Nick Saban Speaks On Criticism and Fans
Alabama head coach, Nick Saban, appeared on Hey Coach on Thursday night and received an interesting fan question during the show. Saban was asked about “reverse rat poison” and the team’s response to all of the criticism after the loss to Tennessee.
“Well you know I try to tell the players, I never read or listen to what’s written when things are good and I don’t read or listen to things when things are bad,” said Saban. “I think we all have to do a little self-analysis about ‘what do we need to do, to do things better?’ And somebody else really doesn't know that any better than we do as coaches or even the players themselves.”
Saban also talked about the fans in his response.
“I also think fans should support players. We’re not in the entertainment business totally. These guys are college students. They’re college athletes that are going to school to get an education,” said Saban. “They’re doing the best they can to be the best they can be. They work their tail off. They do it all summer long, they do it in winter conditioning, they did it in fall camp.”
The head coach believes the fans should have more appreciation for the hard work these players put in.
“I don’t really think anybody really has any sense of appreciation for how hard these guys work and how hard they try to go out there and have success,” said Saban. “If you have any appreciation for that, maybe you should be supporting the team and being a good fan and not being somebody out there that’s just looking for something to hate about whatever happens.”
Saban mentioned the players’ feelings after the Tennessee game and how that can be used as motivation going forward.
“I think the players were humiliated after the game before they read anything anybody had to say about them,” said Saban. “I think that’s basically who you are, what kind of competitor you are, and sometimes when you are a competitor you actually play better when you’re angry… being a little bit angry, wanting to try to prove something. I don’t think that’s a bad motivator.”
Alabama will look to rebuild and use that mindset on Saturday against Mississippi State and for the rest of the season.