Nick Saban opens up on the No. 1 thing he’s improved upon the most at Alabama
By Kevin Duffey
Published:
Nick Saban is on top of the college football world, but he’s still a work in progress.
What makes him so good is that he realizes he always needs to evolve and improve as a head coach. Getting to the top of the mountain is a lot easier than actually staying there. Just ask Urban Meyer.
The way Saban shook up his coaching staff this past offseason is a great example. New faces are all around, and the recruiting results speak for themselves, as the Tide have the No. 1 class in the country. That’s a testament to Saban and his foresight to make the necessary changes … even after another national championship.
Saban joined ESPN analysts Ivan Maisel and Chris Low on a podcast, and he was asked the one thing he’s improved upon the most during his time at Alabama.
“I think I’ve probably — the No. 1 thing I’ve improved on his probably having patience,” Saban said. “Patience mostly with players. And mostly with guys that maybe have a tremendous amount of potential and don’t quite know what it takes to get there. That can be very frustrating at times and I think very challenging for you as a coach to remain a teacher and not get sort of frustrated with the players’ development when he’s not doing the things that he needs to do and trying to figure out a way to get him to do it — to get him turned around; to get him to understand and how important it is to create a positive brand and do the things that he needs to do to do that.
“I tell players all the time, ‘you know, you’ve always been the best player. When you’re in Little League you’re the best player. When you’re in junior high, you’re the best player. In high school you’re the best player; you’re one of the best recruits. But when you get into the NFL Draft, they’re looking for reasons not to take you … And you don’t want to give them any reason to say, ‘but,’ because what comes after ‘but’ usually is not good.
“I think that’s what I’ve probably gotten a little bit better at getting players to understand that and getting players to do that. And we’ve been pretty successful with the number of players that come out of Alabama with a real positive image.”
A better defensive mindset? Installing a (more) spread offense with a mobile QB? Nope. Patience with his players.
Saban’s “Process” is always changing and evolving, and the player development — on and off the field — is second to none.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
