Nick Saban responds to Southern Miss coach comments on his generosity

Nick Saban is arguably one of the top college football coaches in the history of the sport, so it’s no surprise that other young coaches turn to him as a mentor.

The Alabama front man made his weekly appearance on the “Hey Coach & The Nick Saban Show” heading into the Southern Miss game, and host Eli Gold shared a great story about mentoring young coaches.

“A great tribute to you this week from Southern Miss head coach Will Hall,” Gold exclaimed. “He said he was at the University of West Alabama at Livingston when you first came to Alabama. He said ‘Coach Saban really didn’t know me from Adam’s housecat, but I called and asked for permission to just hang around, to be in the building, to talk and to watch practice.’

He said you were so accommodating. He said ‘there are obviously differences in our programs, financial and so on’, but he said ‘I try to run my program exactly the way Coach Saban does.'”

Nick Saban responds to Southern Miss coach Will Hall

Saban offered keen insight into his philosophy when it comes to mentoring other coaches in his response to Hall.

“Well, I always had a lot of respect for Will,” Saban said. “He certainly did a great job when he was at Tulane and was the offensive coordinator there. He’s doing a really good job at Southern Miss, he’s the new head coach there. But one of the things that I’ve always tried to do…some people are very paranoid in coaching about letting other people come in and visit, talk and learn. But I learned everything I know in this profession from somebody else giving me the opportunity to be able to come visit with them, spend time and be willing to share information. There’s not one thing I invented.”

It’s clear Saban understands the importance of learning from those who paved the way.

Alabama and Southern Miss will kick off at 7:30 PM ET on Saturday night.