1 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: Lake Yik Live special edition on a Wednesday night. First 2 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: time we've ever done an emergency broadcast. But I think 3 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,080 Speaker 1: today warrants breaking the. 4 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 2: Seal on this little bit. 5 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: Nick Saban has retired as the head coach at the 6 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: University of Alabama after sixteen seasons. Minds across the country 7 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: all over the place. You got young fans, you got 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,279 Speaker 1: old fans, you got coaches, players, everyone struggling to process 9 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,200 Speaker 1: what just happened. A process, by the way, a words 10 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:40,240 Speaker 1: synonymous with Saban in his career at Alabama. I will 11 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: tell you a lot of things tonight that I've never 12 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:44,599 Speaker 1: told you before, both about how I view him, the 13 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,200 Speaker 1: interactions I've had with him and what I think about him, 14 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: and about where Alabama goes from here. So there's a 15 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: lot to unpack. It's a Wednesday night, let's just dive 16 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: into it. 17 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 2: You and I. 18 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: I covered Nick Saban way differently than any other head coach. 19 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: I spoke about him on this show way differently than 20 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: any other head coach. 21 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 2: There was a reason for that. One was you're looking at. 22 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: The greatest to ever do it, and you know you're 23 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: looking at it in real time, so you'd be a 24 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: fool not to have a little bit different reverence to 25 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: the tone of your voice when you talk about him. 26 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:16,120 Speaker 1: But for me, there were underlying personal reasons those I'll 27 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: get to. But a lot of folks texting me today 28 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: did you know this was coming? 29 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 2: Well? Some people had ideas. 30 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 1: I mean, you guess every year that he's going to retire, 31 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: you'll eventually be right around SEC Championship Saturday. There were 32 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 1: some rumblings, i would say, throughout December and especially this 33 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:37,039 Speaker 1: past week in both Pasadena and then Houston. There was 34 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: some pretty legitimate chatter about it. But it's not like 35 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: I woke up this morning saying this is it, But 36 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: indeed this was it announced by Saban himself. Today Chris Lowe, 37 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: the goat of Saban reporters, broke the story as we 38 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: all know he would at ESPN, total bombshell. You can't 39 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: possibly overstate the impact this has on the industry, on 40 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: the game, and on anything that he touches. Moving forward, 41 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: the Alabama roster everything is up in the air right now, 42 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: and some other program is about to have their world 43 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: turned upside down, whether it be an NFL franchise or 44 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: a college football organization. 45 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 2: Because one of. 46 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: The best currently in the game is about to be 47 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: the Alabama head coach. And I will tell you, and 48 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,520 Speaker 1: I'm going to touch on this a lot more Thursday night. 49 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:24,639 Speaker 1: Everyone's talking about a coaching search right now, guys, there's 50 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: not much of a coaching search is going to happen. 51 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 2: I hate to be the. 52 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: Bearer of bad news for you, but you may be 53 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: on first base on this. They've already round a third 54 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,399 Speaker 1: on who they're going to hire, and in very short order, 55 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: I think you'll know who the head coach is going 56 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: to be at the University of Alabama. 57 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 2: There was shock when this announcement was made today. 58 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: There was jubilation, saw you guys rolling tumors corner down 59 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: there in Lee County, to be expected, but there was 60 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: also terror because, like I just said, I think everyone 61 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: looks immediately and says, oh Man Saban was the best 62 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: of all time. He's gone from Alabama. However, quickly becomes 63 00:02:57,440 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 1: we like our guy. He's really good, and if we 64 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: like our they may like our guy. And if they 65 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: offer this job. Contrary to the popular talking point in 66 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: this industry forever, which has been no one wants to 67 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: follow Nick Saban, plenty of guys alpha mentality types would love, 68 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: would froth at the mouth at the opportunity to be 69 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: handed the keys to what he built there. Because here's 70 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: the thing about secure, alpha minded individuals. They don't doubt themselves. 71 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 1: They don't doubt for a second they can get it done. 72 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 1: I can tell you this, whether you actually agree with 73 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: it or not. There are guys coaching this game today 74 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: who think they're better than Nick Saban. They wake up 75 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: every morning thinking I'm better than him, and in. 76 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 2: Time I'll prove it. 77 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: So you better believe if they had the opportunity to 78 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: take that job, it would take a nanosecond. It would 79 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: take about as long as it takes me to sign 80 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: my name to a piece of paper in front of me. 81 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: But that's for the future. Consider the here and now. 82 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: Consider what we just witnessed. If you're twenty years old, 83 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:52,119 Speaker 1: you have no clue. If you're thirty years old, really, 84 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: you have no clue what Alabama was before Nick Saban. 85 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: A lot of folks, the more seasoned amongst us, especially 86 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: Bama fans themselves, do remember Alabama had become an afterthought nationally. 87 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: And I will never forget. I think I was on 88 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: Manchester Expressway in Columbus Georgia when I heard that rich 89 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: Rodriguez had agreed to take the Alabama job in late 90 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,600 Speaker 1: two thousand and six, December two thousand and six, and 91 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,920 Speaker 1: then subsequent reports come out that uh oh, Rich rod 92 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:24,919 Speaker 1: to Alabama is not finalized, and then the deal falls through, 93 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: and then Alabama's even more of a laughing stock nationally 94 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:29,360 Speaker 1: because people. 95 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,280 Speaker 2: Say, you can't even get the West Virginia coach. 96 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 1: To come down there. And then comes January third, two 97 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: thousand and seven. January third, two thousand and seven was 98 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: a red letter day in Tuscaloose, Alabama, and a black 99 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:43,120 Speaker 1: letter day around the rest of the SEC because they 100 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: hired Nick Saban and he went on an absolute warpath 101 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: over the next sixteen years that saw him win nine 102 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: SEC championships in a span where the rest of the 103 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: conference combined won eight SEC championships. But resurrecting Alabama was 104 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:02,400 Speaker 1: a sure infant, bigger than I think anyone understood at 105 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: the time. Here's the thing. Alabama had once been home 106 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: to Paul Bryant. Bear Bryant, the previous best to ever 107 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: do it, by many people's estimations, mine included. I grew 108 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: up listening to stories about this guy he had already 109 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:16,159 Speaker 1: passed away before I was born. 110 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 2: Bar Bryant wasn't a person to me. 111 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 1: Bar Bryant was sort of a legend in terms of 112 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: like Greek mythology that we're taught as kids. He took 113 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:28,039 Speaker 1: on that status for me, and so I just assumed, well, 114 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: we'll never see that again. And not only do you 115 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: see it happen, but you see many of what Bryant's 116 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: accomplishments were surpassed by the guy who takes the same 117 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: job Bryant used to have. You just witnessed that as 118 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: a fan. We witnessed it. I witnessed it, given it, 119 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:46,920 Speaker 1: get to cover it in real time. I used to 120 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,600 Speaker 1: look at some of these sports writers that were around 121 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: in the days of Bryant. I used to lionize these people. 122 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:55,840 Speaker 1: They sat in meetings and press conferences. Back then, there 123 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: was a whole lot more access they got one on 124 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,280 Speaker 1: one time with this guy. I'll never be able to 125 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: do that, And yes, yes, I was able to do that. 126 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: Highlight of my career, however long it goes. Highlight of 127 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: my career was being able to be around this industry 128 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,840 Speaker 1: and be around that guy at the height of his career. 129 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,840 Speaker 1: Have one on one time have access to be up 130 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: close to an incredible dynasty that was built at Alabama. 131 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: But here's what you need to know. When Nick Saban 132 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:27,160 Speaker 1: got to Alabama, they were chained to the past. Alabama 133 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: was chained to the ghost to bear Bryant, and they 134 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:33,239 Speaker 1: had been imprisoned by it. And they had really taken 135 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: on a figure of mediocrity because of it. Not because 136 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: Bryant was mediocre, he was anything but that. But what 137 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:43,400 Speaker 1: happened there was an institutionalization of the mentality that you 138 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:45,839 Speaker 1: have to have been associated with Bryant if you're going 139 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: to have a position of significance here, which cut off 140 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: the flow of new ideas, It caught the flow of 141 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:55,800 Speaker 1: new people, It cut off the flow of basically what 142 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 1: it takes to keep a program sustaining at the highest levels. 143 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:01,599 Speaker 1: And instead of a it was just pond water and 144 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: it was doing really nothing. And when Nick Saban looked 145 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:07,280 Speaker 1: at it, he was the guy, the perfect guy at 146 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: the right time to have the gravitas to say, you 147 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: can have me there, but I'm coming there with conditions. 148 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: And the conditions were these people that you have in 149 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: positions of power right now who were happy with mediocrity 150 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: as long as it comes with power and access for them, 151 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: they gotta go. You can either have them or you 152 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 1: can have me, but you can't have both. Alabama chose 153 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 1: right for the first time in a long time. They 154 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 1: chose right, as if there was any other choice to make. 155 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: They disassociated some people from the program, some other folks 156 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:42,880 Speaker 1: that were very, very prominent figures in and around the 157 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: University of Alabama scene, all of a sudden faded into 158 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: the abyss. There are names, a lot of you down 159 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: there know them very well. Who you used to hear 160 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 1: all the time in four, five, six, and then seven 161 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: comes and all of a sudden, there's one name you 162 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 1: hear down there. Saban had no ties to Alabama, had 163 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 1: no past in the state of Alabama. But he had 164 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: to gravitaz to come in there and call the shots 165 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: from day one. And it took one year to turn 166 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 1: it around, and then boom, they're in the SEC Championship game. 167 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:10,680 Speaker 1: The next year, they win the national title the year 168 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: after that, and he's off and running. Nick Saban's the 169 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: most feared entity I think that has ever existed in 170 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: this sport. He's the most respected entity that's ever existed 171 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:22,520 Speaker 1: in this sport, and the folks who claim they didn't 172 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 1: respect him, I wish you could see them when they 173 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 1: were in his presence. I've been in dozens and dozens 174 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 1: of situations socially and professionally where I've watched coaches walk 175 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 1: into rooms, and then I've watched Saban walk into a room. 176 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:36,679 Speaker 2: It's different. 177 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,839 Speaker 1: It's different than anybody else our sport has to offer 178 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: right now. It's so interesting the dichotomy of his stature 179 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 1: physically with the command that he didn't demand. It just 180 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: came along with him walking into a room, and some 181 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: grizzled veteran types who have been around this game and 182 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:56,960 Speaker 1: this business for a long time were made to look 183 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: like first day, you know, mareens Autit Parris Island, when 184 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:06,200 Speaker 1: they first command shouted in their face. That's what it 185 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 1: was like watching him walk in a room. And I 186 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 1: think first and foremost about how he resurrected what at 187 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: the time was a very, very fading brand in terms 188 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:21,440 Speaker 1: of national prominence in college football. I told you I 189 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: covered Nick Saban differently. I talked about Nick Saban differently 190 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:26,520 Speaker 1: on this show than I did any other head coach. 191 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:28,560 Speaker 1: Reason Number one is cause I think He's the best 192 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 1: to ever do it, and I don't think we'll ever 193 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: see another one like him. But number two is a 194 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,840 Speaker 1: reason I really never gave you. But now that he's retired, 195 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: I'll go in depth a little bit on it. This 196 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: was never a story I was telling while he was 197 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: still the head coach at Alabama. There was a time 198 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:45,400 Speaker 1: in my life where things were not good at all. 199 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: I had no clue who I was, much less what 200 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:50,280 Speaker 1: I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. 201 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:51,319 Speaker 2: Now here's what I did know. 202 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: I knew that I had some God given ability in 203 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: this space. I had no clue what to do with it. 204 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 1: I wasn't particularly driven to do anything with it. I 205 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:05,439 Speaker 1: was a very results oriented thinker, like I think ninety 206 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: eight percent of human beings walking planet Earth are Saban 207 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:11,319 Speaker 1: gets hired at Alabama. I'm a huge college football fan, 208 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 1: so it's big news for me. And I've grown up 209 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: listening to stories about this Bear Bryant guy that used 210 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: to roam the sidelines there in Tuscaloos and sometimes at 211 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: Legion Field in Birmingham, and I think to myself, well, 212 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 1: he's got big shoes to fill. Because I was taught 213 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 1: growing up man, it was Bear Bryant and then everyone 214 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: else but Nick Saban. The more I listened to him 215 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,040 Speaker 1: and the more I observe him, it's really powerful stuff. 216 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,920 Speaker 1: So he does a speaking circuit his second year at Alabama, 217 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:42,400 Speaker 1: and I think they called it the Crimson Caravan back then, 218 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 1: and so he'd go to different cities. You know, it's 219 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,840 Speaker 1: mainly a booster function, but you could buy tickets to it. 220 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:49,640 Speaker 1: I didn't have fifty bucks to scroungs together. 221 00:10:49,679 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 2: I had to borrow it. 222 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: But I found fifty bucks to get a ticket to 223 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: get myself inside the Columbus Georgia Convention and Trade Center. 224 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:58,080 Speaker 1: I listened to Nick Saban, probably talked for about forty 225 00:10:58,120 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 1: five minutes. 226 00:10:58,559 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 2: That night. 227 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 1: Totally changed my life. I'm not making that up. I'm 228 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:05,440 Speaker 1: not kidding you. Nick Saban put together words in a 229 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: way and put messaging together in such an authoritative and 230 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,600 Speaker 1: effective manner that I had never heard presented before that 231 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 1: it totally lit a fire in me. I had never 232 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 1: heard anyone talk about process oriented thinking before. It was 233 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:21,960 Speaker 1: a foreign concept to me. Now it's my everyday life. 234 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: Back then, I didn't know what that meant. I didn't 235 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:26,920 Speaker 1: know what it meant to define goals, but then also 236 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 1: define what it takes to achieve them, and find the 237 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,560 Speaker 1: overlap of your passion and your talent, and find in 238 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: that ven diagram that sweet spot, and then define what 239 00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: it takes to achieve it. And then take the goal 240 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: and put it out of sight and just focus on 241 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 1: the process, day by day, rung by rung on the ladder, 242 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:44,960 Speaker 1: and don't even look at the mountaintop. Don't look at 243 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:47,040 Speaker 1: that stuff. It's a waste of time anyway. If you 244 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: just keep putting good days together, eventually you've gotten way 245 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:52,160 Speaker 1: closer and you weren't even paying attention to how close 246 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: you've gotten that day. 247 00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 2: Still remember it very vividly. 248 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: I left the Columbus Convention and Trade Center, didn't sleep 249 00:11:59,000 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: a whole lot that night. 250 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 2: Redefined everything for myself. 251 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:05,440 Speaker 1: And I also had some other very powerful influences that 252 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 1: came along in my life at the right time that 253 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,120 Speaker 1: I view as far more than mere coincidence. I can 254 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:15,560 Speaker 1: assure you, and things turned for me, and it's not 255 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:17,960 Speaker 1: like I sit here and say man Nick Saban had 256 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:19,680 Speaker 1: the same impact on my life as he did on 257 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:22,440 Speaker 1: a football player, as he did on an assistant coach. 258 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 2: That goes on to become a head coach. 259 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 1: But I will tell you I have no clue if 260 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:32,000 Speaker 1: I ever would have begun to elevate personally, much less professionally, 261 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:34,640 Speaker 1: had I not been there that night. And it's not 262 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:37,840 Speaker 1: like Saban disappeared after that. Nick Saban preaches the same 263 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: message over and over again and twice on Sunday. And 264 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 1: you got to understand, I viewed that from a million 265 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 1: miles away, just as an observer and a college football fan. 266 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:49,320 Speaker 1: Had you told me that day that you really are 267 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:51,480 Speaker 1: going to get things together and you really are going 268 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:55,080 Speaker 1: to go on down the road to enjoy a career 269 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: in the sweet spot on that ven diagram that previously 270 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:02,000 Speaker 1: you had only dreamed of occupying. And you're gonna sit 271 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:05,480 Speaker 1: side by side with him, private sessions, off the record stuff. 272 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:08,320 Speaker 1: You're gonna cover him at his very apex. You're gonna 273 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,679 Speaker 1: see the best that's ever existed in college football, and 274 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 1: you're gonna be paid to do it. 275 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:14,199 Speaker 2: Unbelievable. 276 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:16,959 Speaker 1: So it's always meant a little more to me when 277 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,760 Speaker 1: I covered Alabama games. It's always meant a little more 278 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:21,719 Speaker 1: to me when I've been around him, because I knew 279 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:24,120 Speaker 1: it wasn't gonna last forever. I think it lasted a 280 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:26,240 Speaker 1: lot longer than people thought it would. When he first 281 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:28,679 Speaker 1: got to Alabama. You remember that old talking point, You 282 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 1: remember that as Nick Saban he's a mercenary, He's a 283 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: job hopper. 284 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:33,440 Speaker 2: I give it three or four years, max. 285 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:35,680 Speaker 1: The way they're talking about McAfee and ESPN right now, 286 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:38,600 Speaker 1: once upon a time they talked about saving in Alabama. Oh, well, 287 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 1: Michigan State by LSU by the Dolphins. Bye, you really 288 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 1: think he's gonna stay at Alabama? Sixteen years later, Man, 289 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,080 Speaker 1: the one or two dudes out there who kept on 290 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:52,000 Speaker 1: predicting he's gone every year, they finally got it right. 291 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:55,120 Speaker 1: Half a dozen national championships later, they finally got it right. 292 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: You know what was fascinating to me, what made him 293 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:03,200 Speaker 1: great was Number one. Used to always hear him say 294 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: passion is mistaken as aggression to people who were unmotivated. 295 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:11,440 Speaker 1: I could always tell what someone was made of had 296 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,840 Speaker 1: they been around him, by the opinion they had of him. Now, 297 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:16,920 Speaker 1: I'm not talking about an Auburn or an Lsufin. I'm 298 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:19,960 Speaker 1: talking about people who are otherwise sort of agnostic. Maybe 299 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: in the coaching profession, I would just listen. I'd ask 300 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 1: their opinion, and I'd listen, and some of them had 301 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,080 Speaker 1: been chewed up and down and left and right, and 302 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:31,840 Speaker 1: spoke about him in such a deified manner that you 303 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:33,760 Speaker 1: would think he was less than God, but certainly more 304 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 1: than a man. And others would dogcuss him behind his back, 305 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 1: and they'd have nothing but negative things to say about him. 306 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: And over time, what I came to realize is he 307 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,080 Speaker 1: just operated on a different level. And people who were 308 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 1: wired the same way or few and far between, but 309 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 1: the people who were wired the same way Kirby Smart's one, 310 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 1: sarks one. You don't think those dudes got an earfull 311 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,280 Speaker 1: from him a time or tien. The difference is they 312 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 1: get it. That's how they run their programs. 313 00:14:58,280 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 2: Now. 314 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: It's no coincidence that they got the opportunities they did 315 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 1: because they were wired a different way. If you were 316 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 1: wired the right way, if you were a two percent 317 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 1: wire guy, you process that stuff a lot differently than 318 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:12,440 Speaker 1: the ninety eight percent. But if you were a ninety 319 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,359 Speaker 1: eight percent or Nick Saban, wasn't for you working at Alabama, 320 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:19,000 Speaker 1: coaching at Alabama, playing at Alabama, it wasn't for you 321 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 1: When you walk the halls of that place, you know, 322 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 1: it doesn't matter if you're in comms, recruiting, marketing, doesn't 323 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 1: matter if you weren't building security. There was a standard 324 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:29,880 Speaker 1: there and you could feel it as soon as you 325 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 1: walked in the building. You could feel it. And it's 326 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 1: a vision that's all cast by one guy. One guy 327 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:39,080 Speaker 1: is responsible for that army of people who all operate 328 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 1: on pins and needles. You hear him coming down the hallway, 329 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: whether it's the soles on the shoes or the jingle 330 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: of the change in the pocket, that signifies that's Nick Saban. 331 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 1: He's around the corner somewhere. The sudden lurch in your 332 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:56,080 Speaker 1: body and the sudden attention to detail, it's not sudden 333 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 1: at all. You've got it ingrained in you because you 334 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: worked there. But I always came to real, Hey, these 335 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 1: folks who speak less than glowingly about him, it's not 336 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: that they're telling a truth the other guys aren't telling. 337 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: It's that they don't think the same way these other 338 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: guys think. I'm not saying he never made a mistake there. 339 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 1: I'm not saying he never treated someone the wrong way. 340 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 1: But I am saying broad strokes purposes. I learned how 341 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: much respect I should have for a coach's mentality or 342 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:23,800 Speaker 1: a staffer's mentality had they worked with Saban. By the 343 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 1: way they talked about him, A bunch of them would say, Hey, 344 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 1: I didn't love every day and there are things that 345 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:32,880 Speaker 1: I wish he'd do differently. But then that always followed 346 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,360 Speaker 1: up with the butt. But it was life changing. I 347 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,400 Speaker 1: owe this, this and that to him. He's always ahead 348 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: of the curve. 349 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 2: Man. 350 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 1: To me, what made him great. Part two was he 351 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 1: was Nick Saban was ahead of the curve at every 352 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 1: point in his career. You think back, and I'll give 353 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 1: you the evidence in a second, cause it's right in 354 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: front of your face. But think back to how many 355 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: changes fundamental in nature that he made to that program. 356 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:00,360 Speaker 1: They never dipped below a double digit winds season. 357 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 2: I think he had. 358 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:03,960 Speaker 1: Fifteen of them, fourteen of them in a row, never 359 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,440 Speaker 1: fell off the top spot in the sport as a program. 360 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,919 Speaker 1: He made changes at the foundational level of his program 361 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:16,520 Speaker 1: multiple times and never took a step back. You watch 362 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: coaches all the time. Some of them have won championships. 363 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,439 Speaker 1: There's one in Clemson, South Carolina right now, got a 364 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: couple under his belt. 365 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:26,360 Speaker 2: At the expense of Saban who's learning. 366 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:29,399 Speaker 1: You do not retool or rebuild a program on the 367 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: fly and stay at the top of the sport. You 368 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 1: do not see the apex predator change everything about himself 369 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,359 Speaker 1: and remain the apex predator. Except this guy at Alabama 370 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:43,919 Speaker 1: was able to do it multiple times since two thousand 371 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,720 Speaker 1: and eight. You look at the seasons he rattled off, 372 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:48,919 Speaker 1: and you got a bunch of national championships and there 373 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:51,919 Speaker 1: you got a bunch of SEC titles. You got nineteen 374 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,720 Speaker 1: let me make sure I have that right. Fifteen more 375 00:17:54,800 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 1: first round draft picks than losses. At Alabama had to 376 00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: retool several times. Don't forget this guy was hiring new 377 00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 1: coordinators every other year, total staff turn every other year, 378 00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:10,800 Speaker 1: because coaching at Alabama was the golden ticket, and folks 379 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:14,200 Speaker 1: went there, in some cases with a mercenaries mentality themselves 380 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: that I'm gonna serve my one two or three years 381 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:18,360 Speaker 1: and then I'll be good. And you know what, had 382 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:20,960 Speaker 1: they been wired the right way mentally, most of them were, 383 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 1: and so you're having to reinvent your program every year. 384 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 1: But there were certain core principles that never got reinvented, 385 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,479 Speaker 1: certain core principles that standard was never lowered. 386 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:31,439 Speaker 2: Bar never lowered. 387 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: Didn't win a title every year because it's not Xbox, 388 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:39,080 Speaker 1: but the bar never got lowered. And to me, because 389 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:41,840 Speaker 1: he was able to do that, it ruined the sport 390 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:45,399 Speaker 1: for many others. There are coaches I firmly believe this. 391 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:47,920 Speaker 1: There are coaches who would be remembered as icons in 392 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,440 Speaker 1: their own right had they done nothing more than existed 393 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:55,959 Speaker 1: in an era other than one that was overlapped by 394 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 1: Nick Saban. Nick Saban took all the oxygen out of 395 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,880 Speaker 1: the room. And he also took reasonable expectations for other 396 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: programs and threw them in a blender, and so you 397 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:07,520 Speaker 1: got guys who lost their jobs. 398 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 2: I think about Mark Rick at Georgia. I think about how. 399 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:14,600 Speaker 1: History would remember him differently had Nick Saban not existed. 400 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,040 Speaker 1: Saban just stays with the Dolphins, or Saban just goes 401 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:20,720 Speaker 1: somewhere other than Alabama. I mean, Rick is one, but 402 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,919 Speaker 1: a year over fifty coaches were fired in the SEC, 403 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:27,439 Speaker 1: not counting interim head coaches. By the way, in the 404 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:31,160 Speaker 1: time Sabin was there. What does history say differently about 405 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:34,479 Speaker 1: Phil Filmer if Nick Saban doesn't come there? How's Tommy 406 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:38,480 Speaker 1: is Tommy Tuberville in DC? Right now, is Tommy Tuberville 407 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,440 Speaker 1: still at Auburn. I could go down a long, long 408 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:44,760 Speaker 1: list of guys who had their lives changed for the 409 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 1: worse because this guy showed up in tusc Loose and decided, 410 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:51,000 Speaker 1: all right, that's the place I'm going to dominate for 411 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:56,679 Speaker 1: the next fifteen or twenty years. I also know a 412 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:58,840 Speaker 1: lot of you were wondering what he's gonna do next. 413 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 1: Certainly the commonveras about what's next for Alabama, but I 414 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:03,719 Speaker 1: know a lot of you are wondering what he's going 415 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: to do next. I've had it on pretty reasonably understood 416 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:12,199 Speaker 1: authority that for a long time there has been a 417 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 1: spot waiting for him on the college game day desk. 418 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:17,680 Speaker 1: Don't know if he wants it. He's done a lot 419 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 1: of TV work, He's very good at it. I also 420 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 1: wouldn't be surprised if Nick Saban did something in pro football. 421 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:26,359 Speaker 2: I'm not talking about on the sideline either. 422 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:29,400 Speaker 1: Nick Saban's a guy who has his hands in several businesses. 423 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:34,760 Speaker 1: He understands how football works from an operational and financial 424 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:39,480 Speaker 1: and business perspective about as well as anyone who doesn't 425 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:42,600 Speaker 1: have GM in their name, And it wouldn't surprise me 426 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: at all. If he wanted to go the more business 427 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:49,440 Speaker 1: minded route in the pro game, think about his mentality, 428 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:51,919 Speaker 1: Think about looking around at the college game and saying, well, 429 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:56,800 Speaker 1: if we've professionalized this game to the extent where we 430 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 1: have free agency here now, and we have to have 431 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:01,320 Speaker 1: a salary and we have all these things that I 432 00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:03,359 Speaker 1: had when I was with the Dolphins, maybe you know, 433 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:05,480 Speaker 1: maybe that's the route I want to go. Maybe I 434 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: want to test those waters down the road. I have 435 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 1: in my hand right here. Talk about a paper popper. 436 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 1: I have in my hand right here, what we call 437 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,440 Speaker 1: a one sheet, And that's the stuff that you need 438 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:18,960 Speaker 1: to know about the topic you're talking about. And Saban's 439 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 1: one sheet is actually too big to fit on a sheet. 440 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: Not surprisingly, forty four first round draft picks at Alabama, 441 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:30,520 Speaker 1: he was two hundred and six and twenty nine in 442 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: his career there, and they lost six games his first year. 443 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 1: So he stayed there's sixteen years and didn't even lose 444 00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:38,760 Speaker 1: thirty games, and that's counting that first year where they 445 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: had to totally reinvent the program. Most wins as a 446 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:44,919 Speaker 1: number one team, most wins versus number one ranked teams, 447 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 1: sixteen straight double digit win seasons. Alabama has not lost 448 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,600 Speaker 1: three games in a season since twenty ten. They finished 449 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:56,720 Speaker 1: top ten in the AP sixteen straight years. Seven national 450 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:01,440 Speaker 1: titles are the most by any head coach. Every four 451 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:06,160 Speaker 1: year class Nick Saban coached at Alabama won a national championship. 452 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 1: Let me restate that, because I think sometimes those sorts 453 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:14,600 Speaker 1: of paper popper stats get lost in the minutia. Every 454 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,760 Speaker 1: single kid who stayed four years at Alabama who was 455 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:21,560 Speaker 1: recruited by Saban won a national championship. Do you understand 456 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:23,399 Speaker 1: what that looks like on a resume? It was a 457 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,920 Speaker 1: dynamite recruiting pitch for him forever. And he walks out 458 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:29,720 Speaker 1: still with the ability to say, every kid I brought 459 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: to Alabama to stayed four years won a title. Every 460 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:36,959 Speaker 1: one of them just utter insanity. So Deon Sanders had 461 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:38,720 Speaker 1: a tweet a little bit earlier today. I think we 462 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:40,359 Speaker 1: have a screen grab of and I know a lot 463 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: of you have already seen it. This was aflac CO 464 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,639 Speaker 1: star to Nick Saban. Deon Sanders. He said, Wow, college 465 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:50,000 Speaker 1: football just lost the goat to retirement. I knew it 466 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,679 Speaker 1: would happen one day soon, but not this soon. The 467 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 1: game has changed so much it chased the goat away 468 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:58,400 Speaker 1: college football. Let's hold up our mirrors and say, honestly, 469 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,199 Speaker 1: what do you see. What I cannot tell you tonight 470 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:05,959 Speaker 1: is whether this would have happened regardless of the direction 471 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:09,359 Speaker 1: NIL took the sport, or regardless of the direction the 472 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:12,679 Speaker 1: portal took the sport. But I also can't dispel that. 473 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:16,800 Speaker 1: I am of the belief that had things not changed, 474 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:18,280 Speaker 1: we're probably not. 475 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 2: Talking about Nick Saban retiring today. 476 00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:24,400 Speaker 1: Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that college football was right 477 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:26,719 Speaker 1: or wrong to go a direction. I just think it's 478 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 1: an open ending conversation you can have, kind of like 479 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:32,000 Speaker 1: Dion did there. But I know I've kind of hinted 480 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,720 Speaker 1: at this for several months now. I don't think this 481 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:37,800 Speaker 1: is the last iconic coach that you're going to see 482 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 1: step away from the game. Now you say, Josh, well, 483 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:41,720 Speaker 1: that happens all the time. That would happen anyway. It 484 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:44,240 Speaker 1: would not talking about losing guys who are at the 485 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:44,879 Speaker 1: very end. 486 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 2: Of their rope. 487 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:48,560 Speaker 1: I'm talking about losing guys who still have a lot 488 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:50,360 Speaker 1: of rope left. But they look at the sport and say, 489 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: I don't recognize this anymore. 490 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:52,639 Speaker 2: This is not for me. 491 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:55,840 Speaker 1: Now you can have that jaded mentality of well, hey, 492 00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:58,199 Speaker 1: if you want to resist progress, get out of the way. 493 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,199 Speaker 1: Let someone else do it, or you can understand not 494 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: all change is progress in society or in sports. Not 495 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:06,879 Speaker 1: all change is progress. And there's a lot of stuff 496 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 1: going on in this sport right now that is change, 497 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,240 Speaker 1: that is not progress. It is my hope that we 498 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:14,520 Speaker 1: are working towards a place and I believe we'll get 499 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:16,720 Speaker 1: there a few years down the road where there's a 500 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:18,879 Speaker 1: whole heck of a lot more structure in the picture 501 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:23,120 Speaker 1: than there is right now, to where coaches look and say, boy, 502 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:25,920 Speaker 1: I'm glad we got here, because had we stayed there 503 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: for much longer, I'd be gone. I am telling you 504 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:31,639 Speaker 1: it may not bother you, or it may bother you 505 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:36,160 Speaker 1: a great deal. There are other, very very prolific head 506 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: coaches out there, not to mention, an army of coordinator 507 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:42,960 Speaker 1: types and an even bigger army of position coaches that 508 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,360 Speaker 1: may one day elevate the head coaching status, who are 509 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:47,960 Speaker 1: looking at the structure of the college game right now 510 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:53,040 Speaker 1: and saying this isn't acceptable. I'm gone very soon if 511 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,399 Speaker 1: it doesn't change. They don't say it out loud, they'll 512 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:58,399 Speaker 1: tell you behind the scenes. I had a number of 513 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 1: them do it with me. So I wish there was 514 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:04,880 Speaker 1: one centralized governing body or authority figure you could look 515 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:07,159 Speaker 1: to and say, get it right, or you're going to 516 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 1: continue to lose really, really good people that probably had 517 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:13,760 Speaker 1: years left on their careers otherwise. That's one aspect. I 518 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:15,919 Speaker 1: thought that was interesting that Dion put that out. But 519 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 1: you can't overstate the impact. This is the atomic bomb 520 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:21,280 Speaker 1: that could go off in college football. 521 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:21,800 Speaker 2: Right now. 522 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,120 Speaker 1: You've got the Alabama job open, and I don't think 523 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:27,119 Speaker 1: it's going to be opened very long, but it's open. 524 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 1: You've got one of, if not the most talented rosters 525 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:33,520 Speaker 1: in America that it'll be open season on right now. 526 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:35,359 Speaker 2: From the portal perspective. 527 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 1: You've got a building full of the highest level coaches 528 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,960 Speaker 1: and staffers off the field that has ever existed in 529 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,399 Speaker 1: college football that all of a sudden are going to 530 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,359 Speaker 1: go to bed tonight without the reason that they were there. 531 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:53,640 Speaker 1: And so this disrupts the entire college football ecosystem. Bama's 532 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 1: now going to make a move and hire an a 533 00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:01,239 Speaker 1: list head coach that will further disrupt the ecosystem and 534 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:04,600 Speaker 1: all that happening. As you thought you could take a breath, 535 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:06,960 Speaker 1: as you thought you could say the word off season. 536 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: There's always consequence to thinking that the college football season 537 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:11,400 Speaker 1: is done. 538 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:14,800 Speaker 2: It's never done. It's never done. 539 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,399 Speaker 1: So this right here is the keystone move of all 540 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:21,920 Speaker 1: keystone moves that could happen in college football. I am 541 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:25,720 Speaker 1: very curious how long this takes Alabama, this coaching search, 542 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 1: if you want to call it that, how long it takes. 543 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:30,680 Speaker 2: I do not think it will take long. 544 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:35,080 Speaker 1: If it does take more than a few days, it'll 545 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:36,080 Speaker 1: be because they got told. 546 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 2: No. 547 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:39,920 Speaker 1: I was in Saban's press conference at the Rose Bowl 548 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,679 Speaker 1: after they lost to Michigan and Greg Byrne came in 549 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: and sat down next to me. That's the athletic director there. 550 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:51,000 Speaker 1: And it wasn't necessarily indication. He was sitting next to 551 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:53,640 Speaker 1: Nick Saban's wife. I've seen that before, so it wasn't 552 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,920 Speaker 1: necessarily a red flag. But in retrospect, I think back 553 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: to what he must have thought. 554 00:26:58,920 --> 00:26:59,919 Speaker 2: Did he know this was it? 555 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:02,440 Speaker 1: I don't think Saban had his mind made up several 556 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,280 Speaker 1: months ago about this. I certainly think he knew this 557 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:09,000 Speaker 1: may be on the table, But you know, if he 558 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 1: did know then he kept a lot of folks in 559 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:14,359 Speaker 1: his very very close inner circle in the dark, which 560 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,000 Speaker 1: is kind of what you would expect from him. So 561 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:20,480 Speaker 1: what we have here is we've got the most iconic 562 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: head coach in the history of college football stepping down. 563 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:29,080 Speaker 1: He steps down, I think at a time that is 564 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:32,159 Speaker 1: tailor made for him to step away. It's not that 565 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,440 Speaker 1: I don't think Nick Saban ever would have been able 566 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:38,320 Speaker 1: to continue adjusting, always stayed ahead of the curve. I 567 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:40,400 Speaker 1: think he would have continued to stay ahead of the curve. 568 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:44,720 Speaker 1: But I also think what became a problem for him 569 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:49,200 Speaker 1: at Alabama is a problem for Kirby, is a problem. 570 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 2: For Ryan Day. 571 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 1: I'm not saying those are his equals in the coaching world. 572 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 1: I'm saying there are other big name guys at the 573 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:57,560 Speaker 1: pinnacle of their careers right now who are wrestling with 574 00:27:57,640 --> 00:27:59,800 Speaker 1: some of the same things Saban wrestled with. I'm going 575 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:04,360 Speaker 1: to tell you I have heard nightmare stories, nightmare stories 576 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,639 Speaker 1: from people inside these buildings of what the current state 577 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:10,600 Speaker 1: of the game is. You got to understand what's happening 578 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,080 Speaker 1: right now. What happens right now is you bring a 579 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 1: kid in and you came up in a world and 580 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:23,400 Speaker 1: on a you know, a structure that was about relationship building, 581 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:26,360 Speaker 1: and it was about building the best program you can 582 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:30,080 Speaker 1: to showcase to attract recruits. And now the visit many 583 00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:34,520 Speaker 1: times consists of, Okay, I saw your facilities. Let's go 584 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:38,240 Speaker 1: sit me and the head coach and maybe a handler 585 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:40,719 Speaker 1: in the room, or you know, a step dad in 586 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:43,560 Speaker 1: the room, or somebody who I've known forty eight months 587 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:45,760 Speaker 1: who claims to represent me, and we're going to go 588 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:50,959 Speaker 1: talk numbers. And many times, many times the visits are 589 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:53,280 Speaker 1: set up under false pretense. And then you get kids 590 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 1: on campus and you walk in the room and it's 591 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:57,040 Speaker 1: basically a shake down, and it's coach, here's how much 592 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:59,000 Speaker 1: we have on the table from X program. 593 00:28:59,080 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 2: What are you offering? 594 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 1: Well, Bama plays the nil game, so does Georgia, so 595 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,240 Speaker 1: doas Ohio. Status mention those three as an example, but 596 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 1: they have not taken a head first dive in, and 597 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,440 Speaker 1: that's what they're wrestling with right now, because they're thinking 598 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:16,320 Speaker 1: is we're Alabama. We don't have to match dollar for dollar. 599 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:19,800 Speaker 1: The entire reason you're having to overspend to get kids 600 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:23,200 Speaker 1: we otherwise would get is because you're having to compensate 601 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:27,520 Speaker 1: or overcompensate in categories ABCD and E. You don't match 602 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:29,959 Speaker 1: us in you got to match us and exceed us 603 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,240 Speaker 1: in dollar And so they haven't played the auction game there. 604 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: And Saban gets out and he don't have to worry 605 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 1: about it anymore. Herby still got to worry about it. 606 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:39,640 Speaker 1: Ryan Day is still got to worr about it. Dado's 607 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 1: got to worry about Like a lot of these guys 608 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:43,520 Speaker 1: who are still in a position where they could have 609 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,440 Speaker 1: decade or decades left on the back end of their careers, 610 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,239 Speaker 1: they have to worry about it. Nick Saban walks out 611 00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 1: and says, not my problem anymore. And I think you 612 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 1: look to college football like many coaches do and didn't 613 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:56,560 Speaker 1: necessarily like what it had become or what it was becoming. 614 00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:00,200 Speaker 1: And he echoed that sentiment for a long time, you know, 615 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,160 Speaker 1: But there were several other times in Saban's career where 616 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:03,960 Speaker 1: he said, is this what we want college football to be? 617 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 1: And then you answered yes, and he said all right, 618 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:10,280 Speaker 1: and then he went and dominated the way you wanted 619 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:13,680 Speaker 1: to be dominated immunity. But that's the way it was. 620 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 1: So there's a lot still that's going to unravel about this. 621 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:22,040 Speaker 1: I think you'll hear some fascinating stuff in the coming days. 622 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 1: People who are close to him, people who were close 623 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,680 Speaker 1: to that program, have built up an army, well not 624 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:31,960 Speaker 1: an army, people close to Saban and people close to 625 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:35,160 Speaker 1: that program have built up this this treasure chest of 626 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:37,960 Speaker 1: nuggets and stories that they knew they could never tell 627 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:39,960 Speaker 1: when he was there. But one day he's not going 628 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,160 Speaker 1: to be there, and it's it's like Untie the shoelace, 629 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 1: it all comes out. I'm sure there will be fascinating 630 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:49,240 Speaker 1: books written in the future, but in the here and now, 631 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 1: the Alabama head coaching job is open for the first 632 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:57,280 Speaker 1: time since late six, early seven, and I think it's 633 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:00,520 Speaker 1: going to go a direction very quickly. And I think 634 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,840 Speaker 1: that is as much as the recruiting class right now 635 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:05,480 Speaker 1: and as much as their roster is going to look 636 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:06,800 Speaker 1: to be in a state of flux, I think the 637 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:11,000 Speaker 1: guy who takes that job in very short order will 638 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:14,520 Speaker 1: be a magnet that's turned the opposite direction in terms 639 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:19,680 Speaker 1: of attracting talent right back there. So Nick Saban retires 640 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:24,360 Speaker 1: as the Alabama head coach. Our first ever emergency late 641 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,400 Speaker 1: kick Live. That means we'll be right back here tomorrow 642 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:30,840 Speaker 1: night to talk about it. It has been a whirlwind 643 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 1: day and I'm sure a lot's going to come out 644 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 1: between tonight and tomorrow night, so you know where to 645 00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:39,160 Speaker 1: be right here, and if you've never visited us before, 646 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:43,880 Speaker 1: we do this year round, and we do it free 647 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:47,959 Speaker 1: of charge because we have a dedicated audience base that 648 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:50,600 Speaker 1: grows by the day. And the way that you keep 649 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 1: it free is subscribing to the channel and liking the videos, 650 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:56,720 Speaker 1: or liking and subscribing to the podcast. 651 00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:59,760 Speaker 2: That's it. There's no secret, there's no trick behind that. 652 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:02,320 Speaker 1: You don't get added to a mailing list, no one 653 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:04,200 Speaker 1: spams your phone, nothing like that. 654 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 2: You click subscribe and you're done. But it helps us 655 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:08,840 Speaker 2: continue to do this kind of show. 656 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:12,080 Speaker 1: At this level free of charge to you. So Director 657 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:14,360 Speaker 1: Colin makes his way in here on his day off. 658 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: Producer Jesse lives in the building, so what wasn't as 659 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:19,239 Speaker 1: big a deal for him? I think Bradley contributed in 660 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:21,480 Speaker 1: a few small ways as well. Appreciate you guys for 661 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:23,240 Speaker 1: being here and appreciate you guys for watching. 662 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:25,640 Speaker 2: Take care. We'll see you tomorrow night, up building. God 663 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:31,880 Speaker 2: bless