Nick Saban has had enough of entitled and “self-absorbed” Alabama fans.
The 70-year-old Saban — who has won seven national titles, including six with the Crimson Tide — ripped into Alabama fans whom he believes are spoiled by the program’s consistent success.
“We’re going to get everybody’s best game,” Saban said on his “Nick Saban Show” on Wednesday in a pre-Thanksgiving rant. “And I don’t know why people can’t understand that. You can say it’s not fair to our players to get everybody’s best game, but they do. They have to be able to compete through that and play over that.”
Saban, who has led Alabama to a 10-1 record (6-1 in the SEC West), also said his fan base doesn’t enjoy victories anymore.
“When I came here, everybody was happy to win a game. All right, now, we’re not happy to win a game anymore,” Saban said, whose team faces Auburn on Saturday before an SEC title game showdown versus No. 1 Georgia on Dec. 4. “We’re not happy to win a game anymore at all. I mean, we think we should win games by whatever, and I don’t think that’s fair to the players either.
“Our players work their butt off to be the best that they can be, and to get criticized for what they work hard to do, so that you can be entertained. So, you can have joy, pride and passion for what they do.”
Many of Saban’s players have turned pro, but the frustrated coach said they still are just college athletes, who can now profit of their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), but aren’t paid by their schools.
“I mean, come on. Give me a break. This is not professional football,” Saban said. “These guys aren’t getting paid to play here. They’re representing you all. You should be proud and happy to support them and appreciate what they do and have some gratitude. Nobody wants to win worse than they do.
“So, for all of you self-absorbed folks out there that can’t look past your own self to appreciate what other people are doing.”