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Nick Saban jokes about postgame cigar, 'unique' Alabama locker room after wins over Tennessee

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•10/26/23
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Nick Saban (Charlie Potter / BamaOnLine)

Alabama secured the all-important win over Tennessee, taking the Third Saturday in October back after the Volunteers had knocked off the Crimson Tide a year earlier.

And for coach Nick Saban, that meant one thing: victory cigars.

Immediately after the game Saban was approached by CBS sideline reporter Jenny Dell, who brandished a nice-looking cigar along with her microphone. She offered Saban the cigar.

“Well, I’ll chew on one for a while,” Saban told Dell.

Then the head coach walked away as quarterback Jalen Milroe began laughing hysterically.

When asked for a follow-up on Thursday on the Pat McAfee Show, Saban noted that he did indeed chew on the cigar Dell handed him for a little while after the win.

“I did. I always do,” Saban said. “I’ve never lit one up in all the years that I’ve been here. So I chew on them a while.”

The annual tradition for the winner has become something of a sport, with the tradition really played up in the last several years. Saban seems to be all about it.

He’s a fan of those little wrinkles and fun quirks that make college football college football.

“The great thing about it is to see the players have so much fun, be so excited after the game and have so much fun with the whole thing,” Saban said. “It really is, it’s a unique locker room, believe me.”

More on the Alabama-Tennessee rivalry

One of the reasons taking back the rivalry game was so important for Alabama was making sure to retain its dominance in the series. Prior to last year’s win by Tennessee, Alabama had won 15 straight in the annual rivalry game.

The other thing that’s worth noting is that there’s no guarantee the annual rivalry game remains an annual game.

The SEC is set to go to its new schedule in 2024 with the addition of Oklahoma and Texas, but the league has not yet adopted a permanent scheduling format beyond the 2024 season.

The Alabama-Tennessee rivalry has some rich tradition. The game was first played back in 1901. There have been 106 games, and Alabama leads the all-time series 60-38-8.