It certainly felt like a hectic, up-and-down season for Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide – but at the end of the day, they sit at 12-1 with a ticket to the College Football Playoff.
In other words, the 2023 Tide season was one hell of a coaching job by Saban.
Marty Smith of ESPN took the compliments a step further as he told On3 Sports that Saban’s performance this season is “the greatest developmental coaching job in-season that I’ve seen.”
Nick Saban chasing history y’all #RollTide pic.twitter.com/pIP4mKfWvk
— Rich🅰️rd From 🅰️l🅰️b🅰️m🅰️..🐘Sweet Home🍺 (@gilliland1tide) December 28, 2023
“If you look at the evolution of the offensive line, the quarterback position, of the back-end defensively, it’s remarkable what they did,” Smith added.
He drew parallels between Saban’s exceptional coaching this year and the challenges faced during the 2020 COVID season, suggesting that the coach’s experience during that tumultuous time played a pivotal role in shaping his approach.
“I would actually go back to the COVID season, because I think he realized during that COVID season, he witnessed in real time the sacrifices that his players and his staff and his support staff had to make, just to get to the damn football field every week,” Smith said.
“I think that was a major evolution for him, that I’m going to still demand the core principles of who we are at the University of Alabama. But I’m also going to champion and appreciate the family and the fellowship and the faith that these guys have in me, that we’re going to be able to be special, despite these extra obstacles … It was hard. It was multiple COVID tests every single week, just to get to the field.”
Nick Saban, Miss Terry, and their granddaughter ride down Main Street USA at Disneyland: pic.twitter.com/0gj899q8Rl
— Sidelines – Bama (@SSN_Alabama) December 27, 2023
All of that hard work by Saban and his players is paying off as they now sit one game away from a berth in the national title game.
If you had told anyone that after the Tide’s home loss to Texas or during their hideous first half against the USF Bulls, they would have called you crazy.
But yet here we are…
Alabama and Michigan getting a Rose as they arrived here in Los Angeles
5 days away from the Rose Bowl pic.twitter.com/y4XRmoSu3l
— Ryan C. Fowler (@RyanCFowler) December 27, 2023
Do you agree with Marty? … Is this the single-best coaching job in college football history?
As far as Alabama’s upcoming New Years Day showdown against Michigan, how do you see that one playing out for Saban and company?
Will the Tide knock off the mighty Wolverines and reach the title game???