Nick Saban just might be the greatest college football coach of all time. He has a fiefdom in Alabama and does whatever he pleases. That includes shaming or slamming media when he doesn’t particularly like a line of questioning. By and large he gets away with it because the majority of media that cover Saban and the program need him.
At the first day of spring practice Saban was asked about ‘Bama possibly moving to a ball-control offense after the hiring of former Patriots offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Saban then proceeded to go into a long winded answer about the media and how some members make up stories and that platforms go to those who “speak the loudest” whether right or wrong.
Nick Saban’s already in midseason form **NSFW** pic.twitter.com/UBei0NuCmq
— Scott Forester (@scott4ester) March 21, 2017
Saban said:
I don’t know where you came up with we’re going to go to ball control. That’s not what we do. I mean the New England Patriots threw the ball over 60 percent of the time, which is more than we threw it. So where does that assumption come from?
Or do you do what everybody else in the media does, just create some shit and put it on the wall and see what sticks, which is what I see happening everywhere. And the people who scream the loudest, you know, they kind of get the attention.
Saban isn’t wrong here. We live in a hot take era of not just sports media but media in general. Yes, people who say things for the sake of being controversial often get the lion share of air time. But, after that fair point, Saban then proceeds to go off on the NCAA for a rule not allowing high school coaches to run summer camps.
So, what does that have to do with the question you were asked Nick? He said:
But all the people who have common sense, they won’t say anything about [summer camps]. But the people who scream the loudest will get the thing changed…It’s the same thing with you. We’re going to be more conservative now on ball-control offense, where did that come from? I never said that, nobody in this building ever said that, so where did you come up with that? Just, you know, had a dream about it or what?
The summer camp issue directly impacts Saban and what he does for a living. He gets paid to win football games, period. Now there is a rule from the NCAA that may impact his ability to do so and he is using his position and bully pulpit to, wait for it…scream the loudest, without actually screaming. How much do you want to bet Saban gets the lion share of the air time when it comes to the summer camp issue?