SI went with the header, "Does college football need commissioner Nick Saban? Not so fast." Every year during the College Football Playoff, there tends to be a storyline that takes on a life of its own. This season, it is the "growing movement" to have Saban named as some sort of college football commissioner. The prompt for a Saban appointment is "rooted in issues the sport has been turning in knots to sort out" -- NIL, the transfer portal, looming revenue-sharing and a calendar that "crams everything into a handful of tight windows." The plan "makes sense on the surface, as Saban is retired from coaching and he’s "been well received as a newfound conscience on such issues" as part of his role on ESPN’s College GameDay. He’s also "vastly unqualified and uneducated on how to actually get" things done. That’s not to say he couldn’t "come to understand such nuances." But he's also 73 years old and "got out of the business because of those same issues he supposedly would be in charge of fixing."
Also:
- Bowling in the future: Will the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl and other similar games survive the CFP?
- All-Access with Boise State at the Fiesta Bowl: Broncos proved they belong vs. Penn State.
- Alan Hahn: From Newsday sportswriter to TV and radio star with new ESPN New York show debuting Monday.
- Horse racing is set for a resurgence, even as America’s oldest track closes.
