By Associated Press
Tuscaloosa, AL – Hours after Nick Saban left the N-F-L for Alabama, he got a dose of just what he likes about college football. Hundreds of screaming Alabama fans greeted him at the airport, chanting Roll Tide as his plane landed. He got hugs, handshakes and back pats. The now-former Miami Dolphins' coach felt that rah-rah spirit Wednesday, soon after accepting a deal reportedly worth at least 30 (m) million dollars over eight years, the most lucrative in college football. The expectations won't be far behind -- Tide fans want a national title winner like the one Saban built when he was at S-E-C West rival L-S-U. He will be introduced at a 10 a-m news conference this morning on the Alabama campus. The hiring concluded a five-week search to replace the fired Mike Shula. The Tuscaloosa News put out a special edition trumpeting the hiring, with the headline: SABAN TIME. The Tide now has its fourth head coach since 2000 -- and eighth since Bryant's last season in 1982. Quarterback John Parker Wilson believes Saban can win quickly with the team Shula left behind.
The University of Alabama's official press conference naming Saban as the Crimson Tide's next coach is scheduled for 10 AM Thursday in Tuscaloosa.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)