Nick Saban jokes that former assistants learned how to get their ‘ass chewed out’ at Alabama
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Nick Saban’s very healthy coaching tree will be on full display over the next few nights during the College Football Playoff semifinals, with all 4 of the remaining teams being coached by former Saban assistants.
Whether it’s Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and Ole Miss’s Pete Golding at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night, or whether it’s Indiana’s Curt Cignetti and Oregon’s Dan Lanning at the Peach Bowl on Friday night, these CFP semifinals are a certifiable Saban coaching tree spectacle. It’s a credit to the Alabama legend, of course, and it’s also a credit to what these 4 former Saban assistants have created at their current programs.
But Saban revealed something else on Thursday night during ESPN’s College GameDay, which was broadcasting from Glendale, Ariz., in the leadup to the Ole Miss-Miami semifinal showcase. It was lighthearted and it was serious at the same time. Saban was a demanding head coach during his day, which was part of what made him so successful, and those demands often fell on his former assistants, who would definitely hear it from Saban if they didn’t perform to his expectations.
“All these guys were different. They all coached different positions. They all won a national championship while they were with us. They had great competitive character, and they could relate well with the players,” said Nick Saban, building up to what he really was trying to get across. “But one thing they learned from me, and that was how to get your ass chewed out, and I hope they learned how to do it.”
Saban’s words drew laughter from his fellow College GameDay analysts, but they also all knew he was speaking the truth.
Those former Saban assistants who he used to chew out on a regular basis have all grown into successful head coaches, which is why their programs will be on full display on Thursday and Friday nights, with those quartet of coaches all being 2 victories away from leading their own programs to national titles.
And Saban couldn’t be prouder of them.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
