Doyel: Belichick isn't coming, so Colts should try to hire the next best guy — Nick Saban

This is not a Nick Saban rumor. This is not even Nick Saban speculation. It’s a question:

If you’re the Indianapolis Colts and desperately need competence and relevance and something resembling a sure thing at coach, why wouldn’t you try to hire Alabama’s Nick Saban?

Colts fans seem divided, which stuns me. Blows me away that there's a faction of Colts fans, and it feels like the larger faction, horrified at the idea of hiring Nick Saban.

And look, it’s the media’s job to be horrified at the idea of hiring Nick Saban.

And here, I’m being mostly serious. Nick Saban coming to Indianapolis would be a nightmare for local media. He’s controlling and domineering, using intimidation to keep questions at bay. Ever seen a Bill Belichick news conference? Same thing. The media in New England has been beaten down for so long, blown up by a single sneer from Belichick, that news conferences often come and go with important questions unasked. It’s Pavlovian; when Belichick's in the room, we’re the dog.

Saban’s the same way, if slightly more personable and therefore slightly less intimidating. He’d make for a miserable media atmosphere at the Colts complex. I might kind of like it though …

But who cares if Saban’s hard on the media? If you’re a Colts fan, as the franchise searches for Chuck Pagano’s replacement, this should be your first – your only – goal:

Hire a winner.

So … in all of football coaching, name a bigger winner than Nick Saban.

You’re right: The list starts and ends with one name: Bill Belichick. And he’s not coming.

So shouldn’t the Colts at least try to hire the sport’s second-biggest winner?

Again, this is not rumor or speculation. The goal here is probative, to ask a question and get an answer, and the question is quite simple:

Who gives the Colts a better chance at winning fast than Nick Saban?

Yes, it’s true, Saban turned 66 in October. He seems a young 66, and anyway, four years of Nick Saban would do wonders for this franchise. In the NFL, 22 teams have a coach who has been there for four years – or less. Let’s not act like the Colts are hiring someone for a decade. They need to do what’s best for 2018, not 2028.

Yes, it’s true, Saban has coached in the NFL before. No, it’s not true that he failed.

Saban didn’t stay with the Miami Dolphins long enough to fail, going 15-17 in two seasons before leaving in 2007 for Alabama, where he has built the most dominant run in college football history, and that’s not hyperbole. That’s fact.

After Alabama beat Georgia 26-23 on Monday night in overtime, Saban has won five national titles in nine years, nearly twice as fast as any other coach – the coach was Bear Bryant, also at Alabama – ever has. Bear took 16 years from 1964-79 to win five titles, and he did it before schools were limited to 85 scholarships, and before cable television made it possible for recruits to get national exposure almost anywhere.

It’s harder than ever to win a national title. And Saban has done it easier than anyone ever has.

And we’re going to hold two seasons in Miami against him? While thinking Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is a better choice?

Nothing on McDaniels’ resume, zero, says he can win as a head coach in the NFL. His resume says Belichick can win. His resume says Tom Brady can win. His resume says he was lucky enough to cling to their coattails. His resume says he was worse at Denver (11-17 in 2009-10) than Saban was at Miami, getting fired late in his second season, fired at 3-9 and with the NFL having fined McDaniels for an incident involving – I’m not making this up – illegal video-taping.

Apples, trees. They don’t fall far, know what I’m saying?

But enough about McDaniels, a ludicrous candidate I hold up only in contrast to the legit winner that is Nick Saban, who inherited a 4-12 Dolphins team in 2005 and went 9-7 with forgettable 34-year-old Gus Frerotte at quarterback, then went 6-10 in 2006 with has-been Daunte Culpepper and never-was’es Joey Harrington and Cleo Lemon. And Saban failed? Please. Stop.

Another question: Would Saban come to Indianapolis?

Lord, I have no idea. Maybe not. He won’t come for the money, necessarily. He is making more than $11 million this season at Alabama, though that number is somewhat inflated by a $4 million bonus. Regardless, if he wants it, Saban could name his price at Alabama and the school would give it to him.

He’s that good.

But, that’s my point:

He’s that good.

Colts owner Jim Irsay is a billionaire who can give Saban whatever it would take, assuming that number exists. And twice before – warning, what follows is rumor and speculation – Irsay has been linked to Saban by the national media: After the 2015 season, and again after 2016.

Things have changed since then. Inexperienced Irsay flunky Ryan Grigson is no longer the general manager. Chris Ballard is running the show, and I do mean running it, and to me that's as big a roadblock to a Saban-Colts marriage as Saban’s unwillingness to leave Alabama.

Ballard is on record as saying, in a story last week where I predicted he’d hire his Kansas City buddy, Dave Toub: “We want a partner. The head coach-general manager relationship is one of the most important things for the success of this franchise. We want to make sure we get the right fit for this organization.”

Would Saban get along with Ballard? Could he get along with Ballard? That’s a question that needs to be asked. That’s a question I understand.

Should Colts fans hope they hire Nick Saban?

I don’t ask that question. Don’t even understand it. Of course you should hope the Colts hire Nick Saban.

Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter: @GreggDoyelStar or at facebook.com/gregg.doyel.

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