Nick Saban weighs in on Bryce Young’s benching

Sep 11, 2021; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban helped make Bryce Young the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Just over a year later, Young has been benched, and Saban is pointing the finger at the Carolina Panthers for what has happened.

In a Friday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Saban was asked about the Panthers’ decision to bench Young after just 18 NFL starts. Saban admitted that he hated to see Young get benched, but suggested the Panthers had not done a good enough job of surrounding the quarterback with talent.

"I hate to see Bryce Young get benched but I also don't see a lot of opportunity for him to be successful based on the skill players & offensive line around him..

He's the type of player that can operate really well when he has good players around him"

Nick Saban #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/uzZrbLuvIO

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 20, 2024

“You guys have heard me say before, quarterback is a really hard position to play if the people around you don’t play well. I think sometimes the quarterback gets too much credit. I also think, sometimes, when things don’t go well, the quarterback gets too much blame,” Saban said. “Do they have the kind of players around Bryce Young that even gives him a chance to be successful? That’s one of the bad things about being the first guy picked in the draft. You may go to a team that doesn’t have all the pieces that you need. I think the Bears this year, that’s not really the case. They have some pieces there. But Carolina did not, and they have to build this thing from the ground up.

“I hate to see Bryce get benched, but I also don’t see a lot of opportunity for him to be successful based on the skill players they have around him, the offensive line they have around him. I think he’s the type of player that can really operate well when he has good players around him.”

Saban would probably find that many agree with him regarding how the Panthers have handled Young. They had to trade some skill players, including wide receiver DJ Moore, in order to acquire the pick they used to draft Young. They brought in names like Diontae Johnson this offseason to try to give Young some weapons, but it clearly has not been enough.

Young is just 2-16 in 18 starts for Carolina, with only 11 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. His future is unclear at this point, though suggestions are the Panthers are not eager to try and trade him.