Nick Saban has reason to be proud of several of his former assistants, including Kirby Smart, Mel Tucker and Mario Cristobal, who are now head coaches of other teams in the recently released College Football Playoff top 4.

He deflected praise back to them as they were on the Alabama staff in 2015 during the SEC coaches media teleconference on Wednesday.

“We always have success here because of the people in the organization,” Saban said. “That most certainly starts with the coaching staff. … It’s no surprise to me that they’re doing extremely well at their own programs now and actually do have some of the best teams in the country.”

Looking ahead to the LSU game this week and beyond, Saban said Alabama is looking to finish the regular season strong.

“I think our team has played extremely well at times,” Saban said. “I also think we’ve been inconsistent at times. Hopefully we can build on the identity of being consistent to allow us to finish the season the way we’d like to.”