The media is not high on Alabama and Nick Saban is relishing it.
He has more years of coaching left in him and while the teams to come after this one will be interesting, his group for this fall has a boulder on its shoulder. Some people feel good when others speak well of them; however, too much hype is not good.
As much as Saban loves his players (and he does), the five-time national champion at Alabama is also a realist.
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He views too much attention as poison and believes adversity is something that brings student-athletes in an institution together.
With the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference having their media days in the same week, bulletin board material was shared.
Clemson is coming off a 44-16 win over the Crimson Tide in the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship and its second win over Saban’s bunch.
Despite it sharing the title of “Co-King” in the CFP, national media has crowned the Tigers over Alabama as the new leader of college football.
Reports this week have ranged from “Clemson is better than Alabama” to “Alabama needs a cold slap in the face.” While these titles would anger others, Saban and Scott Cochran – director of strength and conditioning – are more than motivated.
The duo of Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback and Dylan Moses at linebacker made mature statements at SEC Media Days in regards to the loss versus Clemson, but multiple reporters deemed their point of view as “making excuses.”
You even had some to get upset with Saban for not kissing the ring and acknowledging the work Dabo Swinney’s has done with the Tigers.
He takes a backseat to no one as a competitor and for him, Saban knows exactly what he has returning to his roster and the coaches he has hired.
Clemson is good and it is the chic program, but is has yet to own an era of college football. When the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association had Michael Jordan in the 1990s, it dominated the league.
Jordan kept multiple Hall of Famers from tasting a championship – including Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Charles Barkley.
Alabama football did the same thing in the Bowl Championship Series era.
In his first six years (2007-13) with the Tide, Saban won three national titles – including back-to-back championships in 2011 and 2012.
He was told upon getting the job that it would take him six years to win one.
In this period of domination, Alabama broke Texas, Louisiana State University and Notre Dame.
During this time, Saban would run many talent coaches out of the SEC – especially Urban Meyer, Les Miles, Mark Richt and Kevin Sumlin.
Even with Butch Jones joining his staff as an analyst, Saban ran him out from being a head coach at Tennessee.
Swinney has yet to achieve this feat.
The summer keeps piling crazy storylines; nevertheless, the statement “We Are Not Done” still rests on the minds of Alabama fans after Saban said it following the 26-23 win over Georgia in the 2018 CFP national title matchup. The Tide is not letting go of the crown easy and Clemson or whomever challenges the program must be prepared to fight.
Get ready for big action this year.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
