LSU-Bama focus on teams, not coaches

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 3, 2009 - Page: 1C

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Depending on your location Monday, the inevitable question — although much less so than the past two years and fading quickly — came up at much different times and from different angles.

In Baton Rouge, it was 20 minutes into LSU coach Les Miles’ media gathering before WBRZ sports director Michael Cauble asked it.

The Saban question.

Over in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Nick Saban did his best to disarm the media covering the Crimson Tide by the time he got to the second paragraph of his opening statement.

Yes, Saban coaches Alabama against LSU for the third time when the No. 9-ranked Tigers travel to the Capstone to face the No. 3 Tide. And while that might still generate good fodder on fan-driven Web sites, the novelty — along with the distraction — seems to have run its course within the two programs.

To hear the two program patriarchs speak, the perceived acrimony stirred up when Saban returned to college football at Alabama just two years after bolting Baton Rouge for the Miami Dolphins was never much of an issue.

“It’s truly always been about LSU versus Alabama in my mind,” Miles said in response to Cauble’s question wondering if it was nice that this game is no longer about the two coaches.

Miles began his assessment of the Tide by heaping praise on every facet of the team, including Saban.

“I have a lot going on in my life,” Miles said. “I enjoy what I do, who I work with and who I’m fortunate to represent. I have four kids who are running rampant around Baton Rouge, and even though there may well have been questions centered around that issue, it was never my view.”

Similarly to the past two years before the Tigers and Tide collided, Saban came out firing, immediately trying to steer reporters away from the topic.

Like Miles, he also made a point to toss a bouquet at his counterpart.

“The game is about the players,” he said. “There are a lot of good players. These are two very good teams that have good players on both sides, and there is a lot to talk about in terms of what’s going to happen on the field. Les Miles has done a fantastic job in the five years he has been at LSU. They always play with toughness. They play with great effort. They are well-coached on both sides of the ball as well as special teams.”

Unlike Miles, Saban didn’t field a single question about his connection to LSU, where he coached for five years and led the Tigers to the 2003 national championship.