Alabama Football: Nick Saban is proud of former players, like a teacher

A teacher is always proud of his or her former students when they succeed in life, but Alabama football head coach Nick Saban has more players to teach.

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Every year, across North America, many recent high school graduates come back on holidays to visit their favorite teachers. They are excited to tell their teachers how well they are doing in university or college, ready to tell them that their teachings are what helped them succeed. The students want the teachers to be proud of them and their accomplishments.

Most teachers enjoy hearing their stories and smile to see these young men and women doing well in their future lives; however, the teachers also know that this moment must move along, as they have current students who also need their attention. The teachers’ careers do not hinge on previous students’ success, as they are father figures and mother figures but not the real parents.

Saban may have gone through that same experience in recent days.

Eddie Jackson, a fourth-round draft pick and starting rookie for the Chicago Bears, made history over the weekend. “Jackson became the first player in league history to score multiple 75-plus-yard defensive touchdowns in one game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.” And, he just happens to be a graduate of Saban’s school of hard knocks called Alabama football.

When asked about Jackson’s performance, Michael Casagrande of AL.com reported:

"“Saban said he didn’t get to see the plays but read it on the crawl on the bottom of the TV. He then started to grin. ‘That’s the type of plays Eddie always seems to make. I was really, really happy for him. I guess we had a few guys, O.J. (Howard) and some other guys. Dont’a (Hightower) played well I guess. I heard a lot of positive things about a lot of our players in the NFL yesterday.'”"

In seven games, Jackson has recorded 27 tackles, 23 were solo, with an interception and a fumble recovery on Sunday to score twice for the Bears defense. Jackson’s two scores helped the Bears win the game, as they were the only touchdowns recorded for either team. The Bears sit only two games out of the lead in the weak NFC North division.

Also, Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie tight end OJ Howard has caught five passes for 107 yards, including a touchdown pass on Sunday against a good Buffalo Bills defense.

Many of the former Alabama players under Saban have been having stellar games, as of late. However, Jackson’s was historic, and the media could not wait to see Saban’s reaction to the news.

The reaction, if one looks at Saban’s words, is typical of that teacher from earlier: a smile and a piece of true sentiment, but that is all. Saban ‘heard’ a lot of positive things about his players, because he is too busy to watch all of his former players play on Sunday. Instead, he has to worry about what his current players are going to do about the opposition every college football Saturday.

When it comes to Jackson, Saban is truly proud of his former player. Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune reported Saban saying, “I guess you’ve got to know the background. Eddie came from a tough spot down in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.). I probably am as proud of where he started and where he finished as anyone that we’ve ever had on our team.” Jackson became a leader and a fine citizen of both the football world and the real world.

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Saban can discuss all of his hallmark players, just like a teacher can do about all of his or her students who left their mark on them. Teachers do not want to forget their students, but not all of them do noteworthy things in their time at school. Sure, for the student they were important, but the teacher has so many to care for that not everything becomes memorable. For Saban, Jackson was a memorable student, hence why Saban’s pride sounds so genuine.

However, the media should not expect much else from this pedagog of the pigskin. Saban’s sage-like smile can only go so far. To hang all of his attention on his former students would be a disservice to his current ones. They need to have their opportunities to create memorable moments for their teacher, too. Saban is proud of Jackson, Howard, and many other former students who have made it to the NFL but also, likely, others who are great people who never made it to the pros.

None of them should feel slighted if Saban has not kept up with all of their accomplishments. He has been a head coach since 1989, and he has been a coach in some capacity for even longer. Considering how many players, on average, play on a college football team every year, that would be a great deal of people to try to remember, let alone follow. Most young people haven’t even met that many people in person, just on their Facebook or Twitter accounts. It puts into perspective how many people have been affected personally by Saban and how hard it would be for him, or any teacher, to remember absolutely everyone.

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For that, and many reasons, maybe people should cut teachers some slack and behave themselves. Maybe school boards should pay their teachers more money for the amount of work and grief that they go through. They sometimes see these students more than the parents do, per day. These teachers have to guide each one of their students like it is their own child. Parents may only have a couple kids; Saban has had thousands to teach and care for.

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