Nick Saban: 'I Have No Problem With Jimbo,' Shouldn't Have Targeted Texas A&M
Alabama coach Nick Saban was able to address the controversial NIL comments made against Texas A&M and Jackson State during his introductory press conference at the SEC Meetings in Destin, Fla. In a way, he somewhat apologized to Jimbo Fisher.
Then again, did he?
"I didn't really say that anybody did anything wrong," Saban said Tuesday morning. "I've said everything that I'm going to say about this. ... I should have never mentioned any individual institutions."
At a fundraiser, Saban said Texas A&M “bought” its entire top-ranked 2022 recruiting class.
Fisher responded within 12 hours, saying to "dig into his past" in terms of recruiting. The fifth-year Aggies coach called his former boss a “narcissist” and insinuated that Saban had also broken multiple recruiting violations in the past.
“Some people think they’re God,” Fisher said, referring to Saban. “Go dig into how God did his deal. You may find out about a guy, a lot of things you don’t want to know. We build him up to be the czar of football. Go dig into his past.”
Fisher said that Saban reached out to him the following day to apologize for his comments, but declined the call and stated the two were "done." When asked, Saban said he has no issues with his former offensive coordinator.
Saban was one of six SEC coaches willing to speak with the media prior to Tuesday's meeting, joining Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, South Carolina’s Shane Beamer, Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Florida’s Billy Napier and Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin. According to ESPN, Fisher was in attendance, but elected not to speak publicly.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey spoke about the Fisher-Saban drama Sunday, stating how both parties need to resolve the issue before the start of the regular season.
“What we have to do is turn the page,” Sankey told OutKick on Sunday. “Because we have to think about what we see as the future, rather than the frustration that exists around the pace of change that’s happening. And really that’s at the heart of a lot of issues.”
Saban said his initial thought process was simply to call for “some kind of transparency” in NIL deals, thus allowing the players to be properly compensated for their duties on and off the field.
“Believe me, I’m all for players making as much as they can make, OK,” Saban said. “But I also think we need to have some uniform, transparent way of doing that.”
As for meeting with Fisher and working things out in the public eye? The seven-time national coach has no desire of engaging in a back-and-forth brawl.
“I have no problem with Jimbo at all,” Saban said.
The Aggies will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Oct. 8 to face the Crimson Tide. It is widely expected that the game will be the lone night game on CBS.
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