Title-winning LSU QB Matt Mauck describes his strained relationship with Nick Saban
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Back in 2003, Nick Saban won his first of 6 titles, leading LSU to the national championship.
The Tigers were quarterbacked by Matt Mauck. Recently, Mauck revealed that he doesn’t think Saban cared for him very much.
As you can see below in an interview with Jacques Doucet, Mauck says Saban never really wanted him to start at quarterback in the first place:
https://twitter.com/JacquesDoucet/status/1257824534880714756
“He called me one time when he was at Alabama to ask me to talk to a kid who was a baseball-football guy. I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a coach, he’s a great, great coach, but I don’t think we’re going to have beers anytime soon,” Mauck said. “He never really looked at me … I kind of surprised him that I ever started at LSU. He never thought I was … he thought I was a safety.
“When I got hurt in 2002, I wasn’t supposed to know this, but Coach Saban wasn’t all that mad. He (liked) Marcus Randall. He was a good, good buddy of mine. He and I got along fantastic. For guys who competed against each other, we were buddies. When I got hurt, there was a lot of people, he wanted Marcus to be the guy.”
Mauck also shared a story of Saban’s tunnel vision and intense focus:
“I was the starting quarterback and I walked by him like ,’Hey Coach’ and he (acted) like I wasn’t even there,” Mauck said. “Infuriating at times if you’re playing for him, or I’m sure if you’re coaching with him. Not just a bad day, I don’t think he has a bad minute. He is just always focused, end goal in sight at all times.”
Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a duo that will be exchanging Christmas cards anytime soon.
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.
