Nick Saban gives travel recommendations from summer tour

Possibly against his own will, Nick Saban took a few vacation days this summer. The Alabama head coach and Miss Terry traveled over to Italy for a delayed 50th wedding anniversary. Despite not wanting to leave Tuscaloosa to cross the Atlantic Ocean, Saban admitted he had a good time.

In fact, when speaking at SEC Media Days, he personally recommended that people should make the trip themselves. They most likely will not get recognized by fellow tourists as Saban did. But if you are willing to take a few days away from your own job, Saban recommends hitting Italy.

“Everybody knows we went to Italy,” Saban said. “It was for our 50th wedding anniversary which really in the past. But I kept getting out of going because I really didn’t want to go and take 10 days to not be around. But it was a great trip and I would recommend anybody go.

“Florence is fantastic, Rome is fantastic, the Almafi Coast is fantastic. We got Roll Tide’d everywhere we went. So if you think you’re going to be incog(nito) over there, that’s not happening.”

The Alabama brand truly is a strong one. Multiple stories came out of people seeing Saban while vacationing in Italy — some of them being shocked. Saban was likely not wearing any Alabama logos throughout the trip either but people still noticed. Roll Tide was being thrown around, most likely to the confusion of the local Italians.

Nick Saban preparing for massive 2023 season

Maybe the vacation was an opportunity for Saban to clear his head ahead of a massive 2023 season. For the time being, Alabama has been knocked off their thrown, seeing Georgia win back-to-back national championships. One of those came against the Crimson Tide as well.

Now, Saban is ready to kick back and reassert his program as the top dog in college football. He will begin the year with a ton of questions, mainly at the quarterback position. If Alabama is going to have a College Football Playoff-worthy season, Saban will have to get the quarterback decision correct.

Anything less than a CFP appearance will be considered a massive disappointment in Tuscaloosa. And who knows, maybe based on how things shake out, a national championship will be needed. Especially if paths with Georgia cross once again.

Vacation time is now over for Saban. It’s football season and the players themselves said it — Joyless Murderball might be back.