Nick Saban weighs in on Alabama's 'sacred time' during pregame activities

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning caused quite a stir over the weekend when his pregame speech before the Colorado game was captured by television cameras. Alabama head coach Nick Saban was asked for his thoughts on pregame speeches and if the media should be on hand for those during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday.

Saban is of the opinion that certain moments, such as pregame speeches, should take place with only members of the program around.

“I’m not a big rah rah guy. I try to instill a message on Monday. I try to reinforce that message on Friday when we have a team meeting. And then what I say to the team before we go out is usually along those lines,” Saban said.

“But I also think that there is sacred time that a coach, the players, things that get said in the locker room – whether it’s halftime, right before the game or whatever. And I know the media wants to have access to all of these things because it makes it interesting for the fans, and I appreciate that and I understand that. But there’s still this sacred time where you should be able to talk to your team and say things to your team to motivate your team that maybe they’re not disrespectful about the other team… but it’s not for everybody else to know.”

Nick Saban added that he talks to his team through the media at times and he appreciates having the ability to do that during press conferences and other instances.

However, he also feels like there are certain times when he speaks to his team that the media shouldn’t be present.

“In the modern world I think you can use the media to send a message to your team. I don’t think you need to do that right before the game,” Saban said. “That’s something you do on Monday when you talk to the press or whatever, when you want to get a message out there. Because your team’s going to hear that message. So you can reinforce it during a team meeting, but you want everybody to be thinking that way. And sometimes you want your fans to think that way, too, so that rat poison doesn’t get to them.”

Nick Saban reacts to pregame comments by Dan Lanning

Alabama head coach Nick Saban added that he understood Dan Lanning’s message when he met with the team before the Oregon-Colorado game.

Lanning said among other things that, “The Cinderella story is over, man. They are fighting for clicks, we are fighting for wins.”

Saban spoke with McAfee about those comments from Lanning.

“I understand what Dan Lanning was trying to say, and it was probably good for his team to hear in some ways. But it probably wasn’t good for everybody else to hear,” Saban said. “That’s always the argument – where do you draw the line and say, ‘OK, there’s got to be some time where you can talk to your team and say what you have to say and it’s really not for everybody else to hear.’”