Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban is considered one of the greatest college football coaches in the sport’s history. However, if the landscape of college football had been as it is now when he began his coaching journey, his legendary career might have taken a vastly different path. The introduction of NIL deals and the transfer portal has empowered collegiate athletes to earn substantial income based on their on-field performance.
While there are undeniable advantages to this shift, Saban clearly sees significant drawbacks. During an appearance on The Pivot Podcast with Ryan Clark, he candidly discussed how the current state of college football differs from what it once was. “I loved coaching pro ball, and if I was going to coach today, based on the circumstances in college and in the NFL, I would coach in the NFL, because all those things in college have changed,” Saban remarked. He lamented the transformation of college’s primary purpose, stating, “The whole idea of what college used to be is not there anymore. It used to be you went to college to develop value for your future. Now people are going to college to see how much money they can make. And I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but you change the whole dynamic of the importance of getting an education, making good decisions and choices about what you do and what you don’t do to create value for your future. You changed that whole dynamic.”
Saban initially ventured into the NFL as a defensive coordinator under Bill Belichick with the Cleveland Browns from 1991 to 1994 before getting his head coaching opportunity with the Miami Dolphins. His time there lasted only two seasons before he transitioned permanently back to college football, where he found immense success at Alabama. This revelation raises intriguing questions about his potential success as an NFL head coach or whether Alabama would have achieved its dynasty status without his return to college coaching.
Both the NFL and college football might have undergone significant changes had Saban chosen not to return to Alabama. Nonetheless, college football fans are grateful for the success he achieved with the Crimson Tide. “Can you blame him? CFB is insane at the moment,” one fan expressed on X.
Can you blame him? CFB is insane at the moment. https://t.co/GhUzDMAlrN
— Steve (@steve_t_88) January 22, 2025
Another fan commented, “Understandable. NIL has been great for players but terrible for teams and for college football. Leave it to the NCAA to mooch off athletes for over a century and then break things when they can’t do it anymore.”
Understandable – NIL has been great for players but terrible for teams and for college football. Leave it to the NCAA to mooch off athletes for over a century and then break things when they can’t do it any more.
— Monty Brewster (@KAB656) January 22, 2025
