It looks like Nick Saban is going to have his hands full even after retiring from his profession. He still makes his presence known at ESPN’s College Gameday. But, as Donald Trump’s executive order implementing regulations for NILs gains speed, Saban is gearing up to assume an important role in this move. Pat McAfee, who shares a fun relationship with the veteran coach, opened up about what he felt about the scenario. It’s not going to be an easy task for the former HC, if he does step into this entirely new and messy arena.
Pat McAfee and Nick Saban strike as an unlikely duo. McAfee is a fairly new face in CFB media, beginning his broadcasting career after he retired from the NFL in 2016. Saban, 73, started featuring alongside the analyst after he retired from his legendary coaching career at Alabama. Despite the huge gap in their ages and experiences, the two have formed a close bond. “You’ve made it easier for me, though,” Saban remarked warmly about his fellow presenter last year. “Sitting by you makes it easier for me. Because I’m less anxious because you are very aggressive in whatever we’re talking about or whatever we’re doing,” he added.
McAfee, also, however, also knows to respect this unique relationship by taking a step back. He shared his thoughts on Saban being named co-chair of the Presidential Committee overseeing college sports on his show. While everyone was keen to follow this development, the presenter allowed Saban some space. McAfee said, “I’ve not been able to, you know, kind of and have chose not to reach out to him. He’s got a lot going on, I assume, in his life.” It might be unexpected, given how close they have grown, but it just shows that McAfee holds Saban in high regards. He also didn’t shy away from his praise of the coach. “I don’t know if that’s official, but if this was to happen, this thing, there’d be no better than this guy,” McAfee noted.
“That dude’s special. Coach Saban is a special, special person. That’s why the rumors that are coming out about him potentially being a part of it,” McAfee highlighted. The analyst also noted the effort and time he put into Alabama, and his ability to read people, are all other qualities that make Saban such a versatile individual. The move for government involvement in college football hastened amidst the Nico Iamaleava fiasco, which has become a milestone in the case now.
The Committee in question will “address issues impacting the changing landscape of college athletics,” according to Rob Dellenger of Yahoo. A particular issue the committee will observe is the transfer portal and recruitment, which has become the talking point of college football. There’s Bryce Underwood, who will finish his CFB career with $12 million in the bank. And he’s yet to take a snap for Michigan. Then there’s Carson Beck, the other prominent figure in the subject of NILs influencing transfers. Regulations are needed, sure. But there’s only so much Saban and this committee can do, warned McAfee.
McAfee Lays Down a Tough Road Ahead for Nick Saban’s New Role
McAfee implied that it’s easier to regulate college football operations on paper, compared to reality. There are a slew of processes that will have to be undertaken. Pete Thamel said the committee can’t just gather and say, ‘This is what we’re doing.’ To that, McAfee added, “This is what we’re doing’ is going to be a hard thing to get to, too. Like, what’s the right answer? You’re figuring out the right answer, and getting everybody that’s on said commission to believe that that’s the right answer.”
And there’s more to follow. “If you think that’s the right answer, getting everybody to approve their portion of the right answer, which is going to involve a lot of money, a lot of people, [and] a lot of, I assume, lawyers,” McAfee noted. This job isn’t going to be easy, he warned. “That is a full-time thing,” the analyst said. That’s simply because of the heaps of issues in CFB management that need solutions. Recruitment alone will be a difficult slope to conquer.
Nick Saban will not just have his hands and plate full if he becomes the co-chair of this committee. He will be thrust into an extremely intricate web of systems, which is the underbelly of college sports. And it’s not easy to navigate through it. However, if there is one man who can attempt to bring change, it will be Nick Saban. That man has been at the forefront of how college football has taken its current shape, and knows it better than anyone else.
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