Malachi Moore on Nick Saban: 'Since he stopped coaching, it's been nothing but smiles and laughter'

Nick Saban has been all over the place since announcing his retirement and with a different attitude than usual. This time of year, Saban is usually worrying about fall practices and preparing for the season ahead. Not so much this go-round, instead traveling to different events and becoming a member of the media.

His former Alabama players notice a huge difference as well. Malachi Moore says Saban has been “nothing but smiles and laughter” since stepping away from coaching. A relaxed Nick Saban has not something we have ever seen, until now.

“It’s all good every time I run into Coach Saban,” Moore said Wednesday during an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show. “Since he stopped coaching, it’s been nothing but smiles and laughter every time I see him. It’s been good to see him in a lighter headspace and a more relaxed position as opposed to what I’m used to. It’s always great to see Coach.”

The question from Finebaum came after Moore met up with Saban on Wednesday and the Nick’s Kids luncheon. Moore was not lying about his former head coach smiling a lot more, grinning in all three photos posted on X by Charlie Potter of On3’s BOL.

Nick Saban greets Malachi Moore, Justice Haynes and Tyler Booker at today’s Nick’s Kids luncheon.

Others signing autographs after practice include Jaeden Roberts, Kendrick Law, Wilkin Formby, CJ Dippre, Tim Keenan, Robbie Ouzts, Que Robinson, James Burnip, Kadyn Proctor. pic.twitter.com/ZOMPiYfaFy

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) August 14, 2024

Saban and his smiling face will be back on our television screens in just a couple of weeks. ESPN College GameDay is heading abroad and showcasing the Florida State-Georgia Tech game set to take place in Ireland. The show’s newest member should be joining them, giving insight into the matchup and the upcoming 2024 season.

Nick Saban misses the players the most post retirement

Saban decided to step away from college football after 17 seasons and six national championships in Tuscaloosa. He has remained pretty busy since then, with one of his events being the Regions Tradition Pro-Am in Birmingham.

As fun as playing golf or appearing on ESPN has been for Saban, there are still aspects to coaching he already misses. One sticks out more than the others though, saying the relationships he can build with players mean more than anything. Saban still knows the majority of Alabama’s roster but as the years pass, his players will be out of the program.

But just a few months in, he already misses connecting with those guys.

“Relationships with players,” Saban said in May. “I actually played golf with Mark Ingram and Tua (Tagovailoa). Had them up on Monday. Those relationships you have with players, man. There’s nothing that beats that. But we care about them all. So, we’re going to continue with the relationships.”