Greg Byrne leaning on Nick Saban through difficult spring
Alabama has had no shortage of recent scandals. From the death of Jamea Harris to an Alabama baseball gambling investigation, athletic director Greg Byrne is drowning in issues.
Alabama football head coach Nick Saban is helping Byrne wade his way through the tough times. In a recent interview with ‘The Next Round’ at the Regions Tradition Pro-Am, Byrne opened up about his relationship with Saban.
“He has been awesome to work with, he and Miss Terry [Saban’s wife],” Byrne said. “I have such admiration for who they are and what they’ve done for this place.”
Byrne gave a small example of Saban’s generosity. Following the recent unfortunate events surrounding Alabama, Byrne called an athletics staff meeting. While there, he asked Saban for a favor.
“I said [to Saban], ‘I’d love for you to say something.’ He said, ‘Absolutely, I’d love to say something.’ Think about the corporations that bring Nick Saban in to talk. It’d be irresponsible on our part if we didn’t take advantage of that as a department at times, and we have.”
Supposedly, Saban’s speech was special. It was certainly special enough to have Byrne self-conscious about what he had to say.
“He got up and did a great job talking to everybody. Then, I follow him and it was like — Gosh, following Nick Saban is not what you want to do,” Byrne said with a smile.
Nonetheless, Byrne’s words seemingly held weight, as well. The 51-year-old athletic director pulled up a slide pointing to Alabama’s recent accomplishments.
The athletics program had 83 graduates in May, contributed over 2,000 hours of community service last year and won the SEC Championship in multiple sports. Byrne followed the accomplishments with one slide with five headlines on it. The room fell silent, silent except for Byrne.
“I said, “Guys, nobody is talking about that first slide because of these five headlines.”
Now, with the help of Saban, Byrne is attempting to change this narrative. He’s grateful for the legendary head coach’s help, even if he still won’t give out his personal phone number.
“I feel so fortunate, even when I get that no caller ID, that I’m working with this guy. I’m working with one of the greatest coaches of all time in any sport. I get a chance to learn from him, and it’s amazing, he listens to me,” Byrne said.