Nick Saban goes off, sends fiery message to fans, media ahead of Alabama vs Utah State

Nick Saban has had enough of the “rat poison” around his team. The Alabama head coach made that abundantly clear during his radio show Thursday before he went on an all-time rant to end the broadcast.

During “Hey Coach and the Nick Saban Show,” Saban had a fiery message to fans — and the media — as the Crimson Tide get ready to open the 2022 season against Utah State. After talking about how he wants fans to stay positive this year, Saban shared his message for the media after seeing people question which game Alabama could potentially lose this season.

In the process, the show’s producer was likely reaching for the dump button.

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“I encourage everybody to be positive and create a legacy for what we want to do this season,” Saban said. “And you contribute to it in a positive way. Not in what I read these guys write all the time about, ‘How can Alabama run the table?’ Can’t you figure out something better to do than that? Come on. We’ve got to play one game at a time.

“‘How can Alabama lose to this team? How can this team beat Alabama three months from now?’ Who gives a s—? I mean, how about this game? How about the church of what’s happening now, aight? Like, now. Can we focus on what’s happening now? How come no one’s interested in that?”

Nick Saban: ‘You want to create a legacy’ and it starts now

Saban started his “Final Word” by talking about writing a legacy for the season. He compared it to someone writing their own obituary and thinking about what they want other people to say after they pass away, calling that a “game plan” for life.

Taking it back to football, Saban said it’d be like people asking why that person wouldn’t follow that plan. Then, he called on fans to keep their expectations in check for his team.

“You want to create a legacy, you want to create what people are going to say about this team. … And then, you’re really writing the legacy of that team, but you have to go do it,” Saban said. “You have to live it, you have to play it every game, and it’s difficult to maintain the standard throughout the season. But it starts this Saturday, it starts now, aight?

“And I mentioned it earlier. There’s more rat poison around than I’ve ever seen before and our fans cannot be that way. If you want to be fans, you have to support the team. You need to have energy and enthusiasm, support the players, they work hard. You go to the game, you’re not always disappointed because you have this great expectation that we’re going to win the game 50-0. Hey, these are young players who are working hard to try to be the best they can be. They need to be supported, they need your energy and enthusiasm. That helps them maintain their kind of motivation that’s going to help them, no matter where we are, get better for the future.”