Former Alabama analyst Major Applewhite explains why Nick Saban’s success can’t be duplicated
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Nick Saban is one of the greatest coaches in the history of sports, not just in college football.
The Alabama coach has won 6 titles with the Crimson Tide, 7 overall. He’s coming off an undefeated 2020 season that ended with a rout of Ohio State in the College Football Playoff title game.
Former Alabama analyst Major Applewhite is leaving to be the offensive coordinator at South Alabama, but he learned a lot from Saban. During an appearance on 105.5 WNSP this week, Applewhite explained why it won’t be easy to copy Saban’s recipe for success (via 247Sports):
“You can try to emulate Coach all you want, but you’re not gonna be able do it,” Applewhite said. “His focus is incredible. His patience is incredible as a human being. I think he’d probably be the same way as a businessman. There’s a lot of stuff thrown at you as a head coach, from the field to off the field to interviews to media to player issues. There’s a thousand things that get thrown at you as a head coach daily. You have to go in there with your boxing gloves every day because there’s always something. To see him at a place like Alabama just with such poise, patience and focus on the task at hand, not getting distracted by things, it’s incredible.
“That was a life lesson right there regardless of football. Family life, children, the focus and the patience that he has allows him to just focus on the task at hand, which is his football team.”
It’ll be a long time before we see a coach like Saban again. Now, we’ll see if Applewhite can take what he learned at Alabama and use it to have success at South Alabama.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
