If Alabama football dynasty is dead, that's news to Nick Saban | Toppmeyer

Is Alabama’s dynasty dead? On life support? Gone dormant?

Part of the answer depends on how you define dynasty.

Greg McElroy’s definition does not fit Alabama’s current state.

“I always define a dynasty with complete dominance over the competition almost always, and I think that those days have definitely gone by the wayside,” the former Alabama quarterback turned ESPN analyst said on his “Always College Football” podcast.

Although this iteration of No. 10 Alabama (1-1) doesn’t equal a dynasty, McElroy added that it could win a national championship.

No reasonable person who watched Texas beat Alabama 34-24 believes the Crimson Tide will win this season’s national championship. It would be the first time in Nick Saban’s 17-year tenure at Alabama that he would gone three straight seasons without a national championship.

Alabama is 20-5 in its past 25 games. That’s the mark of a good program, not a dynasty. One more loss would all but extinguish its College Football Playoff chances. It also missed the playoff last season. Failing to qualify for the playoff in consecutive seasons is not the mark of a dynasty.

Alabama misses the presence of past coordinators like Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, who are off leading their own successful programs. Further, the combination of NIL and immediate eligibility for transfers has helped other programs ascend. Alabama still has good players, but its depth of talent that used to be overwhelming in the glory days no longer is unmatched.

Texas looked like the more talented team Saturday.

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That said, I’m unconvinced that Saban has won his last national championship. That depends on how much longer he coaches. Let’s say he coaches another five years. Then I say he gets one more title.

What does he think of this talk of a dying dynasty? As you might expect, he says he’s unaware of the outside noise. He’s in the trench working to fix the problems.

“I’ve got pride in performance, just like everybody else in this organization,” Saban said. “My standard comes from within me, not from some external motivation.”

Externally, though, even former Alabama players are waffling in their outlook of Saban’s dynasty.

TOPPMEYER: Steve Spurrier tells story of nicknaming The Swamp and weighs in on Tennessee Vols at Florida

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Did Kirby Smart launch Shane Beamer’s career? Depends who you ask

Smart will face a former assistant on Saturday when No. 1 Georgia (2-0) hosts South Carolina (1-1). An interesting thread on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference was the extent to which Smart launched Shane Beamer’s career.

Smart downplayed the idea that he’s responsible for Beamer’s rise.

“I don’t think (Beamer’s Georgia stint) launched his career,” Smart said, noting that he already had been an SEC assistant at Mississippi State and South Carolina before his two seasons in Athens.

Smart said he zeroed in on Beamer to add to his staff because he thought he’d bring good energy, be a good recruiter and had a good special teams mind.

Beamer has worked for several prominent coaches. He credits Smart most of all.

“Honestly, those two years that I spent in Athens with Kirby had as much of an impact on my career and my philosophy of anywhere that I’ve been,” he said. “Kirby made me a better coach.”

Good riddance, Mel Tucker

The further Tennessee’s 2017 coaching search gets in the rearview mirror, the worse it looks.

Phillip Fulmer interviewed Mel Tucker for the Tennessee job before hiring Jeremy Pruitt. Tucker served as Georgia’s defensive coordinator from 2016 to 2018. He became Colorado’s coach before leaving for Michigan State, and he had been perhaps the most prominent coach to emerge from Smart’s coaching tree.

I can’t imagine anyone wanting to claim Tucker these days — not since Michigan State placed Tucker on unpaid suspension after he masturbated during a phone call with Brenda Tracy, a rape survivor and prominent national advocate for sexual assault prevention who has been hired to speak to many football programs, including the Spartans'.

Tracy told Title IX investigators that Tucker sexually harassed her, USA TODAY reported.

Tucker countered that he had consensual phone sex with Tracy.

At best, he exhibited incredibly poor judgment. At worst, he’s a disgusting man who sexually harassed a rape survivor.

MITCH ALBOM: Mel Tucker's decision making, not sex life, has likely cost him his job

Emails of the week

Mike writes: Congratulations to Kim Mulkey on her outstanding new contract. I hope she does not use any of that money to buy more gaudy outfits.

My response: I think most of Mulkey’s outfits come free — publicity opportunities for the clothing designers who give her the threads in hopes she’ll wear them. I ought to look into that sort of arrangement. I could use a couple of new sport coats. Let me know if you know any up-and-coming clothiers.

Michael writes: MESS-E-C!!!! Pretty ragged performance so far in 2023 from conference schools. Question remains if NIL and transfer rules have finally evened up the national scene, but it's looking that way.

My response: I went with S-E-Weak in a recent column, but I like your suggestion of MESS-E-C better.

Three and out

1. “No one’s ever won a national championship in Week 2 or lost it,” Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry said. True, but Alabama could lose the national championship in Week 4 against Ole Miss.

2. Florida hasn’t lost to Tennessee in The Swamp since 2003, but the No. 9 Vols are a 6½-point favorite. Coach Billy Napier went 0-3 in rivalry games against UT, Georgia and Florida State last season. This feels like a pivotal moment in his second season. "We’re all well-aware of the importance of the game,” Napier said.

3. No rest for Deion Sanders or Santa Claus. Asked whether he has taken a moment to appreciate Colorado’s 2-0 start, Sanders referenced a North Pole mentality. “I don’t have time to enjoy the moment,” he said. “Santa don’t have time. He’s gotta deliver the gifts. He ain’t got time to enjoy his cookies.”

To lean into this metaphor, Sanders should wear a Santa suit for Colorado’s Week 3 game against Colorado State.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

The "Topp Rope" is his twice-weekly SEC football column published throughout the USA TODAY Network. If you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it. Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered, or access exclusive columns via the SEC Unfiltered newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: If Alabama football dynasty is dead, it's news to Nick Saban