Nick Saban is a big fan of Avery Johnson’s but there was no chance the Alabama football coach was going to call out his bosses for making a change in Tuscaloosa. Saban is smart enough to know no good can come of that.

Johnson and Alabama mutually agreed to a buyout over the weekend after the former NBA coach led the Crimson Tide to a 75-62 record in his four seasons in Tuscaloosa leading the school’s basketball program. Johnson only made the NCAA Tournament once with his other three seasons ending in NIT bids. His team finished this season losing to Norfolk State 80-79 in the opening round of the NIT in front of the home crowd at Coleman Coliseum.

That result likely was the final nail in Johnson’s coffin at Alabama and for the first time publicly, Saban was asked about the school’s decision to buy out the school’s basketball coach.

“I love Avery, I think he’s a great guy. We had a great relationship here,” Saban said during his Tuesday press conference. “We tried to help them every way that we could in recruiting or however we can and we certainly wish him and his family, you know, the very best but I also have confidence in our leadership here that, you know, they are going to make good choices and decisions about who they choose to lead over every program.”

In addition to those comments, Saban made it clear his history in Tuscaloosa shows he’s willing to help not only the basketball program but all sports with anything they need to separate themselves from their competition. While he was a fan of Avery Johnson, Saban made it very clear he will continue to do whatever he can to support the school’s next basketball coach in the future.

“I think everybody here knows that I’ve always been committed and helped every sport, every way that I can,” Saban continued. “Whether it’s speaking to their team, whether it’s talking to their recruits and I’m certainly going to continue to do that in basketball because philosophically I think there’s tremendous amount of exposure in every sport and for the University of Alabama to take advantage of that in every sport I think is beneficial to our program, to our university and to the athletic department as a whole, and that’s part of my goal as being part of that team.

“So, I’m going to continue to do that in the future with every coach in every sport and I’ll certainly do it with whoever we select to be the new basketball coach.”