Nick Saban Explains Why He Quit Drinking Years Ago

Nick Saban's days of smoking and drinking are long behind him.

The Alabama legend stopped by "The Pat McAfee Show" Thursday and the conversation turned to Nick's approach to drinking and smoking. Last week, after beating Tennessee, Saban chewed on his victory cigar.

The 71-year-old Saban explained to party boy Pat that his own partying days were over when he and Miss Terry had kids and they started to get older and looking to him to set an example.

"Don't drink," Saban said. "I used to drink. When we had kids and when my kids were growing up, I decided I didn't want to set that kind of example for them. I just quit drinking, and probably the best thing I ever did. Never have a hangover. Never feel bad. Just don't do it."

McAfee, a legendary boozer, fired back that he has no idea how he used to drink as much as he did. "I get a hangover now at this age and it takes four days (to recover)," McAfee told college football's greatest of all time.

In a 2018 Forbes article, it was noted that Saban "once had an affinity for Miller Lites."

"Believe me. You have more fun and you enjoy it," he told McAfee. "You enjoy the relationships more. It's been a good thing for me, one of the best things I've decided to do."

In 2010, after becoming the first college football coach to win national titles at two different schools Saban had a chance to drink again, ESPN's Chris Low reported at the time.

Saban was with a couple of his Louisiana buddies and they wanted to have a drink with him.

"It's about 2 o'clock in the morning, and we've got ESPN on showing all the highlights, and I just said, 'Nah, I'm not going to do it. This success will just cause another set of issues and problems,'" Saban told Low. "And both of my friends looked at me and said almost in unison, 'Probably as we speak.'"

Nick Saban turns 72 on Halloween.