Nick Saban took his coaching job seriously. Whether it was at the collegiate level or the NFL, the retired 7x national champion utilizes his time with the utmost efficiency. And once, former NFL linebacker Channing Crowder had a hilarious interaction with Saban.
During an appearance on the NFL on ESPN show last year, Channing Crowder reminisced about the time when he failed to make small talk with Nick Saban at the Miami Dolphins. He was a third-round draft pick by the Dolphins when Saban was their head coach for two seasons (2005-06).
Channing Crowder called Saban a 'dictator' and talked about what happened when he tried to ask him about his wife Ms.Terry when he encountered him in the bathroom.
"He was a dictator. And there's some dictators in the league right now," Crowder said. "He was a dictator. People didn't really like him. One time I was in the bathroom with him and I asked him, how is your wife? Because you can't really connect with Nick Saban. It's Nick Saban."
"He really doesn't talk to players. I don't think he called me Channing or Crowder. Two years I played for him, he called me Gator..... So we're in the bathroom... I start to wash my hands and I look over to him. I said I'mma say something to you like, I gotta say something to the head coach if I'm standing at the bathroom with him.
"And I say, 'Coach, how's Terry?' And he turned to me and he said, 'She'll be a lot better if you can cover an effing back on third down.'"
Channing Crowder spent six seasons with the Dolphins after being drafted in the 2005 NFL draft. During the two campaigns under Saban, they put up 9-7 and 6-10 regular-season records.
Crowder announced his retirement in August 2011 and then shifted his focus to broadcasting. He is the co-host of the Hochman & Crowder podcast and The Pivot podcast.
Nick Saban once shared a thought-provoking speech on character and discipline during football camp
Saban took over as the head coach of the Crimson Tide in 2007. During his 17-season stint, he led them to six national championships. He then decided to hang up his coaching boots after the 2023 season.
Once, during the NSFC football camp in 2013, he imparted his knowledge of discipline, character, and success to the players.
"It doesn't matter where you are. It doesn't matter how good you are. It matters however good you are, we're going to get you better. And there's a way that you have to do that. And it starts with who you are, what kind of person are you, how important it is to you......Its' also important that you have that kind of character and character that you need to be better at."
"What you do now this is what character is to me... it's an accumulation of your thoughts and habits and your priorities." (0:35 onwards)
Nick Saban is enjoying his new profession in the world of broadcasting. He is a member of the ESPN College GameDay crew and regularly appears on GameDay along with the likes of Lee Corso, Pat McAfee, and others.
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