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Nick Saban admits staff members help with Coaches' Poll, keep his focus on football

On3 imageby:Dan Morrison10/02/23

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Nick Saban
© Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Despite the loss to Texas and some challenges on the offensive side of the football, all of Alabama‘s goals are still in front of them this season. That’s a reality that Nick Saban is aware of, though his focus is going to stay within the present.

During his Monday press conference, Saban explained why he’s focused on football. In doing so, he also seemingly made an interesting admission about the Coaches’ Poll.

“Look, we’re trying to improve one game at a time,” Nick Saban said. “We’re trying to our team. I can’t tell you where we’re ranked. I can’t tell you what the standings are. I think everybody kind of realizes the importance of every game that we play. So, the whole focus is how can we play better? How can we play good? How can we improve? Not worried about some outcome-orientated thing that might happen two months from now. I’m focused on what am I gonna do in the next five minutes, the next thirty minutes, the next hour, the next two hours, the next three hours to help us play better as a team.”

It was at this point that Nick Saban seemed to admit that he doesn’t fill out his own Coaches’ Poll ballot. He explained that all he cares about is his job, pointing out a member of staff who handles things like polls and standings.

“That’s all I care about, and I think that’s my job. So, we’ve got guys like this guy over here (pointing off camera), who can do standings and rankings and put a poll together and say who should be this and that, and he’s good at that. I thank him for it. Just less time I have to spend doing it.”

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Nick Saban wouldn’t be the first coach to have a staffer fill out his ballot. Still, it’s always interesting to hear someone say that’s what happens to keep the focus on making the team better.

Nick Saban on Alabama’s snapping issues

To this point in the season, Alabama has had issues snapping the ball. That’s a problem that could easily derail the offense going forward and is something that Nick Saban is working to address.

Yeah, well, you know, we got to have just a little better focus, I think, on the importance of the snap. Obviously, snaps over the QB’s head or miscues on special teams are extremely costly, but even small inaccuracies on snaps can cause issues for the offense,” Saban said.

“This has been a pretty consistent issue, where it makes harder for the quarterback to be able to function when, you know, he doesn’t have a dependable snap to deal with, whether he’s faking, whether it’s a play-action pass or he’s trying to read a coverage. Because you got to take your eyes off what you want to be looking at to be able to catch the ball.”