Nick Saban on Eli Gold: I'm excited to have him back, love working with him

The voice of Alabama football is making his return to the broadcasting booth soon. Crimson Tide broadcaster Eli Gold was absent the entire regular season last year as he battled with cancer. Since then, he has undergone treatment and is well on the road to recovery. The return feels huge for the football program and their head coach, Nick Saban. Recently, the Crimson Tide headman addressed his thoughts and feelings for the team’s longtime broadcaster and shared his excitement about his return during a recent press conference.

“Yeah, I love Eli. You know, he’s been with us for a long time. He’s kind of part of the tradition around here in terms of the expectation of being the voice of the Crimson Tide network in a lot of ways,” said Saban. “Whether it’s a radio show or whatever it is. And I’m just happy for him and his family that he’s getting healthier and he’s able to get around.

“He’s going to be able to get back and do what he loves doing. So, we’re going to do everything we can to support him. And even though it may not be 100 percent full throttle, we’re sort of working him back into it. But I’m excited to have him back because I love working with him.”

In late July, Gold detailed his journey with his battle against cancer, from the initial diagnosis to the discovery of what form of the disease he had and his road to recovery. But most importantly, he revealed to the Alabama faithful that he got the all-clear from his doctors and has been preparing for the Crimson Tide’s season opener on Sept. 2 against Middle Tennessee.

Eli Gold explains why he fought through cancer, intense treatment

An intense process for Gold, there were a couple of reasons he fought throughout. Number one was his family, both his wife and daughter. The latter would be getting married within the next year and Gold wanted to make sure he was there for her special day.

“There were two things that kept me fighting,” Gold said. “I was fighting for my family. My daughter is getting married in 2024, next calendar year. I wanted to be here to walk her down the aisle. And of course, my wife who has been absolutely spectacular in helping me and being a caregiver in all of this.”

Outside of his immediate family, Gold wanted to win the battle for Alabama fans out there. When Gold gets back in the booth for the Crimson Tide’s season opener against Middle Tennessee on Sept. 2, he will be doing so thinking about those who supported him along the way.

“But I was also fighting for my Bama family. My desire to get back into the booth and reconnect with the Alabama fans… I said ‘when I get back on the air, I am going to be broadcasting not only for our wonderful Alabama fans. But I going to be broadcasting for the millions of people who are going through exactly what I did.’”