Nick Saban: Mad Genius or Blithering Idiot?

After a season of optimism ending in a 9-7 record for the Miami Dolphins, Nick Saban was hailed as a great motivator and an excellent young coach. Less than half a season later, the Dolphin faithful decry their status as a 1-6 team, languishing in the depths of the ultra-weak AFC East division. Not to mention, they feel their coach doesn’t know how to throw a challenge flag.

All jokes aside, Saban has shown impatience in his brief stint as head coach and the majority of pundits are intimating that he is losing the respect of veteran players in the locker room. After watching Daunte Culpepper do his best Drew Bledsoe impersonation and demonstrate zero mobility inside and outside of the pocket (21 sacks in four games), Saban yanked his star quarterback when the team lost to the Houston Texans in Week 4.

Many pundits have placed scrutiny upon Saban for his decision to bench Culpepper indefinitely in favor of Joey Harrington, who had a career record of 18-37 entering the season. In turn, this almost means giving up on a playoff spot with one of the easiest schedules in the NFL. At 1-6, most people have lost respect for Saban based on his team’s performance followed by the awkward postgame press conferences that take place every week. However, I think he’s a mad genius for tanking the remainder of the season for a few critical reasons.

First, the Super Bowl hopes for Miami were far-fetched. Much of it was based on prognosticators who imagined that the same team, who won 6 straight games to end the season, was going to play a very easy NFL schedule with a weaker version of New England in the division. They lost one of the NFL’s best offensive coordinators in Scott Linehan and their starting quarterback (Gus Frerotte) who had forged a strong working relationship with Chris Chambers. Former Bills Head Coach Mike Mularkey has failed to fill Linehan’s huge shoes.

Second, Ricky Williams’ year-long suspension for substance abuse ruined the hopes of having the two-headed running attack. It’s no secret that running the ball wins games in November and December.

Third, Saban has a lot of leeway within the organization. He came to Miami from the college ranks demanding a lot of power and he delivered in his first season as head coach. I have the belief that if you cannot win the Super Bowl, then you should build for next year. While this does not exactly signify throwing games on purpose, starting Joey Harrington and increasing playing time for younger players like Derek Hagan demonstrates this belief in action. Why would Nick Saban do this?

Fourth, in recent memory, the Dolphins offensive line has never been great. They were horrible two years ago. They were only mediocre last year because Linehan capitalized on the team’s strengths in his playcalling scheme. This year, … well, you know. They stink.

This brings me to why Nick Saban -- head coach, recruiter, blogger -- is a mad genius. This year, the NFL draft will have a very strong crop of offensive linemen available. As it stands, Miami are in line for the Joe Thomas sweepstakes. While the Dolphins have seemingly traded away their 2^nd- and 5^th /6^th-round picks for their current quarterbacks, they are still in line for talented players on Day 1 of the draft. Acquisitions on draft day will shore up holes for the Dolphins and prepare them for a potential playoff run in 2007.