Day Two of SEC Media Days: Coaches reflect on Saban’s retirement

Day two of SEC Media Days didn’t disappoint in Dallas, Texas. WXXV News 25 Sports Director Jevan McCoskey introduces us now to coaches around the conference.

Well by this point everyone in and around the SEC knows two things: Nick Saban is no longer the coach for Alabama and he was denied entry on Monday after not wearing his credential.

With the departure of the head coaching role, many other coaches throughout the conference have taken time over the last two days to talk about what Saban has meant to the game of football. “He is the greatest of all time in my opinion and it’s not really close.”

GOAT, the greatest of all time, strong words from Georgia Head Football Coach Kirby Smart after being asked about his relationship with the former Crimson Tide head coach. Smart and Saban’s relationship goes back to 2004, when Saban hired a young Kirby Smart as a defensive back coach at LSU. “I pay so much respect and so much credit to what I learned. People forget, it wasn’t just the nine years at Alabama. It was the one year at LSU and the one year with the Dolphins. I had 11 years to work for what is the GOAT.”

Nick Saban’s ties throughout college football run deep, including in the SEC. Ole Miss Head Coach Lane Kiffin has a close relationship with him. Kiffin was hired as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Saban from 2014-2016. He says what he learned during that time is still being used to this day. “I’m really appreciative of him for those three years, and really, him taking a chance on me. Not just okay what did I learn when I got there, which is all over our program with players hired and coaches hired, but the opportunity that he gave me to come there when I feel like a lot of people wouldn’t”

Kiffin continued his appreciation by saying why he believe Saban was so good for so long. “I have always said this about him…for an old school coach, most old school coaches didn’t evolve, weren’t willing to change and weren’t willing to take risks., you know, and I feel like he did that with me.”

Smart went on to add that, while he loved his battles with Saban throughout the years, there has always been a level of respect. “He dominated for a long time. We have a great relationship. Obviously, we communicate more now than we did in the past as we were competitors, but there has always been a mutual respect.”