Dodd: Nick Saban's book, Oregon's offense
Nick Saban held court at the SEC Media Days in July. (USATSI)

Monte Burke has provided us with most revealing look yet at Nick Saban.

If you haven’t, please pick up, “Saban, The Making of a Coach.” It should be required reading to kick off the 2015 season. In 326 pages, Burke — a Forbes magazine staff writer — skips the fawning accolades and greatest-ever proclamations. With meticulous reporting, Burke allows for the legend of Saban to speak for itself — and to be redefined.

We learn the coach is both insecure and brilliant. He is grumpy and incredibly compassionate. He is a grinder with a soft heart.

Like most other humans, Saban is a complicated mix, fallible as any of us.

“I told him very clearly there were some things you’re not going to like in the book and ran over a couple of them with him,” Burke told CBS Sports this week. “Not necessarily to get his reaction just he wouldn’t be surprised.”

Like the time Saban told his players if he was ever to going it would cheat on his wife, it would be with “Hillary F—— Rodham Clinton.”

Or how, in 2009, he forgot his wedding anniversary.

Or the anguish Saban went through in leaving Toledo, Michigan State, LSU, the Miami Dolphins and …

Alabama? Hold on there, hoss. There is an overriding message in the book: Read between the lines and it’s looking more and more like Alabama is Saban’s last stop. That’s saying something about a guy who — before Bama — averaged 2.66 years at any given stop.

He’ll be 64 on Halloween, the seventh-oldest FBS coach (fourth oldest in Power Five). Next month, Saban will begin his ninth season in Tuscaloosa. That’s his longest stay at any job in his career by four years.

“I wish I had a crystal ball,” Burke said. “A lot of people in Alabama have been asking that question. It’s not necessarily that they’re uneasy. They’re curious. … I guess if I had to put money on it, I would say that he probably is a lifer now.”

There’s little reason to leave. The program remains alpha-male role in the country’s best conference. Recruiting is on cruise control. Saban has done the NFL thing. What more is there to conquer unless — like Pete Carroll — he needs to revisit his NFL failings?

“Yeah, I think this is legacy time here,” said Burke who grew up in Birmingham. “I do really think he certainly has support here, the love of the fans. I know the expectations started to drive him a little bit crazy. I could see him sticking it out here.”

Burke mentioned the perceived flirtation with Texas a couple of years ago might have been the end of Saban’s wanderlust. The book includes a detailed look at that process that began with the friend of a Texas regent telling him, “Nick Saban wants to come to Texas,” following the 2012 season.Out of subsequent conversations came the mention that Saban felt “a special pressure” at Alabama. Burke talked mostly to regent Wallace Hall and Tom Hicks, former owner of the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars.

“It was the feeling of those two men — Wallace and Tom Hicks — if the chips had fallen the right way, they had a chance of getting [Saban],” Burke said.

Ultimately, nothing came of the flirtation.

All of it was unearthed by Burke without Saban’s cooperation. That should add to the book’s credibility. The coach made a big deal last week about the biography being unauthorized.

a) He knew that going in, why speak out now? b) So what? The likes of Kennedy and Sinatra have been chronicled over and over with class and style by various authors without their cooperation.

Burke has tapped into a dividing line of comment that makes the book so compelling. Those who worked for and under Saban generally fall on either side of that line. They either love him or dislike him. That motivated both sides to be open and honest with the author.

“I think it’s a net positive book, which I still believe,” Burke said. “It’s a fuller picture of a complicated guy who, to a lot of people, doesn’t seem all that human. I think it humanizes him.”

Saban: The Making of a Coach was published by Simon and Schuster, a division of CBS Corp.

	How will Oregon’s offense move forward?
With Thomas Tyner out for the season (shoulder) and Vernon Adams still not on the field, does Oregon’s offense now revolve around sophomore tailback Royce Freeman? For now, yes. At its heart, Oregon’s Blur offense features a power running game. Only once since 2008 have the Ducks finished out of the top 10 in rushing. (That was last season when they were 22nd.) At age 19, Freeman comes off a season in which he became the first 1,000-yard rusher in program history and the top true freshman rusher in Pac-10/12 history.
	Duke Williams not helping himself
The question now is not if, but how much is Duke Williams is hurting himself. Auburn’s top leading returning wideout remains out with what coach Gus Malzahn calls a “discipline issue.” And it’s not his first time being suspended. At the beginning of the week, Williams was CBS Sports’ No. 7 in the 2016 draft class. “It’s [class] not as good as the last two years,” CBS Sports draft analyst Rob Rang said. “I personally think he’s a bit overrated. When you are a big-bodied receiver with some questionable straight-line speed, it’s absolutely critical you check off every other box. He’s not going to run away from many people.”
	One foot in for Dalvin Cook?
Does Dalvin Cook have a chance to rejoin Florida State? Jimbo Fisher answered that question over the weekend by taking one team photo with Cook and another without him in the frame. Given what FSU has been through, was it too much to ask that the latest Seminole accused of hitting a woman sat that one out altogether? Who’s it going to hurt, the folks who put out the schedule posters?
	In the heart of Texas
Tom Herman is serious about this Texas recruiting thing. Eight of his nine assistants are from the state. Much is being made about the rookie Houston coach’s self-described “H-Town Takeover” getting a commitment from defensive lineman Ed Oliver. The No. 2 recruit in Texas is reportedly the first five-star to commit to a school outside the Power Five in 10 years. Ohio State’s former offensive coordinator doesn’t have to be told: There’s a long road from August 2015 to National Signing Day, 2016.
	Big 12 angst?
The Coaches’ Poll put two Big 12 teams in its preseason top four (TCU, Baylor). No one ever gave those voting coaches credit for their research. The Big 12 favorites meet Nov. 27 in Fort Worth during the second-last weekend of the season. The loser would seemingly be eliminated from the playoff on that date. In fact, the last national champion to lose after Nov. 27 was Florida in 1996.

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