Being one of the greatest Alabama coaches ever, Nick Saban generally avoids criticizing his former team. Yet, when Alabama lost to Georgia, Saban left Alabama off his ‘most complete’ teams list.
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On College GameDay today, Saban again looked to double down on his earlier decisions regarding Kalen DeBoer’s team. When he offered advice to teams coming off losses, Kirk Herbstreit immediately suggested he was talking about Alabama. Saban, though, was careful to keep the advice general.
“I think the biggest thing is: how do you respond to a loss?” Saban said at the October 17 College GameDay at BYU. “I think it’s important that coaches, when you have a negative consequence in your organization, and there’s no teaching involved, you kill morale.”
Herbstreit, who has already had some playful friction with Saban from the last two or three GameDays, immediately interrupted the former Bama HC.
“He’s sending a message to Alabama. Right here, sitting right now,” Herbstreit remarked.
Many in the audience also drew a connection directly to Kalen DeBoer. However, Saban stayed on the safe side, claiming the advice applied to all teams that lost, not Alabama specifically.
“That was for all of them [who lost last week],” Saban replied.
Alabama is no longer the best team in the SEC after losing to Georgia last week, and that falls short of the standard Saban built in Tuscaloosa. Then again, the way Bama has played this season has been encouraging, and criticism can wait. Regardless, Alabama could certainly use Saban’s advice.
“So you have to be technical in how you teach and fix things, so you get it right, so the players respond, have a sense of purpose in terms of how they want to finish the season,” Saban added. “I think a lot of these teams are gonna be challenged with that.”
Alabama faced its first real test against a tough Georgia defense, and it undoubtedly showed many problems. For starters, Alabama’s offensive line had a rough night against Georgia.
Even when the Tide kept extra blockers in to protect Keelon Russell, Georgia still found ways to get to him. Russell took four sacks and faced pressure on several other plays. One early hit knocked the ball loose, and Georgia recovered the fumble.
Russell rarely had time to settle in the pocket. He started rushing his throws, struggled to set his feet, and missed open receivers. He finished with just 185 passing yards, with Alabama unable to give him much protection throughout the game.
Dijon Lee Jr. had another difficult game in coverage, with Georgia going after him in one-on-one matchups. He was called for a pass interference penalty earlier in the contest, but his biggest mistake came in the final three minutes.
Alabama needed a stop on third down to have another chance with the ball. Instead, Lee punched a Georgia player’s helmet, drawing a 15-yard personal foul.
The penalty gave Georgia a first down, which let it run out the clock with kneel-downs. DeBoer pulled Lee from the game and confronted him on the sideline. Maybe Saban had the exact situation in mind when he gave the advice?
Cameras showed DeBoer shouting at Lee, “You just cost us the damn game!” The exchange spread quickly online, with teammates and staff stepping in as the confrontation continued.
DeBoer was frustrated that his team never got another possession with a chance to tie or win.
“You just got to give yourself a chance,” he said after the game.
DeBoer also brought up a similar situation from the previous season, when Alabama had been on the other side of a late-game mistake. “The same situation kind of about the same time in the game,” he said, pointing out that the roles had been reversed
During his tenure, Saban wanted Alabama players to stay away from verbal exchanges with opponents. If someone tried to get under their skin, he expected them to walk away instead of talking back and risking a 15-yard penalty.
He held himself to that standard as well. Losing your temper, Saban believed, could hurt the team just as much as a mistake on the field.
Talking back could cost the team 15 yards, and he didn’t want a player’s frustration to give their opponents an advantage. But Saban crossed that line himself in the 2019 opener against Duke.
Upset with a penalty call, he yelled at the officials and was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. He took responsibility for his actions afterward instead of making excuses.
“I deserved it. It’s not a good example for the team,” he told reporters.
What matters is that negative consequences also come with proper teaching. Because nothing breaks a team faster than a fragmented locker room.