[BostonCard]

If you say "outperform" you have to give the metric by which you are going to measure performance.  I have a feeling you mean "better record on the football field", in which case I have a feeling that Saban (at Stanford) would outperform Shaw (at Stanford).  I don't think that Saban (at Stanford) would consistently outperform Shaw (at Alabama), however, but it is possible.

If your metric is something else, like not having your players arrested, then I think Shaw (at Alabama) would outperform Saban (at Alabama).  But likewise, I'm not sure that Shaw (at Alabama) would outperform Saban (at Stanford).  That's not to denigrate Alabama, but the fact that Aiden Hector had his admission rescinded by the school tells you about the guardrails that Stanford would place on any coach.

BC

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...if Saban and Shaw were to swap seats and then to continue working under the counterpart's current circumstances and limitations, Saban would outperform Shaw.

No argument from me on this one.

No way of fricking earth that Saban would put up with the restrictions and limitations of Stanford. So it’s a meaningless hypothetical.

Also, if Saban had managed to work magic at Stanford, he'd be gone for a better job within a couple years.  In his first head coaching job, Nick Saban took a 6-5 Toledo team, went 9-2 to become mid-America co-champs, and bolted to be DC for the Cleveland Browns after just one season.  In 1995, Saban took over a Michigan State team that hadn't had a winning season since 1990, went on to 4 bowl games (including an epic loss to Willingham in the Sun Bowl the next year), and resigned before the 1999 Citrus Bowl to become head coach of LSU.  He was head coach at LSU for 4 years, including a national title in 2003, and then tried his hand coaching in the NFL (at the Dolphins).  He spent 2 years as head coach of Miami, and left Miami to be the head coach of Alabama.  He's had 5 national titles in 13 years at Alabama, which makes him one of the most successful coaches in college football history, but there is no way that Nick Saban lasts past a hypothetical 2012 Rose Bowl win as Stanford coach, had he taken over instead of Shaw in 2011.

BC

[BostonCard]

If you say "outperform" you have to give the metric by which you are going to measure performance.  I have a feeling you mean "better record on the football field", in which case I have a feeling that Saban (at Stanford) would outperform Shaw (at Stanford).  I don't think that Saban (at Stanford) would consistently outperform Shaw (at Alabama), however, but it is possible.

If your metric is something else, like not having your players arrested, then I think Shaw (at Alabama) would outperform Saban (at Alabama).  But likewise, I'm not sure that Shaw (at Alabama) would outperform Saban (at Stanford).  That's not to denigrate Alabama, but the fact that Aiden Hector had his admission rescinded by the school tells you about the guardrails that Stanford would place on any coach.

BC

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...if Saban and Shaw were to swap seats and then to continue working under the counterpart's current circumstances and limitations, Saban would outperform Shaw.

No argument from me on this one.

No way of fricking earth that Saban would put up with the restrictions and limitations of Stanford. So it’s a meaningless hypothetical.

Also, if Saban had managed to work magic at Stanford, he'd be gone for a better job within a couple years.  In his first head coaching job, Nick Saban took a 6-5 Toledo team, went 9-2 to become mid-America co-champs, and bolted to be DC for the Cleveland Browns after just one season.  In 1995, Saban took over a Michigan State team that hadn't had a winning season since 1990, went on to 4 bowl games (including an epic loss to Willingham in the Sun Bowl the next year), and resigned before the 1999 Citrus Bowl to become head coach of LSU.  He was head coach at LSU for 4 years, including a national title in 2003, and then tried his hand coaching in the NFL (at the Dolphins).  He spent 2 years as head coach of Miami, and left Miami to be the head coach of Alabama.  He's had 5 national titles in 13 years at Alabama, which makes him one of the most successful coaches in college football history, but there is no way that Nick Saban lasts past a hypothetical 2012 Rose Bowl win as Stanford coach, had he taken over instead of Shaw in 2011.

BC