The polished ESPN host you see today was once a spirited, unconventional coach known for thrilling games and unforgettable moments. Nick Saban didn’t just coach loads of top-tier talent and launch NFL careers—he led Alabama to six national championships and helped coordinators like Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian flourish as head coaches. But one of the most bizarre memories he shares is with his defensive coordinator, who joined back in 2019. The duo didn’t just power through the championship run, but they also narrowly dodged a brush with NCAA trouble, walking a tightrope between success and scandal while keeping the ship steady.

So, who’s that mysterious coach who’s bringing a blast from the past? It’s Charles Kelly who spent four years assisting Nick Saban at Alabama, contributing to two College Football Playoff appearances, including the undefeated 2020 national championship. Yet, one day stands out: his chaotic first day. Speaking at the Alabama Sports Writers Association in Jacksonville, now the Jacksonville State head coach, Kelly looks back and highlights the chaos of his very first day on the job under Saban. And it wasn’t your average onboarding experience.

Following his first Alabama staff meeting (a Sunday night in December 2019), Kelly receives his first task. Which was chauffeuring Nick Saban on a whirlwind, five-stop recruiting trip across the Southeast, starting the very next morning. That’s when the chaos begins. When Charles Kelly realized that Nick Saban was not some regular guy who does one stop at a time.

“That was my first day with Nick Saban,” Kelly recalled with a laugh. “God blessed him with a lot of stuff, but patience isn’t one of them. Patience is not his thing.”  But why? They started their journey from LaGrange, Georgia, with a Troup County High School visit; they crossed into Alabama, stopping at Lanett and Hindley High School in Roanoke. They returned to LaGrange before flying to Chattanooga, Tennessee, planning further stops in Montevallo and Tuscaloosa for official campus visits.

Despite a demanding schedule, Kelly managed well until they reached Chattanooga. That’s where his Tennessee roots came into play. “I was hopping through this,” Kelly said. “We’re hopping from plane to plane, and I’m driving. So we get to Chattanooga, and I knew the coach. The high school coaches, they don’t know the rules for contact. Everybody just brings everybody in there like, ‘Hey, this is Coach Saban.’ You put Coach Saban there, somebody takes a picture, and that’s illegal contact. My job is to protect Coach.”

Now, Kelly served as the special teams coordinator for Tennessee in 2018 before joining Alabama, where he was well-known. Everyone at Chattanooga was thrilled to meet and take photos with Nick Saban. But one picture with a player might have gotten Nick Saban in trouble. To avoid chaos, Kelly takes up the charge. He meticulously checks the room, making sure Saban doesn’t inadvertently violate any NCAA regulations.

In the middle of all this, Kelly also took charge of the clock, cutting off overly talkative coaches to keep their tight schedules on track. “We’re in a hurry, and I’m looking at my watch, and I’m like ‘We’ll never make this if we don’t go,’” Kelly said. “Finally, I just said, ‘We got to go, I got to get Coach back to the airport. Because Coach wasn’t going to say that.” But that was just the start of their wildest journey, as something unexpected was waiting for them down the road.

Nick Saban’s and Charles Kelly’s craziest moment

Just when Nick Saban and Charles Kelly finally thought they could relax, another crazy incident unfolded. Walking back to their car, a relieved Saban praised Kelly’s quick thinking and smooth escape. Just as things calmed down, another twist hit their chaotic day. Kelly noticed a fan nearby, phone out, trying to photograph them. He didn’t think much of it until, stopped at a red light, they saw the same fan behind them, still recording Saban.

“When we get to the red light, I see him in the rearview mirror, and the guy has got his phone up, like trying to video Coach,” Kelly said. “Hey, he runs his a-s into the back of my vehicle.“ Boom! I mean, Coach is in the seat. Coach is like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ … The first thing Coach says is, “You think he meant to do that?”  That’s when both of us hit the panic button.

After that, Charles Kelly wasted no time. Fueled by rage, he burst from the car. With no delay, he berated the fan with such intensity that it stunned Nick Saban. “I get out, and I am in a bad way,” Kelly said. “I looked at my bumper, and my bumper was OK. I mean, I said a few things I should have said. I get back in the car, and Coach is like, ‘Hey man, it’s OK.’ I said, ‘We’re good, Coach’.” That’s crazy. But one thing is for sure: Nick Saban owes Charles Kelly big time.

Kelly never circles back to say whether they made their next recruiting stop or if it paid off. In any case, his initial impact on college football’s most demanding head coach was certainly significant.