MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- There was a certain juxtaposition on display when Alabama coach Nick Saban exited the main podium inside Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida on Thursday morning, giving way to Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley, as the two coaches spoke at the Capital One Orange Bowl media day.
If you're a fan of the Sooners or simply tired of the Crimson Tide's dominance over college football, you had to hope what you were seeing was a changing of the guard. At the very least, it represented a burgeoning younger generation nipping at Saban's well-aged heels.
Here was the 35-year-old offensive whiz kid, Riley, literally taking the seat of a 67-year-old, six-time national championship winner.