Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban has always had a colorful personality, but a question asked to him in 2022 that's resurfaced on social media has illustrated that even further.
During his radio show at Baumhower's Victory Grille in October 2022, Saban was asked if any players on the Tide reminded him of him when he played defensive back for Kent State.
The response was just what you would expect from coach.
Saban asked if anyone on the team reminds him of himself as a player at Kent State: "First of all, I wasn't good enough to play at Alabama. And if there's anybody on our team that reminds me of me, I hope they don't get to play because we might be in trouble."
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) October 21, 2022
What do you think the legendary head coach said?
Something self-deprecating, of course.
"First of all, I wasn't good enough to play at Alabama," Saban said. "And if there's anybody on our team that reminds me of me, I hope they don't get to play because we might be in trouble."
Here's the video:
Nick Saban getting funnier with age ? pic.twitter.com/INTYZxuBwo
— Riley (@Ri_S_OB) July 18, 2023
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While many know Saban for his time coaching the Crimson Tide since 2007, he's been coaching in various capacities since 1973 for Kent State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy, Michigan State, the Houston Oilers, Toledo, the Cleveland Browns, LSU, and Miami Dolphins.
As a head coach, he's 280-69-1 in college and 15-17 in the NFL.
However, before this legendary coaching career, Saban played defensive back from 1970-1972 for Kent State. Before this, he was a high school quarterback and was supposed to attend Navy before changing his mind. Kent State was coming off a 1-9 record, but the program's proximity to his uncle in Canton made him feel most comfortable.
Speaking about his playing days, the seven-time national champion said, "I was one of those guys that tried to be an overachiever. I was a team guy. I played quarterback in high school and one year in college and then got moved to (defensive back), which is kind of what I always coached and what I grew up in professionally."
"I had a lot of fun playing. I loved the competition. But when I played, you played everything. When it was baseball season, you played baseball. Basketball season, you played basketball. Football, you played football. I think there's a lot of benefit to that. I certainly enjoyed it when I was young. I think that sometimes we encourage people to specialize too early."
Kent State would go on to win a MAC championship in 1972.
Saban may not think too highly of his playing days, but he certainly has much to be proud of with his coaching resume.
