Nick Saban explains why final season at Alabama was 'really a tough year for me'
Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday and was asked about his former assistant and current Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti. In particular, Saban was asked about Cignetti’s age and what it’s like connecting with players when you are much older than they are.
Saban revealed that for him, connecting with players late in his career wasn’t a challenge. However, he acknowledged that being a college football in recent years wasn’t always easy.
“Personally, I was 72 the last year I coached. I had no problem relating to players, and I think if you asked the players they would say the same thing,” Nick Saban said. “But it changed a lot through the years, because the players actually changed, in terms of what their commitment was and what their purpose in terms of why were they going to college and what were they trying to accomplish?
“So you had to kind of adapt your program and the way you approach them.”
Nick Saban added that in recent years, it was hard to get players to fully buy in to being a part of a team.
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“When I first started coaching if you told a guy to do something he’d run through the wall for you, just because you said to do it. Well it’s not like that anymore,” Saban said. “You’ve kinda gotta show these guys where it’s going to benefit them. … You had to show them where it was going to create value for them and even being part of a team, how that’s creating value for your future. So you have to be able to adapt.”
Eventually, Saban made the decision to retire after the 2023 season. There were several factors that led to him deciding it was time to move on, and he is happy that he did.
“You know, for me, I did it for 50 years. And I just thought that this last year was really a tough year for me,” Saban revealed. “And I’m saying, ‘How many quality years do you have left and how do you want to spend them?’ And, you know, me and Miss Terry get up every day and have our coffee and we’re happy now, so I’m good.”