WATCH: Peyton Manning takes subtle shot at Nick Saban over rebuilding comments

Peyton Manning had plenty of jokes up his sleeve for the first Manningcast of the season Monday night, including one about Alabama coach Nick Saban. After Seattle escaped with a 17-16 victory over Denver, Manning made a comment about whether or not the Seahawks are rebuilding and worked in a quip about Saban at the end.

“Everybody says they’re rebuilding,” Manning said of Seattle. “Pete Carrol says they’re not rebuilding. Of course, Nick Saban didn’t say they were rebuilding until after they lost the national championship.”

Peyton Manning: Of course Nick Saban didn’t say they were rebuilding until after the National Championship. pic.twitter.com/eFBRjzB6pY

— Andrew Hall (@DudeYouCrazy) September 13, 2022

With that statement, Peyton Manning was referencing something Nick Saban said this offseason about the Crimson Tide. The coach declared 2021 to be a “rebuilding” year for Alabama, despite the fact that the team finished as the runner-up after falling to Georgia in the national title game. The Crimson Tide also had last year’s Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Bryce Young.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Many were puzzled by the coach’s comments, but expectations are much higher in Tuscaloosa than anywhere else in the country. Since Saban took over in 2007, he has led the team to six national championship victories in nine appearances. So far this season, he has the Crimson Tide off to a 2-0 start after escaping with a 20-19 victory against Texas in Austin this weekend.

Nick Saban defends comments about 2021 being ‘rebuilding’ year

With criticism of the comments coming from all corners of college football, Saban defended his comments, following up on the discussion when asked during a press conference last month.

“I don’t understand what’s so hard to understand,” Saban said. “We were young, and [this year], we should have nine starters back on offense and nine starters back on defense. That’s the point I was trying to make … So – as we usually have to do – we have lots of rebuilding to do again this season. That’s the point that I was trying to make.

“I don’t think our standard is like everybody else’s standard, but when you have a lot of young players playing, you’re actually trying to rebuild so those guys get the kind of experience you need so they can play at the level you need to play.”

On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report.