Alabama’s Saban Keeps it Classy

Firing season started early in 2023 in the SEC.

Both Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher and Mississippi State's Zach Arnett got the boot Sunday and Monday, and at his press briefing Monday Alabama coach Nick Saban was asked to give his thoughts on the matter.

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Here's the 17th-year Crimson Tide coach's answer: "I don't ever like to see anybody let go in this business. Whatever you want to call it. I know how hard everybody works. I know how difficult it is to sort of build a program, to get players to compete at a high level on a consistent basis.

"Just have a lot of respect for people who really work hard to try to change the lives of the guys that they are coaching. Make them better people, help them do the right things in terms of getting an education as well as trying to develop them on the football field.

"We are in a business that you get evaluated based on outcomes and your performance. I hate to see anybody have to go through this. I've been fired before. It's no fun. It's no fun for your family.

"I'm sure both those guys have great reputations in terms of what they've been able to accomplish over the course of their career. I'm sure they will have many more opportunities to be successful in the future."

Fisher drew the ire of many Alabama fans when he verbally sparred with Saban last year over recruiting. When Fisher  was offensive coordinator at Samford in Birmingham in 1991-92, he was paid $20,000 a year. Now, to NOT coach, he will be paid over $26,000 a DAY for the next eight years, and if he decides to get back into coaching, he will still get the full amount of his Aggie buyout.

This is why Fisher's [and Saban's] agent Jimmy Sexton of Memphis is a legend in his business.