If there’s any doubt -- and there really shouldn’t be -- in addition to all his technical coaching prowess, his ability to recruit, his intensity, that Nick Saban also desires to dominate, impose his will, that doubt was dispelled last night in Orlando.
Before the kickoff.
The Alabama coach, a master of details, is obviously aware of Bobby Petrino’s habit of always wanting the ball first, going against convention by choosing to receive when he wins the toss.
So Saban, as mean a competitor as Bill Belichick if not quite as reviled, went et tu brute when the Tide won the toss, not deferring, receiving the kickoff and sending his O on the field.