What Nick Saban said he misses the most about coaching
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – It’s an annual tradition for Nick Saban to show up at Greystone Golf & Country Club for the Regions Tradition Pro-Am. But Wednesday morning was different.
Although he still sported his signature straw hat with a script A, he did so as the former Alabama head football coach. Saban still, however, spent a couple of minutes with reporters before getting some swings in on the driving range, and almost four months into his retirement, he was asked what he misses most about being the coach of the Crimson Tide.
“Relationships with players,” Saban quickly responded. “I actually played golf with Mark Ingram and Tua (Tagovailoa), I had them up on Monday and we played. Those relationships that you have with players, man, nothing beats that. But we care about them all, so we’ll continue those relationships.”
Before teeing off with PGA TOUR Champions pro Steve Stricker, Saban answered a few more questions during a brief session with reporters. Below is everything else that he said.
Saban on what it means to come back to the Regions Tradition Pro-Am…
“You know, this is one of my favorite events that we did each year. To be able to meet the players, see a lot of fans, sign a lot of autographs, make a lot of people feel good – I hope – and always enjoy playing golf. And it is a great cause, and Regions is a great organization in our state.”
Saban on if it means anything different to interact with fans now that he’s retired…
“No, it’s all the same. I try to make people feel good, make them feel better. Nobody remembers anything you say, but they do remember how you make them feel. Hopefully, we can still make some people feel good.”
Saban on how he enjoyed covering the NFL draft for ESPN…
“I did enjoy it. It’s a lot of preparation. I enjoy the team that we were with and got a lot of good direction, learned a lot. It’s challenging, something new. But that’s some of the stuff that we were looking forward to, and one of the things that I look forward to now is, since I’m one of you, I can ask the questions.”
Saban on who his preseason No. 1 team will be, now that he’s an analyst…
“Oh, I haven’t even thought about that yet. I’m gonna need to do a little research on that. There’s gonna be a lot of good teams. It’s interesting right now to try to figure out who’s who because of the movement in players. Until that all settles down and you know exactly who’s gonna play on what team, I think then you can make a little better judgment.”
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