Media Days show not over in Atlanta but Nick Saban has left the building

Alabama football coach, Nick Saban turned in another rock star performance at SEC Media Days. The King of CFB hews to his own script but he never disappoints.

Fans think differently, but for the media, SEC Media Days has three parts: before Nick Saban; Saban and after Saban. Whenever the Alabama football component of Media Days concludes and the Alabama Crimson Tide media sessions are complete, the main event is clearly over. Older fans will understand the void after Saban can be compared to “Elvis has left the building.”

College football head coaches are by nature bold. They never favor taking a back seat to any other coach. When it comes to the other 13 SEC football coaches and Nick Saban, they have no choice. CFB cannot be owned by anyone or anything but Nick Saban reigns over it as if he wears a crown.

A couple of days ago we suggested what Saban would and would not say at SEC Media Days. Our tongue-in-cheek prediction was not far off. We said Nick would reveal nothing about the QB competition and that a Miss Terry directive would be referenced. The rest of what we wrote may have been hogwash but we nailed those two. We admit our predictions surprised no one.

Nick Saban SEC Media Days Highlights

The QB Competition – don’t call it a controversy!

Nick made it clear Alabama football has no QB controversy. He said only the media takes the QB competition and tries to turn it into a controversy. It is no surprise Nick really does not want to talk about the Tide’s QB situation.

We think he hates all QB questions so when Dennis Dodd asked if Jalen Hurts will be on the Tide roster on Sept. 1, Saban’s retort was he did not know. Maybe Nick truly does not know. Perhaps, he does not care for Dodd and just was trying to reject the question. Alabama football fans would do well in not putting the comment under a microscope. Nick knows far more about the QB situation than he will ever share publicly.

What Nick said should more than suffice.

"I have no idea. I expect him to be there. I think it’s our job to give both players a very fair opportunity to have a chance to win the job at their position. … We’ll create a role for one or both of those guys on our team and they’ll all have to make a decision based on what that outcome is as to what their future is at Alabama. We certainly want every player to stay at the University of Alabama and graduate. Jalen has a great opportunity to do that in December so we are hopeful he will stay there and be a graduate regardless of his circumstances as a player. But that’s not to minimize his chances of making a starter or making a great contribution to our team in some way even if he isn’t the starter."

Maybe more important was Nick’s retirement answer

Fans of other CFB programs beware. Retirement is not on the horizon for Nick Saban and more importantly, not for Terry Saban either. When asked the inevitable retirement question, Saban said,

"Terry does not want me at home. I can tell you that. She doesn’t care if I’m 60, 70, or 80. So she’s looking for something for me to do.Now, I really enjoy what I’m doing right now, and as long as I’m healthy and I can do it, I’m going to continue to do it and not worry about any numbers or what my age is or anything like that."

Nick Saban said much more at Media Days. Almost all of it had been said before. As we predicted he praised his former coaches he now competes against. He applauded the new redshirt rule and commended the CFB Playoff Committee. He said there will be fewer neutral site games and more home-and-home series. Nick praised his new coordinators and acknowledged the recruiting progress of new assistants. He also confirmed Keith Holcombe will not return to football, in favor of full-time baseball.

SEC Media Days is designed to be a multi-day commercial for the SEC football season. The event performs that task splendidly. It also becomes a multi-day commercial for Alabama football. Before and after Nick’s session the other coaches field questions about Alabama football. Nick Saban is the main event and everyone else is just a sideshow.

Next: An invitation to write for Bama Hammer

There is a rumor circulating in Atlanta the Thursday session is being moved to a smaller venue. That is not completely true. Derek Mason and Will Muschamp will be at the College Football Hall of Fame. Gus Malzahn’s session might be moved to a nearby Waffle House.