Joel Klatt doesn't see Rose Bowl loss as end for Alabama, Nick Saban

Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt doesn’t think Alabama’s loss in the Rose Bowl is the end for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide.

Some might’ve seen Monday night’s game as the last great opportunity for Alabama to win a national title. Klatt doesn’t think so. It’s just a more level playing field in college football.

That’s especially true when you look at the impending 12-team playoff in 2024.

“They’ll be good, they will continue to be very good,” Klatt said on The Herd. “I think what you’re seeing is not necessarily like the demise of a singular team as much as what you’re seeing is the proliferation of talent throughout the country. That’s now the transfer portal and NIL. And what you’re seeing now is that you’re not seeing the loaded great teams and you’re seeing like six, seven, eight really good teams. I think it’s better for the sport. 

“And I think that played out yesterday in those two games which both were outstanding, but what you’re seeing now is, you’re seeing the opportunity for schools to use the development model in order to be elite teams in the sport.”

Considering the questions around Alabama earlier in the season, especially with quarterback Jalen Milroe, it was fair to wonder if the Crimson Tide could get it done.

Nick Saban not coming to the end after loss

Saban previously said it was one of the best seasons he’s had as a coach. Even in defeat, he elaborated why after the Rose Bowl.

“Well, I just think that I don’t look at it necessarily from winning and losing, you won the championship, you can’t win the championship,” Saban said. “As a coach, you’re always trying to get your team to improve and be the best that they can be, and I think this team probably improved from the South Florida game and the Texas game early in the season as much as any team I’ve ever coached.

“That takes a lot of hard work. A lot of people being very committed to doing things that they need to do to self-assess and improve their game, and all these players bought in on this team and did it in first-class fashion.”

That type of buy in and commitment is why Saban wouldn’t sink his head after the loss. Plus, it could catapult the Crimson Tide in the future.

“That’s why I think for me as a coach, maybe not for everybody else, it’s one of the teams that I’ll always remember the most and always be the most proud of,” Saban said.