Nick Saban Offers Sobering Thoughts On State Of College Football
Nick Saban sounds a bit concerned about the future of college football.
Saban stepped away from Alabama and rode off into retirement after this past season. He'll go down as the greatest coach to ever carry a whistle on a sideline.
While he's retired and no longer coaching, the Alabama legend isn't interested in staying silent. In fact, he's raising a warning flag about where the sport he loves is going.
Nick Saban sounds concerned about the future of college football. (Credit: Tuscaloosa News via USA Today Sports Network)
Nick Saban shares thoughts on state of college football.
"If my voice can bring about some meaningful change, I want to help any way I can, because I love the players, and I love college football. What we have now is not college football -- not college football as we know it. You hear somebody use the word 'student-athlete.' That doesn't exist," Saban told ESPN Wednesday when talking about the sport that he dominated for decades.
Claiming student-athletes no longer exist is a very sobering assessment of the situation because he's not wrong. The days of student-athletes are long gone when it comes to high level college basketball and football. That's just a fact.
Nick Saban sounds warning siren on state of college football. (Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports)
Saban sounds warning siren on state of college football.
The seven-time national champion further added, "I'm not really looking for a job, but I do know I'd like to impact college football the best way I can, whether it's being a spokesperson or anything else. Listen, I'm for the players. It's not that I'm not for the players. I want to see the players have a great quality of life and be able to create value for themselves. But we've gone to nobody talking about education, nobody talking about creating value for their future, to talking only about how much money can I make while I'm in college."
"I think the consequence of this could come down the road when some of these guys get 28 and 29 years old that maybe they didn't prepare themselves for when they can't play football anymore, which is what you should do when you go to college," the former Alabama coach continued.
Nick Saban sounds ready to help save college football. (Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)
This isn't the first time Saban has sounded off on the state of the sport we all love and care about. He warned of a "thunderbolt" kind of event fracturing college football during a December interview with Pat McAfee.
Clearly, he can see the writing on the wall when it comes to the insanity money and nonstop transfers have injected into the sport.
Hopefully, Saban continues to be a very vocal leader in college football, even if he's not coaching. When he talks, people need to listen, and he's clearly concerned. Let me know what you think at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.