"We got exposed": When Nick Saban gave a blunt assessment of Alabama's performance after Rose Bowl defeat against Michigan

Nick Saban had a career to remember at Alabama's football program. He's a season removed from roaming the Crimson Tide's sideline, last doing so in a 27-20 overtime loss to Jim Harbaugh's Michigan team, the eventual College Football Playoff national champions, in the 2024 Rose Bowl.

Saban reflected on the defeat a few days after that. He retired eight days later.

"It's pretty much like I said to the players in the locker room after the game," Nick Saban said on an episode of "The Pat McAfee Show" (0:45 onwards). "You know, everybody's very disappointed that we didn't finish the game. We had opportunities in the game. We got exposed in some areas up front, too much pressure on the quarterback, couldn't stop them in the end when we needed to.

"But, everybody needs to remember that this team has come a long way. (They) accomplished a lot, winning the SEC championship, so let's not forget what we were able to accomplish even though everybody's disappointed right now."

Saban's comments to McAfee were similar to those he had made after the loss. The defeat marked the only time during Saban's Crimson Tide tenure that the program went three seasons in a row without a national title.

“We just didn’t finish the last four minutes of the game like we would like to, and we’re all very disappointed,” Saban said directly after. “But one thing I told them in the locker room, this is one of the most amazing seasons in Alabama football history in terms of where this team came from and what they were able to accomplish.”

Revisiting Nick Saban and Alabama's Rose Bowl loss to Michigan

Nick Saban watched as quarterback Jalen Milroe was stood up two yards short of the end zone on a fourth-and-goal keeper, vaulting Michigan to Houston for a national championship matchup with Kalen DeBoer's Washington.

Wolverines running back Blake Corum rumbled for a 17-yard touchdown on the second play of the extra period. That followed J.J. McCarthy's four-yard touchdown pass to Roman Wilson with 1:34 to play in regulation.

“If ever a game was going to be won up front, it was going to be won with toughness and physicality,” Harbaugh said after. “Our guys were just there in rhythm and got it done. Epic game. Epic game. The stick-togetherness — I guess what people don’t know, how could they know, what the togetherness is like? There’s just nothing that can separate these guys.”

DeBoer succeeded Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa, where he went 9-4 in his first season. He has hired Ryan Grubb as his offensive coordinator in hopes of sparking Alabama's season next fall. However, he'll have to improve soon to match Saban's standards.