they were landing Saban they were telling people the infamous "Mrs. Terry" was picking out a home for the Sabans in the hills of West Austin.

This would benefit Arkansas in so many ways. Not only would there be players bailing from Alabama through the general process of a coaching change, especially as Sarkisian tells some of the current players to leave while he brings over his more reliable Longhorns, it would lead to a glut of players Sam Pittman has recruited jumping ship at Texas.

What's more is, much like Ole Miss would fall apart, Texas would devolve into the beatable opponent they were back in 2021. Sarkisian is the only coach in the football conscious portion of current recruits' lives who has made the Longhorns competitive. Outside of the past couple of years, Texas has been a doormat.

No one else has been able to solve the cultural problems in Austin and there's no reason to believe things wouldn't revert to the old ways that made people excited to play the Longhorns early in the season while they were still ranked.

The worst thing that could happen would be for Alabama to hire someone like Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. Any major program coach outside the SEC coming to Tuscaloosa takes an Arkansas opponent out of the equation and possibly limits the number of Crimson Tide transfers.

Whatever happens shouldn't take long. There's no way this is a retirement that was dropped onto the Alabama athletics administration out of nowhere. This has been none and back channels have been working.

It's likely the new coach won't be named right away simply out of respect to Saban to allow him time to soak in his flowers. However, if whomever is going to follow the legend doesn't already have a deal agreed to in principle, it would be shocking.

For Arkansas' sake, that agreement is written on a napkin sitting on a counter a few miles from County Line Barbecue in Austin. If it is, the next four months are going to be fun times as the Hogs reap from the fallout.