Saban, Brown different in many ways -- except success

Manny Wright cried. What, you've forgotten?

Like a baby, he cried. It's all there on YouTube.

It has been 4½ years. Since then Wright, a one-time big-time Southern California stud and fifth-round draft choice of the Miami Dolphins, has moved on. But on that July day in 2005, the 6-foot-6, 360-pounder was reduced to wussy status. He left the practice field in crocodile tears after then-Dolphins coach Nick Saban got through with him.

For a lot of folks, that's the signature moment of The Sabanator's career.

"That's exactly what I was thinking when he was coming in," said former Alabama defensive end Bobby Greenwood. "I definitely saw that video, I was nervous about it."

Saban came to Alabama in 2007 armed with a national championship and a reputation largely forged during that hot summer day in South Florida. Making a kid cry? What was next for Saban, melting iron with his eyes?

It's obvious from Greenwood's comments alone that the man can motivate and intimidate before he walks in the room. It got results and that is all that mattered.

If the BCS title game was being played on coaching reps alone, Texas would be a three-touchdown underdog. Really, has there been a more dichotomous coaching matchup in a BCS championship game?

Saban is surrounded by that iron, both the fist he rules with and the "bowl" he coaches each year against Auburn. Texas' Mack Brown is surrounded by friends, starting with historian Bill Little, who is at the coach's elbow to offer stats, stories and perspective on every subject Texas.

QB Greg McElroy: 'Coach Saban is relatively nice compared to some of the things I've heard.' (US Presswire)

Saban is in his fourth job in 10 years. Brown is a good-ol'-boy pure-bred Texan by now. The Tennessee native is entrenched, having spent a dozen years putting his stamp on the Longhorns. One coach could crack his face with a smile. The other has his right hand cocked to shake yours.

One brings the thunder. The other brings the coffee if you've got an early-morning appointment.

One has Belichick on speed dial. The other could have Matthew McConaughey as one of his Fave Fives.

One is a detail freak. The other is the ultimate coaching CEO.

It seems like the only thing they have in common are dollar signs -- lots of them. Two of the highest-paid coaches in the country earn a combined $9 million per year. (Saban is No. 3 at an average of $4 million per year; Brown No. 1 at $5 million.)

Money doesn't buy happiness, but there isn't much misery in Brown's $2 million raise.

It might be Hands On vs. Laissez Faire when the two brand-name super powers meet on Jan. 7. They used to call Brown "Coach February" for his ability to wrap up recruiting classes before New Year's (and inability to follow through with championships). After nine consecutive seasons of at least 10 wins, a national championship and two Big 12 titles in Austin, it's hard to call Brown anything but second only to Darrell Royal in Texas history.

The case could be made for the winner being the coach of the decade. Saban would have won championships at two different schools, leaving enough talent for Les Miles at LSU to have a hand in a third. Brown has won 110 games this decade, more than Paterno, Bowden and the same as Stoops.

Brown uses a spread option attack with two-time Heisman finalist Colt McCoy. Saban's pro style is as buttoned down as the coach himself.

Texas can't run the ball (55th in the country).

Alabama tailback Mark Ingram won the Heisman (1,542 yards rushing, 15 touchdowns).

Brown long ago attached himself to loyal assistants and let them make key decisions. Saban doesn't even let his assistants talk to the media. When offensive coordinator Jim McElwain was approached on the field after the SEC title game, he trotted away from reporters saying, "Clear that with him, I still want to have a job. I'm a mute."

"Him" being the boss who can bring opponents to their knees and players to tears.

"That's the player's fault," Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy said when asked about the Wright incident. "I've been called terrible things [in my career] ... Coach Saban is relatively nice compared to some of the things I've heard."

Maybe this isn't the right time to be talking about coaching conduct to shape a champion.

By the hammer ...

"He's a very intense coach," Greenwood said of Saban. "He just loves everybody out there. He kills you in that offseason. It pays off during the season."

And by the guiding hand ...

"When I walked into Coach Brown's office when I was a freshman, I said, 'Hey, what do I have to do to be your quarterback and play here?'" McCoy said.

Mack Brown turned Colt McCoy into a two-time Heisman finalist. (Getty Images)

The quarterback was told he had to win. Four years later, McCoy has the NCAA record with 45 career victories.

When he arrived in 1998, Brown had to mend a program split in two by John Mackovic. He quickly found out that 10 wins per season was the jumping off point in Austin. In his first four seasons, Brown won two Big 12 South Division titles and coached a Heisman winner (Ricky Williams). It wasn't enough because in that span, Oklahoma had won two of the four meetings and a national championship.

Imagine having to beat the Sooners for starters each season. Only lately has the trend turned in Brown's favor -- Texas has won four of the past five against Oklahoma.

"It's much harder to maintain than it is to build," Brown said. "Not only the pressure but the consistency to get better each year. A minimum season is when you win 10 games. It puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the coaches and players."

Now realize Saban's and Alabama's burden -- 17 years without a national championship.

Pressure is how you deal with it. More than six years ago, Saban hit his head on a dock and sank to the bottom of a lake near his vacation home in Georgia. The future of LSU football was literally sinking when friend Lenny Lemoine considered diving in after the unconscious Saban. Then here came the sputtering, gurgling coach to the top, having regained consciousness, toughing out a brush with death like he toughed out the SEC schedule.

"Saban could have woken up on the bottom of that lake an hour later and he'd still be alive," Lemoine said back then. "He's a fighter."

OK, we know that but there is a softer side. Saban employed the services of the Pacific Institute, which sounds like some new-age, holistic, meditation joint. That's because it is, sort of. The PI has been conducting "mental conditioning" classes for the Tide since the spring of 2008.

After 10 players were arrested in an 18-month period, Saban figured something had to change. The team was counseled after last year's embarrassing Sugar Bowl loss to Utah. McElroy got over some self-doubt issues in midseason. All-American linebacker Rolando McClain became "the Tim Tebow of the team," according to a PI instructor.

Bear Bryant had mental conditioning too. They were called three-hour practices but times have changed.

If Saban has a calmer side, then Brown has his Saban side. Up 40-0 at halftime of the Baylor game, he blasted the team for lack of effort. It all went back to the 2008 season when Texas lost that tiebreaker to Oklahoma. Brown told his team bluntly that if they wanted to remove all doubt they were going to have to win them all in 2009.

"The vibe is more like 2005 right now, it's on us," Brown said, referring to Texas' title year. "I told them, if you want to be the best team in the country you have to play good every week. That's on you. If you sit around listening to everybody talking about Pasadena and you don't play well then stupid for you. "

Strong stuff from the coach who isn't known for iron and tears.

Somewhere, Manny Wright is shuddering.