Nick Saban: 'I don't know what's more fun than winning'

The only thing Nick Saban has ever known since taking over as head coach at Alabama is winning. Over the last 16 seasons, college football’s standard has ran through Tuscaloosa — but the tides have begun to shift over the past few seasons.

Saban wants nothing more than to get back to Alabama’s championship ways, and he’s pushing his players this preseason to strive for another College Football Playoff National Championship in 2023.

“I think that everyone wants to have fun, but I don’t know what’s more fun than winning,” Saban said after Saturday’s scrimmage. “And I know that if you don’t win, it’s not very much fun. And there’s a price to pay for winning, there’s a price to pay to be a leader and we heard that on The Last Dance from Michael Jordan.

“I think that’s probably true with our team or any other team so hopefully we’ll continue to work in that direction, but the execution was a lot better today. We still have a lot of things that we can improve on in just about every position, and we’re going to keep on doing that so that we get these guys ready for the first game.” 

Alabama has undergone some major turnover on both sides of the ball. Losing their identities in QB Bryce Young and LB Will Anderson to the NFL Draft, Saban is calling on everyone on his roster to step up and grab the proverbial brass ring.

Historically, roster turnover has never hindered the Crimson Tide in the past. Saban mass produces five-star recruits on a yearly basis as if he’s trying to meet a quota. That talent fills the roster to the point where when one guy leaves, there’s already another behind him that has been groomed for the past year or two for that exact moment. It’s a never-ending cycle, and has always worked in Saban’s favor.

“You’ve got to have an honest conversation with yourself about what you need to do to continue to improve and do the little things right to give yourself the best chance to be the best player you can be, and it’s going to give us the best chance to have a chance to be successful,” Saban said.

Only time will tell if this year’s team is the squad that will dethrone Georgia and take the Tide back to its championship ways. They’ll begin that effort when their season kicks off on Sept. 2 against Middle Tennessee State, though Week Two will be very telling as the No. 4 Crimson Tide take on No. 11 Texas.