Alabama coach Nick Saban is not a fan of the recent biography that Monte Burke wrote about him.
The book, entitled “Saban: The Making of a Coach” (buy it here), has produced several nuggets of information that Saban clearly has no interest in discussing. On Thursday, Saban told reporters he is done talking about the book and ripped the concept altogether.
“I just want everybody to know that I’m opposed to an unauthorized biography — for anybody,” Saban said, per ESPN’s Alex Scarborough. “All right, and I think that’s some person that you don’t even know trying to profit by your story or someone else’s story.
“One of these days when I’m finished coaching at Alabama, I’ll write an authorized book. Because there’s really only one expert on my life, and guess who that is? Me. And there won’t be any misinformation, there won’t be any false statements, there won’t be any hearsay, there won’t be any expert analysis from somebody else. It will be the real deal.”
Saban added that the book is not going to be a distraction to his team and that he will “never” discuss it again. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when a reporter inevitably asks him about something else from it.
There are a number of excerpts that Saban is clearly frustrated over. Some of that probably has to do with the new rumors about his negotiations with Texas back in 2013. Saban could also be angry over the release of that incredible advice he gave his players about chasing women.
Burke defended his writing on Friday, noting that he spoke with people who are very close to Saban and attached their names to quotes.
“I kind of expected (Saban) to not like it,” Burke told Michael Casagrande of AL.com. “I don’t take issue with him voicing opinions on it. The word unauthorized has negative connotations, but the goal here wasn’t to write some gossip tell-all, nor was it to do some big sloppy wet kiss. It was to do something fair and objective and I think that’s what emerged.
“I didn’t just make this stuff up. I talked to more than 250 people who know him very well, some of whom he gave permission to talk to me. So it’s not like I’m pulling this stuff out of thin air. Most of these people attached their names to the quotes and wanted to be quoted.”
Classic Saban.
