Nick Saban Apologizes After Bizarre Interview Meltdown
Members of the media have a tough job, in part because the people we cover have a nasty habit of wanting to (figuratively) shoot the messenger when we ask them tough questions.
The best the media can do in that instance is to take the reaction in stride and just go — as Bill Belichick is fond of saying — “on to the next game.”
But sometimes, the target of the question that causes the kerfuffle in the first place has the decency to apologize for having the temerity to chew someone out for just doing their job.
Nick Saban responded critically to a question about his QBs after Alabama's win. pic.twitter.com/sZCvIox2Dq
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 2, 2018
Which is why Nick Saban earned kudos for apologizing for flipping out on ESPN’s Maria Taylor after she asked him following the win to evaluate how each quarterback performed, a question Saban assumed was meant to make him commit to one player over the other.
“What answers did you have about your quarterbacks after watching them play tonight?” Taylor asked.
“I still like both guys,” Saban responded. “I think both guys are good players. I think both guys can help our team. Alright, so why do you continually get me to say something that doesn’t respect one of them?”
Last night #NickSaban called and apologized to @MariaTaylor7 #RollTide #mariataylor
— james andrew miller (@JimMiller) September 2, 2018
Social media users and sports pundits wasted no time in criticizing Saban for his reaction.
Saban called Taylor Sunday to offer his apology.
Unfortunately for Saban, the attention over his team’s quarterback controversy isn’t going away. Jalen Hurts, the senior who is 26-2 as a starter, was 5-of-9 for 70 yards and no touchdowns in Saturday’s 51-14 thrashing of Louisville.
Sophomore Tua Tagovailoa was 12-of-16 for 227 yards, with two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.
The controversy began when Hurts was benched at halftime of last season’s national title game when the Crimson Tide were losing 13-0 to Georgia. Tagovailoa put himself on the national stage by leading Alabama to a come-from-behind win in overtime. It was the second year in a row that Hurts came up snake eyes on the biggest stage; he was the starter for Alabama’s loss to Clemson in 2017 as well.
Then again, it wouldn’t be a “quarterback controversy” if it weren’t, y’know, controversial.
Saban could solve the problem in one stroke by making a choice and committing to it.
He could either let Hurts, who is the senior and the incumbent starter who took the Tide nearly to a title twice, finish his career at the school, or he could roll the dice with one of the most electric young quarterback talents in the game today, a guy who could become the first impact quarterback in the NFL to come out of Tuscaloosa since Ken Stabler in 1967.
Then again, this isn’t the first time Saban’s dragged his feet on making a decision with his quarterback talent.
In 2014, Blake Sims and Jeff Coker were in the same kind of competition that Tagovailoa and Hurts are in now.
Saban went with Sims in 2014. But when Coker got the job, he led the Tide to the 2016 national title.
Plenty of people have accused Alabama of being an overrated team with an overrated coach that wins only because they have such an overwhelming surplus of talent that even a mediocre people manager can coach them.
But at least Saban has the decency to apologize to someone whose only transgression was asking a simple question.
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