Coach Nick Saban leaves an indelible legacy in University of Alabama football lore that may never be duplicated. He and Coach Bryant are the greatest of all time, but the difference was Bryant could recruit and put 140 players on his sideline, while Saban could only field 85 scholarship players on one team. The way Coach Saban did it with the recruiting restrictions he encountered was remarkable in and of itself. It’s hard to compare eras and definitively say that one legend was better than the other. They both won six national championships, while Coach Saban also won a national title at LSU in 2003 for a total of 7. But it’s 2024 and Coach Saban has been the standard for 17 years in Tuscaloosa. Coach Saban was magnificent. His legacy may be untouched in college football. He’s certainly the hallmark for all college football coaches.

He leaves gigantic shoes to fill, and that’s quite an understatement, but I don’t know how else to put it. What he did at Alabama with his prolific records, 123 NFL draft picks, 44 in the first round, 4 Heisman Trophy winners in Mark Ingram (2009), Derrick Henry (2015), DeVonta Smith (2020) and Bryce Young (2021), is beyond reproach. And that’s not even close to all of his accomplishments; the SEC titles, the wins, and this one very significant stat that seldom gets noticed: Coach Saban coached 656 players who earned their undergraduate degrees from the Unversity with 103 of those players earning Masters degrees. That is astonishing. The Great One will be sorely missed. It’s hard to see him go.

He has handed over the reins to former Washington Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer, and my initial reaction is that this is a home run hire. If Coach DeBoer can recruit in the southeast, he will be supremely successful. He can certainly develop and motivate. It’ll be a challenge locking horns with Kirby and Hugh on the recruiting trail along with the many other highly talented and relentless SEC and national coaches. But with the right staff, DeBoer can excel. I like this a lot. More on the Great One and his legacy and the DeBoer hire coming up in the near future.

NFL Wild Card Predictions

I’m not going to be too extensive this week, but will hopefully, like a friend of mine said about Eric Clapton one time “Give you what you want.” I’m highly intrigued and invested in these Wild Card games. We all love college football. The Tide and the Tigers along with other SEC and key national teams dominate the headlines and our interest. But the NFL is extraordinarily interesting in the postseason. The level of play is ramped up to elite status. There are electric atmosphere throughout NFL stadiums that host a playoff game. There are stellar matchups during this long MLK Day weekend. Here are my predictions for this weekend’s contests.

Last Year in the Playoffs

Straight Up:11-2

ATS: 8-5

Didn’t get Super Bowl 57 right as the great Mahomes and the Chiefs defeated Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith and the Eagles, 38-35. Super Bowl LVIII will be @ Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas Sunday, February 11th, at 5:30 PM CT on CBS.

Fourteen teams are competing for the privilege of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy late Sunday Night, February 11th. There will be six wild card games this weekend as the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers have earned byes by virtue of each team finishing as the top seeds in their respective conferences. Here are my projected winners this weekend.

Today

Cleveland Browns (11-6, 3-5 Away) @ Houston Texans (10-7, 6-3 Home)

NRG Stadium, Rocket City, 72,220

3:30 PM CT

NBC

Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge (sounds funny to say Todd in the NFL) Kathryn Tappen

Lead Ref, Clay Martin

Browns by 2

I’m going to take the great DeMeco Ryans, his stellar rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Texans to knock off the renaissance man, Joe “Fountain of Youth” Flacco (he’ll be 39 on Tuesday), and the Browns. This should be a hardly fought contest, but I like DeMeco and C.J. at home to eke the game out and move on to the Divisional Round next week.

Texans 24, Browns 21

Miami Dolphins (11-6, 3-6 Away) @ Kansas City Chiefs (11-6, 5-4 Home)

QEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, KC, 76,416

7 PM CT

Peacock, No NBC, just streaming on Peacock

Tirico, Coach Garrett, Kaylee Hartung, W&L grad (Go Generals)

Laundry, Brad Rogers, lead yeller wood

Chiefs by 5

The temperature at kickoff will be -2 and it’ll feel like -20 with the wind blowing at 15-25 MPH. It’ll be tough on the Dolphins. It won’t be that much easier on the Chiefs, but they are more used to this in January. Give me Mahomes and the Chiefs to move on. However, I don’t see prolific offensive numbers in these brutal conditions. The Chiefs play excellent D.

Chiefs 14, Dolphins 7

Sunday

Green Bay Packers (9-8, 4-5 Away) @ Dallas Cowboys (12-5, 8-0 Home)

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX. 80,000

3:30 PM CT

FOX

Kevin, Greg, EA, Tom

Vogue, Ron Torbert

Them Cowboys by 7

Jerry and Dak get a playoff victory as they are a juggernaut at Jerry’s Place this year. The Cowboys move on to the Divisional Round with “High Hopes.”

Cowboys 31, Packers 21

Los Angeles Rams (10-7, 5-4 Away) @ Detroit Lions (12-5 6-2 Home)

Ford Field, Motor City, 65,000

7 PM CT

NBC

Tirico (the great one is a busy man) Cris, Melissa

Hunter’s, Craig Wrolstad

Lions by 3

Some experts are picking Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford and the Rams, but I’ve always thought McVay’s coaching ability is a little overrated. Give my Jared Goff, former Bama standout Jahmyr Gibbs and the Lions.

Lions 34, Rams 30

Monday

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7, 5-3 Away) @ Buffalo Bills (11-6, 7-2 Home)

Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, New York, 71,608

3:30 PM CT, Changed due to weather

CBS

Jim, Tone, Trace, Jay Feely

SudsnDuds, Carl Cheffers

Bills by 9 1/2

I like Mike Tomlin, Najee Harris Mason Rudolph and the Steelers to pull off the upset in Orchard Park. It’ll be cold with the temperature at 21 at kickoff, and it’ll feel like 5, with some snow and wind at 20 with snow several hours leading up to the kickoff. Just like the Steelers in the conditions in the playoffs. The Bills can handle it, too, of course, but the Steelers always have some magic in the postseason.

Steelers 17, Bills 14

Philadelphia Eagles (11-6, 5-4 Away) @ Tampa Bay Bucs (9-8, 4-4 Home)

Raymond James Stadium Tampa, 75,000

7:15 PM CT

ESPN

Joe Troy, Lisa, Laura

Yella, Adrian Hill

Eagles by 3

The Eagles have fallen on hard times this year as the season has progressed. Jalen Hurts just can’t seem to click with this year’s offensive coordinator and the defense lost its six leading tacklers off last year’s team and has struggled since halfway through the season. I like Bake to be Bake and the Bucs to pull off the upset.

Bucs 23, Eagles 20