Nick Saban had the privilege of coaching at one of the best venues in the country during his 17 seasons at Alabama, but the seven-time national champion admits he did not always enjoy it.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly said last week that his team’s matchup against Alabama was so important in part because upwards of 300 recruits and their families would be in Baton Rouge for the game. The Tigers were then embarrassed 42-13 by the Crimson Tide, which was of course a terrible look.
During Friday’s edition of “The Pat McAfee Show,” Saban was asked about the added pressure of playing big games with recruits in town. He said his responsibilities leading up to home games in Tuscaloosa made him strongly prefer playing on the road.
“I was even saying on the way over here how much easier it was to play on the road from my coaching standpoint,” Saban said. “If you had 300 recruits in there, A.J., who talked to those guys while they were there? The coaches had to talk to them. The head coach had to talk to them. So you’re spending so much time on Friday and Saturday recruiting, it takes away from your focus on the game. And then you’re asking a player, ‘Hey man, why don’t you come over and say hi to this recruit.’ So instead of him focused on the game, he’s worried about recruiting. When you play on the road, you don’t have any of that.”
Saban said he also had to meet with Alabama alumni in what was called “Nick at Noon” every Friday before a home game. You can hear his full rantL
"It's so much easier to coach when you have a game on the road..
You're spending so much time recruiting when you're playing at home..
I used to have to go do Nick at Noon every Friday when we had a home game"
Coach Saban #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/ozZXAT3FWb
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 15, 2024
Obviously, Saban was able to handle all of the responsibilities. That is why he was so successful and is widely considered to be one of the greatest college coaches in history.
With more success comes more responsibility. The ability to handle events like “Nick at Noon” while also coaching a team is what separates Saban and other great coaches from the rest of the pack, even if they hate that part of the job.
