On game days, not many people in the history of college football have been as intense as Alabama coach Nick Saban.

He demands a lot from his players, his assistants and himself, and sometimes blows up on the sidelines.

But, appearing on #Greeny on Monday, Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa said Saban is much nicer when a victory isn’t hanging in the balance (via 247Sports):

“I think being able to play for someone like coach Saban, it gives you two sides,” Tagovailoa said. “It gives you someone who’s very hard on you. Someone who expects the best out of you. Then the other side where you get someone who is very caring. Very loving for his players. That’s who coach Saban was. On the field, he was very hard. He expected the best out of his players. He expected the best out of you.

“Off the field, he knew how to turn that off. It was like he wasn’t a coach anymore. He’s just someone who wanted to be there to help his guys in whatever way, shape, or form he could. I think having someone like that has helped me in the NFL because you deal with guys with different personalities. You deal with guys that are ‘hoo-rah’ guys that like to get in your butt. You also deal with guys where you’ve got to help them get the best out of them. I think that’s how he helped me.”

Many current and former players have said Saban is a pretty chill guy off the field recently. His popularity with players is likely a big reason why Alabama continues to bring in top-rated recruiting classes.

Oh, that and all those national championships, of course.