Saban not ready to talk about a Tide repeat

Nick Saban cracked a few jokes and even some smiles, deadpanning about the players' poor execution of his celebratory Gatorade bath. And it didn't take long for him to start looking ahead to the challenges Alabama faces.

This is what the Crimson Tide coach is like the morning after winning a national championship: a tad more relaxed but no less focused. Think you'll be the favorite to repeat, coach?

"People who make those statements sort of just look at the periphery of well, 'You've got Julio Jones, you've got Mark Ingram, you've got Trent Richardson, the quarterback's coming back, so therefore everything's going to turn up roses,' " Saban said yesterday at a news conference in Newport Beach, Calif. "But that's not necessarily the case. You've got to build a team."

He already has rebuilt the program. The Tide wrapped up its latest national title with Thursday's 37-21 victory over Texas, further cementing Saban's spot in 'Bama lore after just three seasons. Literally.

Plans for a Saban statue are "already under way," athletic director Mal Moore said. It'll join the ones of Bear Bryant and the three other coaches to win national championships at Alabama.

It's a historic monument for a coach who spends scant time worrying about history. Saban said he hadn't thought about that until wife Terry brought it up yesterday morning.

"In all honesty, I guess that when you're driven and you put as much into what you do as we have not just for this year but for 30-something years, you would hope that something you do leaves a mark and the way you did it leaves a mark that is positive, that maybe could affect someone in a positive way in the future," Saban said.

A big reason for his success is his ability to focus on the present and future. Even hours after celebrating Alabama's seventh AP national title and the eighth of the poll era.

Saban took a call from President Obama on the ride back from the news conference. Plans for a celebration in Tuscaloosa, Ala., are in the works.

* Fired Texas Tech coach Mike Leach accused his former bosses of making "slanderous and libelous" statements intended to damage his reputation and hurt him financially.

Court documents filed said statements made by university administrators "were made intentionally" to harm Leach and expose him to financial harm.

Leach was fired Dec. 30, just days before Texas Tech played in the Alamo Bowl, after the family of receiver Adam James said he mistreated the player after he suffered a concussion.

* Temple coach Al Golden has been named the 2009 Tri-State Coach of the Year Award, the Robert W. Maxwell Football Club announced. Completing his fourth season at Temple, Golden guided the Owls to a 9-4 season and spot in the EagleBank Bowl, where they were edged by UCLA.

* Penn State finished at No. 9 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of the season. The Nittany Lions (11-2) climbed two spots in the rankings after Alabama defeated Texas in the BCS Championship Game to earn its seventh AP title.

* South Florida has confirmed firing football coach Jim Leavitt after an investigation concluded he grabbed one of his players by the throat and slapped him in the face during halftime of a game.