The conversation is always the same.

Us: You have got to be, without doubt, the worst pirate we’ve ever heard of.

Mike Leach: But you have heard of me.

Us: Yes, every single year, fainting at the sight of the Tide.

Of course, Leach is not a pirate. Nor is he an offensive genius. His Air Raid finds no purchase here. He barely qualifies as a football coach when he stands across the field from the commander of the genre, Nick Saban.

As it happens, reports of Alabama football’s demise turned out to be greatly exaggerated, per usual. No need to fire Bill O’Brien or Pete Golding into the sun after all. One week after losing one game by one play against the best Tennessee team in ages, Saban and his organization found themselves in no danger of letting lightning strike twice.