So many former Alabama players are continuing to speak about their displeasure with the Crimson Tide’s performance against Tennessee.
Mike McCoy, a 2009 BCS National Champion wide receiver, had a lot to say to Stephen M. Smith of Touchdown Alabama Magazine during Monday’s In My Own Words. He touched on several topics, including one where he feels Nick Saban is not the same coach we grew accustomed to watching. McCoy said when Saban spoke ‘it used to shake the entire house.’
“Hard times build tough people,” McCoy said. “When he came into this program, he built men. He made us think we were Navy Seals, so it is almost like the rich parent syndrome. I feel like as a parent, you have made your millions of dollars and some of these kids they don’t know the real grind. They don’t know the real labor and work it took to build an empire, so they become trust fund babies. They don’t respect the business, so I feel like they got too many guys that don’t understand the Bama standard. They don’t know what it takes to go into being the Bama way. You got too many guys from out west, up north, they don’t understand. I remember being on teams where kids had scholarships to go play at other schools, but they chose to come to Alabama because their grandfather played at Alabama, their uncle, their bigger brother, it meant something to them.”
McCoy continued by stating how some players value social media success and NIL deals over football.
“I got on Instagram and I saw several guys posting after y’all got whooped,” he said. “I’m like ‘what are y’all doing?’ Is your NIL deal that important? At halftime, you are checking your phone? Are you truly engaged? These boys are no longer amateurs now, you are making these guys into pros. Something has to change, but it starts at the top. Coach Saban needs to shake things up.”
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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.
