Nick Saban is truly in a class of his own.
On Tuesday, the Alabama football head coach and one of the most powerful men businessmen worldwide met inside the Mal Moore Athletic facility. Prior to speaking at the 2016 Crime Stopper of the Year Luncheon in Hoover, Ala., Saban spent the morning with the creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg.
News first broke via AL.com, as Saban provided advice to the social media mogul on leadership and how to affect people in a positive way. While in Tuscaloosa with his wife, Priscilla Chan, Zuckerberg shared a photo of him meeting both Saban and a few players, including center Bradley Bozeman and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
“Many of the same things go into building a good company and a winning football program — a focus on recruiting, developing talent and setting high expectations,” Zuckerberg’s caption said.
The post continued with: “We all need to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Communities can form around all kinds of things — churches, schools, teams — and it’s clear that for a lot of folks in Alabama, college football is an important part of their community.”
Those who seek to be revered as the greatest of all-time are not satisfied with what they know.
Meetings with figures like Rev. Jesse Jackson, ex-NFL coaches Herm Edwards and Bill Polian and even with Zuckerberg on Tuesday, calls for Saban to pull more wisdom and creativity. Zuckerberg plans to visit every state in the U.S., however, he wanted Alabama and meeting Saban to be the first leg of his journey.
As for the Crimson Tide, it prepares for spring ball next month.
Stephen M. Smith is a senior analyst and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @Smsmith_TDALMag.
