Nick Saban: Brian Kelly 'is a lot like I was'

Entering his third season at the helm of LSU, head coach Brian Kelly is under pressure to succeed. At SEC Media Days on Monday, Nick Saban revealed how he expects Kelly to handle the expectations.

“Brian is a lot like I was,” Saban said. “He doesn’t worry about expectations. He’s not really worried about what people say and think because he’s done it for a long time. He believes in the process that he has to try to get his team better each and every week. So, he’s not going to pay attention to that. And if you are someone who does pay attention to that, that’s the rat poison that I talk about all the time.

“That can really affect your performance and create a tremendous amount of anxiety and affect your decision-making, whether you’re playing quarterback or whether you’re calling plays on the sidelines. I don’t think Brian will be affected by that at all.”

Kelly couldn’t ask for a better comparison. Saban is widely regarded as the greatest college football coach of all time and intimately understands Kelly’s situation. Saban was the head coach at LSU from 2000-04.

In his first three years with the program, Saban found success but never reached the national championship. However, instead of allowing outside doubt to make him question himself, Saban remained focused on the task at hand.

His focus paid off. In his fourth season at the helm, Saban led the team to a program-high 13-1 record and a national title. In the 2024 campaign, Brian Kelly will look to follow in Saban’s footsteps. LSU will kick off its season on Sept. 1 in a showdown against USC.

Paul Finebaum compares Kirby Smart to Nick Saban

Kelly isn’t the only one drawing comparisons to Saban. During an appearance on “Get Up” on Monday, Paul Finebaum provided high praise for Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.

“They are what Alabama was about five or six years ago,” Finebaum said. “They have it because they have recruited at such a high level. Kirby Smart in his late 40’s is Nick Sabanin the absolute prime of his career.”

From 2009-12, Saban won three national championships. If Smart wins another national championship in 2024, it will be his third in the last four years, paralleling Saban. Moreover, Smart will have a better overall record during the four-year stretch.

In the past three years, Georgia posted a collective 42-2 record. In comparison, during the first three years of Saban’s legendary four-year run, Alabama lost four games. Obviously, Alabama didn’t have as many wins because there was no four-team College Football Playoff.