Although the ability to coach a football team and being a politician requires a few of the same characteristics, you don’t often see the two career paths intersect.
But on Tuesday, former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville successfully defeated Doug Jones in the Alabama senate race.
With Tuberville finding his way into politics after a career in football it raised the question to current Alabama head coach Nick Saban as to whether he would have any interest in pursuing a political career following his tenure with the Crimson Tide.
Saban gave a definitive answer during his Wednesday teleconference.
“I can answer that part real quick: no,” Saban said. “But anyway, Tommy’s always been someone who I have a tremendous amount of respect for. yeah, we did compete against each other, but we’ve been really good friends for a long, long time, and I’m really happy for him.”
Saban also shared that he believes Tuberville will do a good job as a first timer in his position.
“I think he’ll do a really, really good job. We’ve always tried to stay out of the political arena here just as a way of the world in the coaching profession. but I’m happy to see that he’s gonna have an opportunity. I think he’ll do a really good job.”
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77