Nick Saban is on the opposite end of SEC Media Days this week. Now an analyst for ESPN and the SEC Network, Saban is experiencing his first SEC Media Days as an analyst rather than a coach.
His first experience got off to a rough start. He was denied access to SEC Media Days because he forgot his media credentials. Even the greatest college football coach of all time was treated like every other media member.
"Well, it's a little different. I've never worn a credential in my life and was always, for 17 years, able to get into SEC Media Day without a credential," Saban said on ESPN's "Get Up." "I had to go back to the room today and get my credential to get in. So that's one of the biggest changes I see is it's not like it used to be. ... People were very polite, so it was OK."
SEC Media Days saw other firsts this year as Oklahoma and Texas are experiencing their first SEC Media Days since being officially added to the conference earlier this summer. Texas ran the show while they were in the Big 12 conference, but Saban sent a message to Texas that things would be different in the SEC.
"What tickles me is all (the media) asking questions about how Texas always ran the conference they were in," Saban said Monday at SEC Media Days. "They're not going to run the SEC. There's a whole lot of arrogant people all over the SEC. You can't forget about all that. They will be a good team and are a great program, and [Sarkisian] will do a great job, but (Texas running the SEC) isn't going to be a problem."
As a coach, Saban hated making predictions, but now, as an analyst, he will have to make them consistently, starting with his choice of who will make the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta on December 7. The former Alabama head coach avoided any favoritism toward his old program and picked Georgia and Texas to battle for the SEC title.
"I think Georgia and Texas," Saban said. "But I don't think there's any team right now, or any coach that you would talk to — including myself for many, many years — that right now there's not some part of their team they're concerned about. How those problems, sort of, get resolved — whether it's a young player that comes in and makes an impact, or an older player that develops consistency — those are the question marks that I think make it impossible to make predictions right now.”
Day one of SEC Media Days, and Saban is already a naysayer and feeding his former team rat poison.
Saban didn’t completely forget his old team. He still believes in Jalen Milroe and Alabama, but there are a few question marks that need to be addressed if they want to make the SEC Championship Game this year.
"I think 'Bama has really got a lot of good players," Saban said. "I think they've got question marks in the secondary, especially at corner. Getting [Kadyn] Proctor back probably was important because they were a little bit weak at tackle. That's going to help them.
"I think depth of the team will be the biggest question. If Alabama can stay healthy, I think they have enough good first-line players to compete against anybody," he added.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
