No to Nick Saban as commissioner of college football | Williams

The announcement of Nick Saban's retirement was only hours old when I heard a national sports radio host touting the former Alabama football coach to be commissioner of college football. Popular idea, that one. Gaining traction out there on social media.

Lemme just weigh in here and say no to that. A reminder that commissioners are wise, beloved figures whose words and actions are always well-received, right? Like those of Rob Manfred, Bud Selig, Peter Ueberroth, Bowie Kuhn, Gary Bettman, Roger Goodell? Bob Bowlsby, perhaps?

The notion that having a commissioner will solve whatever ails college football — much of the ailments being hyperbole; some of us think it's not nearly as messed up as made out to be — might sound swell in theory. In reality, it would just give us someone new to complain about. Instead of bashing the NCAA, bash this new piñata!

I'm sure schools forever coming up short against Alabama in the Southeastern Conference would view Saban as a benevolent fellow looking out for everyone's best interests. Come to think of it, schools outside the SEC would defer to Saban, no questions asked, as a sage doing what's right by all.

Does anybody see it playing out that way? No cynicism over conflicts of interest, no suspicions of looking out for the SEC?

Besides, college football doesn't need a commissioner.

The game was fine before players profiting off their name, image and likeness and will continue to be so. The game was fine before loosened transfer restrictions and remains so. If you believe those are new-age problems that need a remedy, I'd suggest someone other than a retired 72-year-old coach to come up with solutions.

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Also on my mind:

■ If you want to read a good book that dates to Nick Saban's days as a college football player, check out "Flashback: A Young Man's Search for Truth about the Kent State Shootings". Saban's not the main character. His college teammate, quarterback Daryl Hall, is. Hall authored the book, published in 2019. Among his teammates at Kent State were a safety named Saban, a tight end named Gary Pinkel and a linebacker named Jack Lambert. (Bonus: Head shots of all.) It's an interesting read about a college football team on a campus hotbed for Vietnam war protests. ...

■ Former Texas Tech football coach Matt Wells was hired last week by Kansas State to be co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, which will help Tech recoup some of the $7.326 million it owed Wells after firing him in November 2021. Wells spent the past two years on Brent Venables' staff at Oklahoma as analyst and, according to a Tech official, was making about $50,000 when he started in that role. Everything he earns to the end of his contract term with Tech reduces the amount of the buyout. ...

■ Tech defensive tackle Tony Bradford's latest recognition for doing good work off the football field came last month with the Freddie Solomon Community Spirit Award. Solomon was starting quarterback for the winning East team in the 1975 Coaches All-America Game at Jones Stadium before going on to an 11-year career as an NFL wide receiver, winning two Super Bowls.

■ Speaking of, those involved in the botched ending of the recent Detroit Lions-Dallas Cowboys game also could have taken a cue from the 1975 Coaches All-America Game played on Texas Tech's turf. You'll remember a successful Lions' two-point conversion pass was nullified on the grounds that tackle Taylor Decker wasn't an eligible receiver.

Back in '75, Mississippi State defensive tackle Jimmy Webb — No. 70 that night at Jones Stadium — tried to enter as a tight end wearing a jersey with no number. "At the insistence of an official," the A-J's Miller Bonner wrote, "Webb trotted to the sidelines and had a '1' taped on his uniform.' " They waited for him.

■ Texas Tech Hall of Famer Chuck Harrison died on Dec. 30 at age 82. The former Abilene High standout played 10 years in pro baseball, leading the Texas League with 40 home runs in 1964 and posting back-to-back 100-RBI seasons in '64 and '65 before spending parts of five years in the majors: 1965-67 with the Astros and 1969 and 1971 with the Royals.

Harrison was the first Tech baseball player to appear in the big leagues, played in the Astrodome in its first year and started at first base for the expansion Royals in their inaugural game.

Harrison applied for the Texas Tech baseball head coaching job after the 1986 season. "I've seen a lot of ball games. I've watched coaches coach. I've played 10 years of professional ball, and I've coached ever since I've been out," he told the A-J at the time. "I believe I have as much or more knowledge of the game as anyone I've seen."

T. Jones wound up hiring Larry Hays.

Don Williams is the Texas Tech football beat writer and columnist for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. He can be reached at dwilliams@lubbockonline.com. Follow him at @AJ_DonWilliams on X, formerly known as Twitter

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: No to Nick Saban as commissioner of college football | Williams