There are a couple cold hard facts that won't be popular in this participation trophy like thread. Number 1, Alabama will not stop being Bama when Saban retires. Despite periodic lulls Bama has been a consistent winner since winning the 1926 Rose Bowl and has done so under Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Paul Bryant, Gene Stallings and Nick Saban. So don't get your hopes up.
The second cold hard fact, which has not been addressed at all in this thread, is investment in the program. If your school plays in a 50 year old dumpster, has a dumbbell for a weight room, and spends 10 per cent as much on recruiting as the big boys, you are not going to beat them and you shouldn't. If you want to compete with Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, etc. stop whining and start competing.