I don't see how that Pac 12 style of play will play out nicely in the SEC. There needs to be some reliance on power.
Norvell made so much more sense as a hire. Deboard is just the flavor of the year.
I think Norvell is a great coach, but don't see him as making much more sense. He has had some success in the ACC (after a disastrous first 2 years), which was worse than the Pac12 last year.
I think Norvell would've been a good hire, but probably the same as DeBoer in terms of potential and question marks.
I'd say he's probably on par with any of the main rumored targets. Some upside, some question marks.
- Lane: Knows the SEC, good offensive mind. Is he mature enough to run a program like Bama?
- Lanning: Impressive start at Oregon, knows the SEC. But can he win big games? Inherited a strong roster from Cristobal and added some pieces to go on a nice run in the Pac. But what was his record against rivals? 1-4, with the 1 win coming against Oregon State the evening before Smith announced his departure to Sparty. Might be a good one, but so far his record is James Franklin-esque
- Norvell: Has done well at FSU after a rough start. Some serious blemishes including losing to Jax State in year 2 in Tallahassee. ACC is a weak conference, maybe worse than the PAC was the last two years. Could argue losing by 60 also was pretty bad but there's a lot going into that situation.
Regardless of who was hired, they would likely be a step back from Saban. Only person who might not would've been Kirby, which was not happening.
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