The time when Nick Saban directly defied Bill Belichick’s media policy
By Kevin Duffey
Published:
Nick Saban and Bill Belichick have a close friendship that’s been widely reported on throughout their spectacular careers, but a story by Jenny Vrentas on Sports Illustrated’s MMQB shed some more light on the friendship.
One part of the article told about a time when Saban, then Belichick’s DC for the Cleveland Browns, directly defied his head coach’s media policy, a policy that Saban enforces to this day. Below is an excerpt from the story:
“Bill could get on people, yet when he did it to Nick, it always seemed a little bit different,” says Falcons assistant GM Scott Pioli, then a pro personnel assistant. “You can always tell who Bill respects.”
In fact, Belichick respected Saban so much that, at one point during their four years in Cleveland together, he decided his assistant coaches were no longer permitted to talk to the media. When the team’s head of PR broke the news, Saban chuckled. The implication: He knows we’re good, and he doesn’t want to lose us. “I don’t plan to be the defensive coordinator for the Browns for the rest of my life,” Saban plainly informed the PR director, “so I will probably be talking to the media.” Two days later, he was quoted in the Akron Beacon-Journal.
Currently, Saban allows his OC and DC to do a short press conference every August and prior to postseason games. But can you imagine if one of his assistants directly defied his orders like he did Belichick’s? Yeah, we’d love to see what happens, but it wouldn’t be pretty.
But, please, do yourself a favor and read the complete piece on MMQB here.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
