Nick Saban has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama for 15 years.
Before starting season No. 16, Saban’s focus is returning the Crimson Tide to a physical and dominant football team.
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Alabama did not have chemistry to start the 2021 season, and it was too late by the time things began to form. Coach Saban saw his team get worked by Georgia on both sides of the ball in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Alabama is usually the aggressor versus competition.
It is rare to see an opponent be physically and mentally better than the Tide. Kirby Smart got the better of his teacher on college football’s biggest stage to win his first national title as a head coach. According to ESPN’s Chris Fowler, Saban told Smart, “You kicked our ass in the fourth quarter” in the post-game handshake. The fourth quarter is Alabama’s time to pound its opponent into submission.
at the post- Natty handshake, Saban told Smart “you kicked our ass in the 4th quarter.” He was right. So Guess which message will be pounded home all off season in Tuscaloosa? @AlabamaFTBL team issue shirts as winter conditioning starts: pic.twitter.com/VvTpXGhEOk
— Chris Fowler (@cbfowler) February 18, 2022
The coaching staff puts athletes through rigorous training in the Fourth Quarter Program, and it’s about which guys have the endurance.
Saban’s message to Smart indicates that Alabama did not have the mindset it needed to grab hold of a championship. The Southeastern Conference is getting better, but Saban refuses to let the core values of his program fall through the cracks. After making some new staff hires, he is ready to return the Tide into the most feared team in the sport for the coming season.
Alabama players have already started working in the Fourth Quarter Program.
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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.
