Nick Saban shares enjoyment of coaching up 2023 Alabama team

Early in the season, it looked like it might be a long year for Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. However, since losing to Texas, the Crimson Tide have won eight straight games and will now play in the SEC Championship Game.

For Saban, it’s been an incredibly fun experience getting this team in the position it is today.

“You know, it’s been fun,” Nick Saban said. “It really has been fun to see. I think that it seems like every team we’ve had in recent years, there’s these huge expectations, and you never want the expectations to impact you. But because there was such high expectations, it was almost like you were relieved to get the players to be where they needed to be so that they could have success.”

Most recently, Alabama beat Kentucky 49-21. That was largely on the back of quarterback Jalen Milroe, who has come into his own as the season has gone on, building a stronger and stronger relationship with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.

“With this team, I didn’t have those expectations. I knew we could be good. I believed in them. But I knew it was going to be a work in progress. So, it was like every day, you’re just trying to teach lessons that will help them grow and develop. And they’ve done a great job of that, and it’s been fun,” Saban said.

“And I didn’t put any expectations on them or myself, and they sort of blowing it out of the water in terms of how well they’ve done.”

Alabama has two regular season games left before the Crimson Tide will take on Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, against Chattanooga and Auburn.

Nick Saban emphasizes importance of finishing season strong

After a slow start to the season, Alabama has picked up a lot of steam. Now, Nick Saban’s focus is on finishing the season strong.

“When you have two emotional games back-to-back, that kind of sets up a little mental trap for you,” Saban said. 

“It’s pretty much human nature and it’s pretty pervasive that when you have things like that happen, that people have a little like psychological let-down. It’s almost like watching a scary movie and you’re all excited and then, in the end, the bad guy gets killed, and everybody’s relieved. You have big games and you feel kind of the same way. It’s psychological in nature.”