COLLEGE STATION, Texas — For most of his 50-plus years working in football, Nick Saban wasn’t great about sitting still. He always had to be driving towards something, accomplishing some part of his never-ending, capital-P “Process” — the road map toward all those national championships. It’s a big reason why his fuse was so short with the media. When you saw him in a press conference and noticed his foot thump, thump, thumping on stage, you knew he was restless and getting ready to explode. Sit up straight because a rant was coming in hot, like you-know-what through a tin horn.
So to see this version of Nick Saban, waiting patiently in a chair for hair and makeup at 7:15 in the morning with no game to coach and nothing to do all day but talk on TV, is jarring. The man who programmed every minute of every day of every season didn’t look at his phone or glance at his watch once. His feet were absolutely still. It was kind of like watching Usain Bolt casually stroll through the park; it didn’t compute.
247Sports was granted behind-the-scenes access to ESPN College GameDay for its show on campus at Texas A&M on Saturday, which, coincidence or not, was the show’s highest-rated Week 1 edition ever and the most-watched regular season episode since 2016. The goal was simple: to see how Saban was fitting in to his post-coaching career.
The caricature of the controlling, contemptuous, hyper-focused grumpy old man wasn’t just gone, but totally obliterated. He seemed — dare we say it? — relaxed. Lighter, younger, happier even. He smiled … a lot.
Never mind his war of words with former Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher two years ago. “Old news,” said an A&M fan who came out early to watch. He was part of a crowd of hundreds who greeted Saban with roaring applause when he was introduced over the loudspeakers about 15 minutes before the show began. Then Saban turned, put out both hands as if to say thank you and returned the applause.
Never mind the seemingly opposing personalities of his seat mate and lovable loose cannon Pat McAfee. The two fed off one another all morning long, the West Virginia native and Mountaineer alumnus singing along to “Country Roads” in a truly bizarre yet sweet pre-show moment.
“He’s been awesome,” McAfee says. “He’s gonna be better on TV than he was on the sideline somehow. And that’s obviously a testament to all his hard work.”A picture of the greatest coach of all-time emerged throughout the day: a man in semi-retirement, living his best life.
A picture of the greatest coach of all-time emerged throughout the day: a man in semi-retirement, living his best life.
7:46 a.m.: An improbable friendship
Saban takes his seat on the GameDay desk, wearing a muted blue dress coat, white shirt, red tie and brown dress shoes. It’s the kind of outfit you’ve seen him in for years. All business as he looks over notes on a laptop computer.
“We love Pat! We love Pat!” the crowd shouts in unison.
Along comes McAfee in a bright royal blue dress coat, black shirt, bolo tie and snake skin boots. Again, the total opposite of Saban in every way.
It’s clear right away that McAfee is the ultimate hype man — and that extends to every member of the show. Forget personal space. McAfee rubs Saban’s shoulders with both hands, jumping up and down to get him pumped up.
Saban can’t help but crack a smile.
It’s almost 8 o’clock now — Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard are getting their game faces on — when McAfee locks eyes with Saban. Without breaking eye contact, he puts his left hand in his coat pocket and slowly reveals a sharp blue pocket square.
“Ooh,” Saban says, laughing at the theatrics and clearly appreciating the sartorial choice.
A member of the GameDay crew will sum up the Saban/McAfee dynamic this way: “The most unlikely bromance of all time.”
Make no mistake: a buttoned-up Saban would still be enjoyable to watch. But the Saban whom McAfee has somehow coaxed into letting his hair down is must-see TV.
“Pat has an innate ability to make anybody feel comfortable,” says producer Jim Gaiero, “because Pat’s respectful to him but he’s not kissing his ass. And I think that’s what separates Pat from other people. If Nick Saban is on another show, I bet everybody’s gonna be kissing his butt. But here he’s just one of the guys and we’re gonna bust your stones. I think Pat has this crazy ability to make people like him and like to be open around him.”
8:00 a.m.: Showtime
There’s no anxiety in Saban’s face as Davis welcomes the TV audience to the show, which is on campus for the first time this season.
Speaking about the Miami-Florida game off the top, Saban cites his history with former assistants Mario Cristobal, the head coach of the Hurricanes, and Billy Napier, the head coach of the Gators.
“Mario was our offensive line coach and said, ‘Run the ball,'” Saban says. “Billy was a receiver coach saying, ‘We’re wide open.'”
That anecdote draws a hardy laugh from the cast on set, which has come to expect his humor. But then Saban makes a larger point: “The key to the game is going to be Cam Ward, the quarterback, who is a fantastic player, run and pass, and Graham Mertz, who is a really effective player.”
No one can say he was wrong about that. Ward looked like a Heisman Trophy contender as he threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns. Mertz was 11 for 20 with no touchdowns before he was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Miami dominated Florida, 41-17.
Throughout the show, Saban provides keen analysis and insight. It’s a testament to his preparation.
Gaiero says Saban will make multiple calls to sources for information during the week. He also has a member of the athletic department staff at Alabama who prepares film for him to watch every Sunday.
Saban approaches the scouting piece like he would as a coach. But he’s also comfortable not being the leader and instead being part of an ensemble when it comes to the show itself.
Gaiero remembers meeting Saban and telling him that during the show he wouldn’t be able to call him coach. It would be too confusing with former Louisville and Indiana coach Lee Corso also on set. So Gaiero said he’d call him Nick or Saban — whatever he wanted.
“He’s like, ‘I don’t care what you call me. You can call me asshole if you want,'” Gaiero recalled. “I said, ‘Coach, be careful, I just might.’ And we both started laughing.”
The relationship between Saban and the crew feels familiar already, almost jocular. Saban said upon retiring that he’d miss being part of a team, but he’s recreated one with GameDay.
The Monday after their first show in Ireland, they had a production meeting to review the show and look ahead to the following week. Saban approached Matt Garrett, the show’s lead producer, to tell him, “Look, I’m new at this. I’m a rookie, so I want you guys to coach me up. I don’t want you just to give me the good news. Don’t be afraid to give me the tough message.”
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