Alabama Football: Media Days business as usual for Nick Saban

Going into SEC Media Days, there was one certainty. Alabama football coach Nick Saban was not going to say anything that could be defined as an attack on Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M. To be extra safe, the schedule for appearances by the two coaches was separated by 48 hours.

Nick Saban did his part on Tuesday, saying he has “no issues or problems” with Jimbo Fisher. Saban did talk about NIL. As he has said often before, he is concerned about competitive balance being harmed by the use of NIL deals for recruits. He is correct of course but given so few teams in college football can compete with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Saban is not the best source for the argument.

It was clear on Tuesday, that the Alabama football player representatives had been well schooled on what not to say about the Aggies. Will Anderson Jr. had the most aggressive response when he was asked about Texas A&M.

"When we play Texas A&M everything will be addressed then."

Nick Saban did talk about NIL in positive terms, repeating he has no problem with it when used as it was intended. He also bragged about the success of Alabama football players and their NIL deals totaling $3M last year. Saban added,

"Name, image and likeness is not an issue for us at Alabama and our players, I think, did better than anybody in the country last year."

His strongest NIL statement was a simple statement of caution,

"A lot of people are making promises they may or may not be able to keep"

Nick Saban on this season’s Alabama Football team

• Praising Will Anderson Jr. and Bryce Young, Saban said, ” We’ve had some great impact players, but never one on offense, one on defense of that caliber.”
• Saban tamped down some enthusiasm about new starting cornerbacks saying the group was still a work in progress, affected by the injury recoveries of Kool-Aid McKinstry and Khyree Jackson.
• Nick Saban rarely shares advance praise of a new Crimson Tide player. He made an exception with Jahmyr Giibs, saying “He’s an outstanding player. He’s a very mature person. He’s got great work ethic. He’s very talented from an ability standpoint.”
• Saban expressed confidence in new offensive line coach, Eric Wolford and an expectation the group will give Bryce Young better protection in the coming season.

Nick Saban was not the headline machine Lane Kiffin was on Monday. Not being so was part of Saban’s plan for Media Days. Plus for the GOAT, everyone pays close attention.