Alabama Football: Nick Saban talks about Tide and Playoffs

In any Alabama football season, the ‘best way’ to know what Nick Saban is thinking comes on Thursday nights. It is on the Hey Coach radio show when Saban is least guarded and as a result the most candid. The first broadcast of the 2022 season was no exception.

There was a standard ‘rat poison’ tirade about media coverage and speculation about the Alabama Crimson Tide. Saban does not want his Alabama football team to ever look ahead, so to him, any public discussion about any opponent other than the current one is a minefield. To Saban, stating that the next opponent cannot compete with the Crimson Tide is just as bad.

One reason there is so much speculation is Alabama football fans want more information than the program sees fit to disseminate. The demand is a byproduct of a large, passionate fanbase for college football’s most powerful brand.

Thursday nights with Nick Saban help to fill the void.

Nick Saban on Alabama Football and Playoff Expansion

Some of Saban’s comments from Thursday night are listed below. Scroll down in this post for a video from the broadcast.

• Nick Saban does not talk about liking teams unless he is sincere. Several times he has talked about the 2022 Crimson Tide and did it again on the show, saying “I like this team, I really do. We’ve got a little more maturity on the team … We’ve got good guys on the team. They work hard. They’ve got a really good attitude. We’ve got really good leadership. …I’m not saying we have the most talented team. We’ll see about that part of it. But I do like the intangibles.”
• Talking about the offensive line – “I’m really pleased with the progress we’ve made on the offensive line. I like both tackles that we have.”
• Nick Saban endorsed an expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams – “I’m for having a 12-team playoff as long as we don’t make the players play too many games.” Saban continues to believe wrapping traditional bowl games into the Playoffs is important.
• Taking about the culture of Alabama football, Saban gave a good example from what Julio Jones said to a new freshman during a 7v7 session, when the frustrated “… player kicked the ball, cussed the QB. Julio Jones, who hadn’t played at Bama in 10 years … called the player over and said ‘that ain’t the way we do it here,’”
• Also noteworthy was Saban’s endorsement of new tight ends coach, Joe Cox, saying, “(he is) probably going to be a coordinator sometime soon.”

In talking about Utah State, Saban compared the Aggies’ offense to Baylor and the Tennessee Vols.