ESPN’s Desmond Howard does not think Alabama’s dynasty is over

Photo comes via The Knoxville News-Sentinel

Alabama football lost two games by four points, but outsiders are writing off the winning dynasty.

National media points the blame at players, coordinators, and Nick Saban. Saban, however, points the blame on himself.

RELATED: Nick Saban explains why he’s been calmer than usual this season at Alabama

He stated in Thursday’s radio show that he ‘loves this team,’ but they want to do well and meet expectations so badly that it creates anxiety for players. The Crimson Tide stands at No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings as ESPN has it with slim chances (17 percent) of making the playoff. It could get to the Southeastern Conference Championship Game should it win out the remainder of its regular season and LSU drops two games. A few people in national media, including ESPN analyst Desmond Howard, are not buying the knee-jerk reactions of ‘the dynasty is dead’ for Alabama after two close SEC road losses. 

Howard said Alabama’s dynasty is not over.

.@DesmondHoward isn’t convinced this is the beginning of the end of Alabama’s dynasty.

What do YOU think? ???? pic.twitter.com/rWgOOoiY4d

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) November 11, 2022

“I’m not the guy who has these knee-jerk reactions,” Howard said. “I’m not built like that. Everybody’s got this knee-jerk reaction, I’ll give you a case and point. LSU plays in Death Valley at night time against Alabama. It takes overtime  for them to beat Alabama, and then everybody’s talking like ‘oh man, Brian Kelly is the perfect fit.’ What happened a month ago when Tennessee rolled in there and ran them out of their stadium? Now, it’s like ‘I don’t know about this Brian Kelly experiment. He might not be the right fit. It may be a coaching thing. Now, all of a sudden, he’s the best thing since sliced bread in Baton Rouge. He’s the perfect fit, all this knee-jerk reaction. I am not a part of it. That is not my style. I don’t think it’s the end for Nick Saban.”

RELATED: Nick Saban has plan to stop opposing fans from rushing the field

Howard said ‘teams had to play above their average’ to beat Alabama in its two close losses. He is, however, very interested to see how the Crimson Tide attacks Saturday’s game against Mississippi. The outside noise says the Tide has nothing to play for, but Saban and the players think differently. CBS Sports will have the call on the matchup at 2:30 p.m. CT from Oxford, Miss.

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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine.  You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.