Tide Tidbits - November 8, 2008

Returning coaches cant avoid the spotlight
All week long, Alabama coach Nick Saban has fruitlessly attempted to avoid the spotlight. "This game is not about me," Saban said as he prepared to coach against LSU at Death Valley for the first time since leading the Tigers to the 2003 BCS national title. Yes, it is. Saban has emphasized that he shouldn't be the center of attention heading into one of the most anticipated games of the season. He doesn't want the hoopla surrounding his return to LSU impact his team's focus in its quest for a national championship. Coaches who have been through a similar situation say that's easier said than done.

Saban still has fond memories of friendship with late LSU booster
The nurse who answered the phone in the Gulf Shores intensive care unit hurried excitedly to find Jean Gill. The nurse was to the point of hyperventilation. It was Nick Saban, calling to check on Jean Gill's husband, Richard. Gill, an LSU alum and former president of the Tiger Athletic Foundation, was among the boosters who encouraged Saban to become head football coach at LSU. Theirs was "a very unique and deep friendship," according to Gill's son, Ricky.

Alabama's Nick Saban can expect a rude welcome when he returns to Baton Rouge
Having staked out their familiar spot in the parking lot sandwiched between Tiger Stadium and the Mississippi River, a group of LSU fans was asked what sort of reception Nick Saban can expect Saturday from the purple-and-gold faithful. That's an easy one. "I think we're going to boo him out of the stadium," Jim Huggins said Friday afternoon, already partying with food, drink and friends even though the game was still 24 hours away. "They probably should bring him there in the pope-mobile," the pontiff's bulletproof vehicle.

Roll Tide!