Nick Saban spent the better part of the last 20 years telling any and every player he’s ever coached not to pay attention to the media. If the press said something nice about his teams, it was pure rat poison. If coverage was negative, well those people don’t know what they’re talking about anyway.
It’s a great bit for a coach. Unfortunately, Saban is a member of the media now. And those words are coming back to bite him after he picked Texas and Georgia — not Alabama — to meet in the 2024 SEC Championship game.
Asked about his former coach’s prediction, Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Booker used Saban’s own words against him.
Tyler Booker bringing the heat. I asked how he felt about Saban not predicting Alabama to make the SEC title game. “He always used to say, ‘Don’t let some guy that lives in their mom’s basement determine how you feel.’ So I’m not gonna let some guy who plays golf all day…
— Alex Scarborough (@ByScarborough) July 17, 2024
He always used to say, ‘Don’t let some guy that lives in their mom’s basement determine how you feel.’ So I’m not gonna let some guy who plays golf all day determine how I feel.”
WHEW.
You know, there may have been some part of Saban that was testing his former players with his title game prediction, and if so, they did more than pass.
Deep down, Saban has to be pretty thrilled with that response.
