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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/hearthebeard on 2023-09-19 15:37:02.
Original Title: In 2015, Alabama lost to Ole Miss 43-37 after surprisingly starting Cooper Bateman. Jake Coker had started the previous two weeks. There were rumors during the week Coker had been late to a practice that week and had attitude issues. Coker went on to the lead Alabama to the National Championship.
There are some key differences here. That team was much better than this one at basically every offensive position outside of quarterback. It was obvious they should be championship contenders, this team needs to prove it’s even a division contender.
Also, Saban went back to Coker in the middle of the second quarter, saying after the game that there was always a plan to play him in the second quarter. Many fans at the time read this as a message to Coker that his preparation and attitude needed to be different. The Milroe situation has obvious similarities even if it was a whole game benching instead of just a quarter. Would Saban had gone back to Milroe if Alabama was down 17-3? We’ll never know, but he’s definitely pretty committed to his values, and it’s hard to deny that the decision to bench Coker was a pivot point for that team’s effort and execution.