Nick Saban reveals his message to current Alabama players amid criticism from alums

The ugly start by Alabama to the 2023 season has several former Crimson Tide players disappointed.

Current Alabama players have heard plenty of outside noise after a 2-1 start that included a home loss to Texas and a game against USF that was close in the fourth quarter.

Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban spoke with Chris Low of ESPN recently about his message to current players who are receiving criticism from alums.

“Look, my pride in my performance and the standard that I have and what the product we’re putting on the field is not what I want it to be. I don’t need anybody else to tell me, and that’s the disappointment to me,” Saban said. “But I’m trying to channel those feelings in a direction that’s going to help us get better. I’m not going to get mad about it. I’m not frustrated about it. I just want to do better for our team and our players.”

Saban is hopeful his Alabama team will use the outside noise and criticism as motivation for the rest of the season.

The Crimson Tide still have plenty to play for, beginning with Saturday’s game against SEC West rival Ole Miss.

“If anybody’s feeling angry or feeling disrespected, this is the time to do something about it — channel it onto the field and in the right way,” Saban told Low. “That’s the way I want to see us play.”

Earlier this week on The Pat McAfee show, Saban used Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame speech as an example of how he was trying to motivate quarterback Jalen Milroe, who has regained his starting job after not playing against USF.

“I always remember Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and he had three people when he gets into the Hall of Fame – the coach that cut him, the coach that benched him and the guy that took his place when he got benched,” Saban explained. “And [Jordan] said, ‘This directed my feelings for my whole career, in terms of how it motivated me to be the best player that I could be.’”

Saban also used the Jordan reference with his team, he told ESPN’s Low.

“He was really thanking them. That’s what I want these guys to do: Direct their feelings in the right way so they can play better and not get all frustrated and pissed off,” Saban said. “I told them, ‘Don’t let this impact you in a negative way or put pressure on you like you’ve got to prove something.'”