Nick Saban recently shared on “The Pivot” that his final season coaching the Alabama Crimson Tide was the toughest of his career.
“We started out poorly but improved as the season progressed because we had a young team,” the “GameDay” analyst said. “The quarterback (Jalen Milroe) got much better. It was a really, really tough year.”
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The Tide finished 12-2, losing to Texas 34-24 in Game 2 in Tuscaloosa, but Alabama won every game after that, including a 27-24 victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship. The Tide lost to Michigan 27-20 in overtime in the CFP.
“I probably didn’t have as strong a staff as in past years, so I felt like I had to do more,” he explained.
“Honestly, by the end of the season, I felt like I was going to kill myself doing this. I really did. It wasn’t about name, image, and likeness. It wasn’t the changes in college football. It wasn’t the players. There were no issues there. It was just that if I kept working like this, it would destroy me.”
Saban, 73, added that he only knew one way to coach. He couldn’t leave early or cut back on work. It just wasn’t in his nature.
“Once you get older, it becomes harder to do it that way,” he said.
