Nick Saban shares how he relates to Michael Jordan
Nick Saban and Michael Jordan are among the greatest ever in their professions, so it’s no surprise that the Alabama coach can relate to the former Chicago Bulls star.
Saban spoke recently about Jordan, whose mentality has been on display thanks to the airing of “The Last Dance” documentary on ESPN over the past month. In a “Social Distance” episode for 247 Sports, Saban talked about Jordan pushing his teammates to be better and how he takes a similar approach.
“You have to push people to get them to do things that they might not want to do,” Saban said. “Make them uncomfortable. You almost have to get used to … everyone wants to be comfortable, but you have to get used to being uncomfortable if you’re really going to be successful. I can relate to that, because that’s what we’ve always tried to get the players in our program to do. Some understand that and some don’t.”
A sneak peek of Monday's Social Distance interview with @AlabamaFTBL HC Nick Saban!
Be uncomfortable to be great: How Saban can relate to Michael Jordan #TheLastDancehttps://t.co/Wg5kkwxvix pic.twitter.com/sQ9RXinReO
— 247Sports (@247Sports) May 17, 2020
Alabama also released a video on Sunday that showed Saban watching a clip of Jordan talking in the documentary. Saban talked about how Jordan embodied the “ultimate competitor.” He praised MJ for articulating what it means to be a competitor better than others.
Mentality. @Espn #TheLastDance #BamaFactor pic.twitter.com/yKrGrgJYHU
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) May 18, 2020
Jordan won six NBA championships. Saban has won six national championships as a college football coach. The two are among the greatest winners ever in their profession. If you want to be on their level, you should probably take their advice on competition. And if you want to read more on Jordan’s leadership style, check this out.
