No one would make a better college football commissioner than Nick Saban, trust me | Bohls

While I got ya, here are nine things and one crazy prediction:

In case Nick Saban is job-hunting ...

1. OK, it’s time: He’s had all of two weeks off, and by now he has to be a little stir-crazy. So we have the perfect position for him. Nick Saban, commissioner of college football. Yeah, the need for such a person has been bandied about at times, including in this space, but the sport has never been at a more critical juncture than now. Everybody admits college football is in chaos and needs guard rails. Hey, times are so desperate, the sport is appealing to Congress to solve its problems. Yeah, really. So put Saban at the head of the table. Name him commissioner with a court of five conference commissioners, the current Power Four leagues and one representative of the Group of Five. Notre Dame, if you want to have a seat at the table, join a conference or be represented by the Group of Five. These six people will rule and have final authority. If we’re worried about the even number, I can live with the Irish having their own seat at the table. Or we can add Mack Brown as the assistant commissioner and go with a seven-person council, all with one vote apiece. Or if Mack wants to coach another decade, pick someone else as the assistant. A woman would make a lot of sense. Put Nikki Haley on there since the former governor of South Carolina is probably going to be available come the fall. Besides, the University of South Carolina never wins anything, so throw ‘em a bone. Saban is the unquestioned pick for this job because he loves the game, he’s the GOAT of the sport, he will do what’s best for football. Give this group the final authority to solve NIL and the transfer portal and the recruiting windows and the touchback rule on fumbles. Surely Saban’s bored by now. It’s been two weeks, Nick. And I’m not even kidding. Let’s make it happen. I’m sure you’ve already checked off everything on Miss Terry’s to-do list. Do I hear an aye? The biggest reason this would have no chance of happening? The Power Four commissioners and Notre Dame don't want to cede any of their power and authority.

2. On the rebound: Texas responded to its two-game losing streak exactly as Rodney Terry wanted his team to with an inspired, last-second win over No. 9 Baylor. That without question was a must-win. With the upset, the Longhorns men still remain a lowly 59th in the NCAA NET rankings and are 46th, according to kenpom. If you check out ESPN’s bracketology, Texas finally shows up on the radar as not among the First Four Out, but the Next Four Out along with Indiana State (26th NET), Nevada (55th) and Florida (45th). What really hurts the Longhorns is their poor nonconference schedule because they are 9-0 against Quad 4 teams and only 3-4 against Quad 1 and 2 opponents. Only six other teams out of 363 have more Quad 4 victories, but none are Power Five conference teams. The good news is Texas’ strength of schedule will jump in a big way with nine more games against ranked teams, starting with Oklahoma on Tuesday night. You know the bad news. Seven of those nine are on the road. … There’s no relaxing in this league. Terry’s bunch desperately needs to string together some wins to crawl out of its 2-3 Big 12 hole and showed it has the chops to do it. Tyrese Hunter had the play of the year with his coast-to-coast circus shot to bank in the winner in the final second and his best game of the year, and Chendall Weaver may have been going to Brock Cunningham School of Dirty Work with his key rebound, etc. It would be a shame for a team with this much talent to miss the NCAA Tournament. … To put a cap on the Horndowngate, was much ado about nothing in a slow end of football period and the power of the Longhorn brand. Yeah, RT shouldn’t have been drawn offsides and gone crazy, but he did apologize. It should have sunk in after he chided UCF when the Texas players and staff went nuts after topping Baylor.

3. Credit to Kansas City: Probably its worst team during this Super Bowl run, and the Chiefs still get it done to reach the AFC Championship Game. I’m curious if the rest of the nation is weary of the Chiefs and have Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce fatigue. … I don’t know if you would prefer a domed stadium in Buffalo. Me, I like playing in the elements. Right, Jason Kelce? … To me, you don’t do a fake punt in the fourth quarter on our own side of the field. That’s desperation time, and I think you lose so much of the surprise element. That as much as anything crippled Buffalo’s chances. … if you’re Stefon Diggs, you have to make that catch. If you want to be a champion, that is. Oh, and you might want to cover Travis Kelce every once in a while.

4. Newly relevant: The Houston Texans are on their way to spectacular NFL relevancy for the future despite a lopsided divisional playoff road loss at Baltimore. They're not that far away. They pressured Lamar Jackson, which is a must, but the Texans’ blitzes opened up big running lanes against the Houston zone. The Ravens’ big offensive line is a huge edge. Why doesn’t John Harbaugh get more credit as an elite coach? … One of the plays of the game was a Jackson bootleg for a crucial first down. Have always thought the bootleg play is one of the most undervalued plays in football because it's usually so effective, especially against overly aggressive defenses. … Baker Mayfield killed it against the Lions, showed his clutch gene. … Dan Campbell’s a coach I’d want to play for. He’s country-smart, blunt and direct. DeMeco Ryans would be on that list as well. Less about play-calling, more about inspiring and connecting and getting your players to play hard for you. … I want Jahmyr Gibbs on my fantasy team next year. He’s a blur. My sons, John Tyler and Zach, and I finished second with the Sitting Ducks behind deserving Dan Zehr and Jason Embry. Thank you, Tyreek Hill, Sam LaPorta and Brock Purdy.

5. Purdy good: The 49ers, my pick to win it all, survived against the Packers. Purdy didn't have his best game but remains one of the best stories in the league. Maybe he can't throw a wet ball. Yes, he has small hands. I’ve always wondered before the Iowa State quarterback became the very last pick of the 2022 NFL draft whom else San Francisco considered. Did they strongly think about taking someone else before settling on Purdy? Widely considered as a throwaway pick, the selection for Mr. Irrelevant from Iowa State makes Purdy one of the best draft picks in history. And I’ve never been sure if a team that drafts the last pick, who becomes ultimately very successful, deserves credit or is just the luckiest team in the league. Kind of like Tom Brady going 199th in 2000? Also reminds that choosing quarterbacks can be very much a crapshoot. Right, Ryan Leaf? … So here we are again, discussing the pros and cons of a touchback after an offensive fumble goes out of the end zone. As I’ve written before, one option would be to allow the offense to keep the ball and move it back to the 10. Or the 20. We all agree there must be a negative consequence but how severe?

6. On the hill: The Texas baseball team opens with its first full practice on Friday. David Pierce remains very optimistic about his pitching staff with a lot of newcomers and young arms besides the expected starting threesome, especially David Shaw and Heston Tole coming off injuries last year. Pierce recently bragged on a pair of redshirt sophomores, 6-foot-3 right-hander Grant Fontenot from McLennan Community College and 6-5 right-hander Gage Boehm from Hutto. “These two have power and movement,” Pierce said. “Chase Lummus has made a lot of strides, and Lucas Harrison is back (from a missed 2023 season). They could be spot starters on Tuesdays or throw in long relief. We definitely have some options with them as well as freshmen Hudson Hamilton, Easton Tumis and Cole Selvig (Player of the Year in his division in Wisconsin last year and a state champion the year before). They are three potential weekend guys. I don’t have any order for them yet, but they're all full bore. They’re not big power arms so they really have to pitch.”

7. A home stretch: Vic Schaefer is only going to take ‘em one at a time, but these next two weeks with three home games in a four-game span will reveal a lot about his Texas women’s basketball team’s NCAA Tournament seeding. The 18-2 Longhorns sit in fourth place at 5-2 in the Big 12 and have home games against two of the teams in front of them in the standings, Oklahoma (5-1) on Wednesday night and frontrunner and fourth-ranked Kansas State (8-0) on Feb. 4. The 19-1 Wildcats will be without star center Ayoka Lee for four weeks because of ankle surgery but beat Baylor on Monday for their 13th consecutive win. … Schaefer loves this team but said, “If we want to continue to live in the top 10, we’ve got to fix some things.” He cites the need for greater toughness and better offensive execution, noting the 12 bad shots Texas took against Kansas State in a one-possession game. “Toughness entails so many things,” Schaefer said. “This team is probably one of my least charge-taking teams I’ve ever had, if not the least. I won’t say worst. We just don’t take very many, and you just took a kid out of my lineup that probably took three a game in Rori (Harmon).” In fact, Harmon’s 15 charges still lead the team, which has 66 to average 3.3 per game, followed by 11 each from Shay Holle and Aaliyah Moore, who once took four in a half last season.

8. Scattershooting: While wondering whatever happened to former Longhorns basketball player Brad Buckman.

9. On the couch: Rented “Holdovers,” a (sort of) heart-warming narrative of a crusty, unlikable ancient history professor (big fan of Paul Giamatti) forced to babysit rich private school kids held over during Christmas break. I don’t really think the film is Oscar-worthy, but it’s a very worthwhile two hours. Gave it seven ducks. Got to believe “Oppenheimer” wins the Oscar for Best Picture and Barbie’s eloquent America Ferrera Best Supporting Actress. Please don’t let “Maestro” win anything.

Crazy prediction: Bill Belichick will never win another playoff game.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Former Alabama coach Nick Saban perfect choice to run college football