Najee Harris reveals new details on relationship with Nick Saban

Of the players on Alabama‘s 2020 national championship team, Najee Harris was one of the biggest stars. Even during his junior campaign in 2019, Harris was one of the top running backs in the country, helping the Crimson Tide reach a new level under Nick Saban.

However, Harris’ relationship with the head coach was not always a positive one. Harris recently opened up on what he originally thought of Saban, saying the two did not get along at first. Most of the butting of heads stemmed from practice, where Harris would not be afraid to say something back if Saban said something he didn’t like.

“I’m going to be honest with you,” Harris began. “Me and Saban, we did not get along at first. We had a couple arguments at first because he didn’t understand the type of dude I was. I don’t know how many Cali dudes he had but I am not the type of dude just to sit back and let somebody talk to me in a way and then not expect me to say something.”

Nick Saban had fights with his star running back

Saban has always had a tough style of coaching, getting onto his players on and off the field. Harris did not fully agree with this style, stating he felt “belittled” at times. The running back was not afraid to say something back to Saban, even when he was the one getting into fights. Saban, of course, didn’t take it well then.

“I can take coaching but it’s a certain type of line when you cross it it’s like ‘I’m a man, he ain’t going to talk to me like that.’ So I guess he wasn’t used to having somebody talk back to him in a certain way,” Harris said. “He said something to me and like — ‘motherf***** who you talking to like that?’ I was like ‘who the **** you think you’re talking to like that? Man, look. You can coach me but don’t think you’re more than just a coach to me. Don’t try to belittle me.’

“I feel like I was belittled. We had a couple arguments. I was always getting into fights there. ‘Dammit 22 you’re always fighting. It’s always you. You do it again, you’re leaving practice.'”

Najee Harris almost didn’t return for 2020 national championship season

The 2020 Alabama offense will go down as one of the best ever but it nearly went without a star running back. Harris revealed he left school for two weeks before the season, not wanting to play for the Crimson Tide anymore. He said a conversation with Saban where the head coach truly got to know him changed everything, calling their relationship “rock solid” from that point on.

“We just bump heads a lot and then it was the COVID year,” said Harris. “I came back for school, it was our last incident. I was like ‘I ain’t messing with y’all,’ so I left school for two weeks. People didn’t know that. I left school for two weeks and then Saban sat me in his office and from that point on, he took time out of his day to really understand who I am. From that day, we were rock solid.

“Other people are going to lie about their relationships. “Oh, yeah, we clicked right away.’ Nah, it wasn’t like that with me and Coach Saban.”

Harris wound up staying, rushing for nearly 1,500 yards his senior season. He scored 26 rushing touchdowns while also adding 425 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. The move got him drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, where he is now happily with the Pittsburgh Steelers.