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Dictionary.com defines the word integrity like this: “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.” I highlighted and underlined the word honesty, because to me that is what this whole fiasco is all about. Nobody demanded when Nick Saban took the job as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins that he stay for 10,15,20 years, (heck, if we had, had another season without the playoffs under his rule, he might have been canned anyway.) but all the fans, organization and his team ever wanted, ever deserved, was to be told the truth. In Chapter 9 of Nick Sabans’ book “How Good Do You Want to Be?” he teaches the readers 7 lessons on “Doing the Right Thing”. Here is lesson 1- “It takes a lifetime to build a reputation, but only a second to lose it.” I couldn’t have said it better myself Nick. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Nick Saban knows football, and is a proven coach (at the college level). But as good of a coach as he is, as much as he knows about football and how the game needs to be played, his entire reputation is gone. He is now known as a liar, traitor, coward, and most damaging to him of course a failure. He failed at this level, and then took the easy way out, the way that gets him another set of fans that love him, that will hang on his every word and naively BELIEVE his every word. Lesson 5 of Chapter 9 in Nick Sabans’ book honestly makes me laugh out loud now when I read it… “Honesty is the best policy.” WOW!! This makes me wonder if Nick even READ this book let alone WROTE it. Honesty is the best policy… hmmm sure would have been nice for Nick to follow that timeless saying. Here are some of my favorite quotes from that lesson; my thoughts are in parentheses…. “Based on what you know about my parents and how I was raised, you can probably guess that telling the truth is important to me.” (honest to God Nick, I would NOT have guessed this.) “Why do we lie? We lie to get ahead, we lie to get someone to like us, we lie to lessen guilt and pain suffered by ourselves and others. We lie because we can, we lie because we are in competition, we lie because of our insecurities.” (I guess the saying, “it takes one to know one” would ring true here.) “Lying will get me nowhere.” (except to Alabama to sign your new fat contract) “The simple principle to follow is to tell the truth. Do not lie to your kids or to your spouse; it only builds up distrust and suspicion. Do not lie at work, because somehow, some way, the truth always comes out.” (you’re right Nick, it’s very simple, just tell the truth.) I guess what hurts the most is that Nick talked so much about never giving up, he talked about how important the fans were to the team, he talked about important loyalty was to a team, organization and human being in general. And I believed him. I watched ever press conference he ever had, and I praised the way he handled the media, and I praised the perceived intelligience that he came across with. I ate it up like Little Debbie cakes, and then asked for more. I believed him when he said time and again that he would not be leaving and I mocked those who said he would. And I did all of this for one reason, I believed that Nick Saban was a man of integrity, a man of character that would stand up and follow the timeless rule that honesty is the best policy. I challenge all Dolfans to take a piece of Nicks’ advice to heart, and that is “How you respond to failure and disappointment is important in becoming champion.”So now we as Dolfans have to trust Mr. H and Joe Bailey, to find us a new coach that will lead us to many years of success and many, many Super Bowl Rings. But lets not look past the importance of hiring a coach with energy, aggressiveness, desire, passion, and most of all, INTEGRITY.
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GOOD RIDDANCE NICK 
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