Does he actually believe this?

So, I was surfing the interwebs last night and I came across this post by Miami Herald sports columnist Armando Salguero about how the Dolphins would be in better shape if Nick Saban had stayed on board.

Salguero tried to argue that Miami, LSU, Michigan, Saban and Cam Cameron would all be in better places right now if Saban had elected to stay at Miami.

Now, I don't know if he wrote this just to have fun and to stir shit up in the comments section or if he genuinely believes the garbage that he spewed out in this post.

Here's the thing. On the one hand, Saban went 8-8 and 6-10 in his two seasons as Miami's coach and on paper it looks way better than 0-10. Saban also had a pretty good draft in '05 that brought in a bunch of starters including Ronnie Brown, who showed everyone this season that he fits into that elite back category.

If Saban stayed, the team would probably also not be winless right now. That's one way of looking at it but let's be realistic here.

Saban quit on this team after giving them his word. That's really not the guy I would want as a coach. And he would not be rebuilding right now (what this team desperately needed) and Miami would be plodding along to another 6-10 / 9-7 type season while achieving absolutely nothing.

But hey, let's see how Armando argues this one...

Nick Saban should have waited one more year, should have buckled his proverbial chin strap and stayed with the Dolphins and struggled and suffered through one more season. And if he had everyone would be better off.

Yes, I just wrote that. Everyone, Saban and Cam Cameron and the Dolphins and LSU and Michigan, would be better off for 2008.

Go on. We're waiting...

How would Saban be better off? Well, the fact is he is in deep do at Alabama now coming off back-to-back losses to Mississippi State and Louisiana-Monroe. His team is underachieving and fans once loyal to him are getting the idea the guy is something of a strange bird based on comments he made Monday.

Saban described the humbling defeat against ULM inappropriately, mentioning the 9-11 terrorist attacks and Pearl Harbor in talking about how his team must rebound like America did from a "catastrophic event.''

"Changes in history usually occur after some kind of catastrophic event,'' Saban said. "It may be 9-11, which sort of changed the spirit of America RELATIVE TO catastrophic events. Pearl Harbor kind of got us ready for World War II, and that was a catastrophic event.''

And this is seriously the guy you want to be leading this team right now?

And that leads me to the reason everyone would be better off if Saban had stayed. If he had stayed, and I remind you it was HIS choice to leave, Saban probably would be struggling with the Dolphins this year. But he would likely be preparing himself for a return to LSU if/when Les Miles flies the coop for Michigan.

Oh, so you want him to stay, have a pathetic 5-11 type year and then bolt to LSU. And then Miami would have to go through that entire process again of finding a new coach and implementing a new system.

I may be wrong here, but I'm really happy that Cameron came in with a rebuilding plan before another year was wasted.

Think of it. If Saban were Miami's coach, Miles would almost certainly become Michigan's coach because the folks at LSU would gladly let Miles out of his contract in order to get Saban back. And it is that contract, which has a $1.25 million buyout clause if Miles goes to Michigan, that is the only thing that might keep Miles at LSU.

If Saban went back to LSU, he would be returning to a program stocked with talent -- which Alabama was not. He'd be returning to a place where he is adored and his foibles are embraced -- which he is finding Alabama is not. He'd be going back to an open and seemingly unlimited checkbook.

So Michigan would get the coach it wants and LSU would get the coach it wants.

It sounds like LSU is willing to let Miles go to Michigan. They didn't need Saban to come back for that.

So how would that make things better for the Dolphins? As I just stated, Saban would be struggling with the Dolphins this year as any coach would. But do you think he'd be winless? His Miami teams started slow both years, but they hit a stride midway through the season. It didn't last and it didn't make them good long-term or short-term.

But they were not WINLESS. Not even close.

True, but they'd still be that same underachieving bunch, getting older and not doing anything worth remembering on the field. But hey, they would go 7-9! Long live Saban!

And I don't think they would be winless this year under Saban. And how would that be better for Miami long-term?

Well, it was clear last year that the big-name coaches the Dolphins coveted initially -- Pete Carroll and Bill Cowher -- were not ready to move or get back into coaching. Those close to Cowher believe he'll be ready to return to coaching this year. And if the Dolphins were in the market for a coach this year, following Saban's departure to LSU, I am certain they would be players in the chase for Coach Chin.

Maybe. You don't know that. So basically, you'd prefer to have another lethargic season with that same veteran group, go 6-10, have Saban bolt and cross your fingers to hopefully land Cowher.

Meanwhile, Cameron is already here and his plan is already in motion. Granted they're 0-10 and horrible right now, but you need to get really bad before you get really good. The Cowboys also went 1-15 in J.J.'s first season.

Besides, in last Sunday's game against Philly, Miami had a rookie qb, a rookie fullback, a rookie center, a rookie wide receiver, a 2nd year wide receiver, a 2nd year safety, a rookie punter and a 2nd year defensive tackle all STARTING.

That means youth. That means rebuilding. That means that this team is one or two drafts away from being a contender and having a great core of players to build around.

Furthermore, I put to you that had Saban stayed in Miami this year, held out one more inglorious season, Cam Cameron would be better off as well. If Saban had stayed, Cameron would still be in San Diego in some capacity because he had only one other head coach interview last year and Arizona didn't ask him back for a second talk.

So he would not have left San Diego. He would, worst case, be San Diego's offensive coordinator, which given the talent there is pretty attractive. And if things had played out as they did, Cameron would almost certainly have inherited the head coaching job when Marty Schottenheimer was fired.

Again, you don't know this. San Diego fired Shottenheimer after a 14-2 season. They let Cameron walk. They let Wade Phillips walk. They went out and got Norv fuckin' Turner. San Diego didn't really make the most rational of decisions there Armando...

So Camerons would be San Diego's head coach and the Dolphins would be in good position to hire a good head coach with a winning track record because they could chose between a semi-retired Cowher and an unemployed Schottenheimer as their next coach.

Alright. Fine. I'll play along. Even if Camerons (sic) became the head coach, what do you think would be more gratifying? Inheriting a loaded Chargers team and have people say that he's winning only because he took over Shottenheimer's loaded roster? (a la Phillips in Dallas and Tomlin in Pitt).

Or, take over a bad Miami team, tear it down, start to rebuild it and slowly mold a winner out of it? I think option number 2 sounds pretty good and pretty rewarding.

So to recap if Saban had stayed in Miami this year, the Dolphins might not be winless and in 2008:

Huh. We're still in 2007 Armando. And if you mean that Miami will go winless next season, then you should be giving us lottery numbers.

Saban would be coaching LSU.

Yeah, the guy who compares a loss to 9-11 and Pearl Harbor.

Cameron would be coaching San Diego.

Maybe.

And either Cowher or Schottenheimer could be coaching the Dolphins.

Maybe and maybe.

That's better all the way around, I think.

Discuss ...

Read the comments. Your readers seem to agree that this piece of garbage is the worst thing you've ever written.