You can take Nick Saban out of Alabama, but you cannot take Alabama out of Saban. Despite leaving the Tide over two years ago, Saban remains so closely tied to the program that he has become its No. 1 ambassador. At a non-sporting event, a reporter found a way to ask Saban about Alabama’s preseason prediction, and he seemed to hate how things were during his time more than how they are now.

Nick Saban hosted his Nick’s Kids Luncheon at Bryant-Denny Stadium. There, more than $775,000 in grants were awarded to nonprofit organizations serving children and families, both within and outside Alabama. He was then asked how he felt about Alabama’s SEC preseason prediction, which saw them projected to finish sixth in the conference in the 2026 season.

“I always hated it when we got picked high,” Saban said concerning Alabama’s preseason prediction in an August 2 video from the event. “And I think sometimes when we didn’t, it was a motivating factor for the players. Hopefully, we can sneak up on some people this year, fly under the radar a little bit, surprise some people, and not be the target for everyone as we have been in the past. And that might be beneficial to the team having more success. I’m certainly hopeful that that’s what happened.”

Despite an 11-4 overall record and a second-place finish in the SEC in 2025, Kalen DeBoer and Alabama were dealt a huge blow with the SEC preseason media poll. The media members who attended the SEC Media Days in Tampa two weeks ago voted Alabama to finish sixth overall in 2026. The Crimson Tide accumulated 1,930 points in the predicted order of finish and fell behind several programs that finished lower last season.

The Crimson Tide is now ranked to finish behind the Bulldogs, who are tipped to finish first again. Texas ranks second, while Ole Miss is a distant third. Texas A&M is picked to be fourth, while the LSU Tigers are directly above Alabama.

The ranking was a bit shocking because Alabama surpassed last season’s expectations, when they were picked to finish third behind the Texas Longhorns and the Georgia Bulldogs. But for Alabama, the consequence of surpassing expectations is that they now have even lower expectations.

The USA Today Coaches Poll did not favor Alabama as well. The program has an 11th-place preseason ranking ahead of the 2026 season. Since 2008, when Alabama was unranked during Saban’s second season in charge, the program has not finished outside the top 10, making this its worst ranking in 18 years.

Regardless, Saban, who still holds an advisory role with the University of Alabama athletic department, sees it as a source of motivation rather than a reason for despair. His decorated tenure at Alabama saw the program constantly finish atop most preseason rankings and projections. And while his team mostly proved the rankings true by winning six national championships in 17 years, it was not a situation Saban loved to find himself.