Former LSU football staffer reveals the potential reason behind Nick Saban's Texas A&M attack

When Alabama head coach Nick Saban called out Texas A&M, Jimbo Fisher, Deion Sanders, and many others earlier in the week, he began a heated back-and-forth that has swarmed the college football world ever since. Saban called out Fisher and Sanders for “buying players,” and for using NIL in the recruiting process.

Following Saban’s comments, Fisher effectively ended his longtime friendship with the Crimson Tide coach. Fisher took Saban’s comments as a personal attack, which is also how many others saw it. As Saban continues to come under fire, The Athletic’s Brody Miller revealed some interesting commentary from a former LSU staffer who has worked under both Saban and Fisher.

“It’s like a code, and Nick crossed the line,” the LSU staffer said, via Miller. “It felt like ‘A Few Good Men.’ Nick’s always gonna make an excuse. He should’ve just said, ‘Maybe we need to do a better job with NIL.’ But he’s now done that twice to Jimbo. He did it also after signing day. When Nick does that, he’s attacking someone’s character.”

LSU staffer on Fisher’s response to Saban’s Texas A&M jab: ‘It’s such an intertwined mess’

Fisher went on to call Saban a “narcissist,” and also said that “someone should have slapped him.” That was a very strong response from Fisher, but he is also the first former Saban assistant to speak out against him. The LSU staffer said that some of Saban’s former assistants are so “careful” that Saban in a way controls their careers. If one thing is for certain, Fisher, who has been at Texas A&M since 2018, no longer fits into that category in regards to Saban.

“Saban doesn’t expect any of his underlings to ever say anything back,” they said. “(Jimbo) is the first one to punch back. A lot of these coaches are so careful that he controls their career. (Saban and Fisher’s agent Jimmy) Sexton handles all these coaches; he can sell any guy he wants when jobs open. It’s such an intertwined mess.”

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, another former assistant under Saban, was left speechless when Fisher responded to the controversial comments on Thursday.

Fisher was firm in saying that he and Texas A&M did not break any rules in recruiting the top-ranked class in the 2022 On3 Consensus rankings. He went on to criticize Saban for doing these types of things when he “doesn’t get his way,” which is a strong comment for someone who has worked alongside him in the past.

“We never bought anybody,” said Fisher. “No rules were broken. Nothing was done wrong. It was all – the way in which we do things, the ethics of how we do things. And these families, it’s despicable that a reputable head coach can come out and say this when he doesn’t get his way or things don’t go his way. The narcissist in him doesn’t allow those things to happen and it’s ridiculous when he’s not on top.”