Jay Glazer: Daunte Culpepper and Zach Thomas Almost Beat Up Nick Saban
Nick Saban is going to go down as the greatest college football coach of all time. However, his time with the Miami Dolphins remains a cautionary tale for college coaches jumping to the NFL. Jay Glazer joined Colin Cowherd on Tuesday, and relayed the advice he gave to Urban Meyer as he embarks on a new path with the Jacksonville Jaguars after a legendary college coaching career. He also spoke about the times Saban almost got pummeled by Daunte Culpepper and Zach Thomas.
"Jimmy Johnson said it on our show the other day," Glazer said. "It is so different in the NFL than college. Part of it is, you can't just threaten to pull someone's scholarship. But you're dealing with 53 different corporations inside that locker room. Not 53 men, but 53 different corporations. But I also said, 'Hey man, the way you talk to these guys, you've got to talk to them differently now than you did in college.' Look at how Pete Carroll did it. You have to treat these guys like men."
"Bobby Petrino and Nick Saban -- they didn't work out," Glazer continued. "They almost got their butts kicked because they didn't treat them like men. Nick Saban, the reason he didn't make it in the NFL, Daunte Culpepper tried to fight him one day, and the security guy stepped in. And then his final straw was he questioned Zach Thomas's toughness, and Zach almost kicked his butt. It just doesn't work on this level. I know Urban's not one of those guys who tries to go after you or demean you, but I just said to make sure you don't do any of that on this level because it doesn't work."
Even with all his success at Alabama, part of Saban probably wishes he had that time in the NFL back to try things differently and see if he might have succeeded.
Here's the clip: