Highlights from Nick Saban's appearances on ESPN's 'Car Wash'

With Alabama set to open its fall camp next week, Nick Saban took time from his hectic schedule Thursday to participate in ESPN’s media merry-go-round known as its “Car Wash.” The Crimson Tide head coach was live in studio in Bristol, Conn., where he was passed around to several of the network’s shows, making appearances on First Take, SportsCenter, NFL Live, The Stephen A. Smith Show, College Football Live and The Paul Finebaum Show.

Here are some highlights of what Saban had to say on the day.

Try Us Out! 30-Days Free on Us!

The first question Saban was asked during his appearance on First Take was what he took away from Alabama's 44-16 loss to Clemson during last season's national championship game.

Saban: “I think we played against a very good team that made a lot of plays in the game. They certainly deserved to win the game and outplayed us, but I think there were a lot of things that we weren’t doing that really caught up with us when we played a very, very good team like Clemson. I don’t think we were practicing well. I think our preparation wasn’t as good. We lost some of our discipline in terms of our ability to execute. Accountability wasn’t the same for everybody to do their job at a high level. It led to some negative plays, and we gave up some big plays.

"We didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that we had late in the season. We won a couple of games against Oklahoma and Georgia where I wasn’t satisfied with the way we played. When you win, players don’t always respond the way you’d like for them to. It’s obviously my responsibility to get them to respond the way you want them to. I think we all learned a lot from that game, and I think we have a lot to prove going into this season.”

Saban was then asked when he started to notice his team beginning to stray from its patented process-oriented approach.

Saban: “I thought from the LSU game, I thought we played our best football in the LSU game. They were a very good team, and we went down there in a tough environment and played a really, really good game. From that point on, it just seemed like the attention in detail, the way we practiced, the leadership on the team just wasn’t the same for whatever reason. I was trying to put my finger on it, but it’s obviously my responsibility to do a better job to keep our team on their toes so that we can improve and play our best when our best is needed which is obviously in the playoff and the end of the season."

First Take host Molly Qerim figured she'd have a little fun with Saban, asking the coach to say the first thing that popped into his mind when he thinks of former players. While Saban participated, the prompt didn't necessarily go as planned.

Saban on Julio Jones: Great competitor.

Saban on Derrick Henry: Another great competitor. You know that’s the first thing I think of when you give me these word associations of guys who were great players, who were productive. Julio Jones was probably the best teammate, the best competitor, the hardest worker. And Derrick Henry was the same way. I mean, the guy won a Heisman Trophy. But the thing I hold in the highest esteem for players that play on our team is the guys that are great competitors. But it’s a combination of all the things that I just talked about. So when you ask about these guys, that’s going to be the first thing that comes to mind because I have that kind of respect from those guys as competitors and as people."

Despite Saban’s similar responses, Qerim refused to give up, asking the coach to continue with two more former players. Things went about as well as you’d expect.

Saban on Amari Cooper: That guy’s a great competitor, but he’s also skilled and had great ability to make explosive plays, probably as good as anybody I’ve ever seen.

Saban on Marcus Spears: Great competitor.

Spears, who played defensive line under Saban at LSU from 2001-04, was a part of the show, filling in for Stephen A. Smith. Saban went on to describe how Spears will always hold a special place in his heart for coming to LSU when it wasn’t necessarily in vogue.

Spears then asked Saban what he thought would have happened if he would have landed quarterback Drew Brees while coaching the Miami Dolphins. After dressing down his former player for asking a hypothetical question, the coach had some nice words for the New Orleans Saints quarterback.

You can probably guess the first words out of his mouth.

“I will say this,” Saban said, “Drew Brees is a great competitor, too.”

Earlier this week, ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit said that Saban would make a great addition to the set of College GameDay whenever the head coach elects to hang up the whistle. During an appearance on SportsCenter, Saban was asked for his thoughts on the matter.

Saban: “I’ve done it a couple of times, and I actually did enjoy it, I liked it. It was still a little bit like being a part of a team. And I think that I really enjoyed the opportunity to be able to express some technical aspects of the game to the fans that may enhance their interest to some degree. And it’s a really good bunch of guys on GameDay that I really, really enjoy being around.”

While Saban might consider a role as a television analyst after his coaching days are over, he's not ready to move on from the Crimson Tide any time soon. He said as much earlier in the segment when describing his recovery from hip replacement surgery this offseason.

Saban: "The one thing I realized from that is I don’t want to be inactive. I want to stay busy. I want to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m shaking my leg all the time, getting ready for the next thing. So, that was a good lesson for me that you’re not ready for that.”

Saban has coached 34 first-round picks, the most of any head coach in the common draft era. When asked about that success during an appearance on NFL Live he modestly delivered one of the understatements of the year.

Saban: “I think I’ve kind of proven over time that I can coach the good players to play good. I think we’ve been very fortunate. We try to do a good job of creating value for players in terms of personal development, making sure they graduate and develop careers off the field. We make them the best football players they can be, try to develop them so that they have a chance to have a career as a football player. That’s something we’ve done fairly well throughout the years, and a lot of players have benefited from it.”

Saban was also asked about quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has a chance to become the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft. The head coach was asked how he will help the Heisman finalist handle the hype this season.

“Tua plays the best when he gives what the defense gives him. I think any quarterback wants to make plays, and I think we have some outstanding receivers who can make plays. So the instinct is, ‘let me get them the ball and let them make a play.’ But you’ve got to take what the defense gives you. You cannot try to force things, aight, because when you try to force things at quarterback, to me, that’s when bad things happen. That’s when you throw interceptions. That’s when you don’t take care of the ball. That hurts the team. When Tua has done the first part of that the right way, he’s phenomenal. And he’s phenomenal most of the time because he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.”

Alabama experienced its second coaching shakeup in as many years as the Crimson Tide welcomed seven new assistants to Tuscaloosa, Ala., this offseason. Saban provided an update on how the staff is gelling heading into fall camp.

Saban: “I think the staff is really doing well. I like the guys. I think it’s important that you get character people who have the ability to communicate and develop relationships with the players as well as very knowledgeable, smart people who fit in well with each other as part of the team. I think this group of coaches that we have has done that really well.”

Saban's disdain for hypotheticals is well known. However, he brought up a juicy what-if question when describing how he got into coaching. Saban often tells the story of how legendary head coach Don James convinced him to get into coaching following his graduation at Kent State. However, in case you haven't heard it, here's how he described the conversation to Will Cain during an appearance on The Stephen A. Smith Show.

Saban: “I never wanted to be a coach when I graduated college. I always wanted to be a general manager of a car dealership. My wife had another year of school, and Don James asked me to be a graduate assistant. I said, ‘I don’t want to go to graduate school, and I don’t want to be a coach, so why would I do either one of those?’ He talked me into it and said, ‘Your wife’s got another year of school. You can’t really take a job. You can’t really go anywhere else.’ So I did it. I loved it. I’ve been doing it ever since.”

One of the most creative questions Saban faced on the day came from Cain who asked who the head coach would choose for a dinner party if he could select three leaders throughout history.

Saban: “I think Winston Churchill certainly would be one. I think (Franklin Delano) Roosevelt was one of the best leaders we had through a depression, a world war, a lot of different issues here. John F. Kennedy was a great leader. There’s been a lot of great leaders in our profession, but I don’t think the significance of what they lead and what they do and the consequence of what they do compares to some of the things that great leaders in the world have done to either keep us all safe or make the world a better place."

Saban concluded the day by making a stop on College Football Live. His first question from Maria Taylor was '"What's harder, coaching a national championship team or nursing yourself back to health after hip surgery?"

Saban: “Well, one is much more difficult because it involves so many people. When you’re trying to coach a team you have so many roles, so many parts, so many personalities. How do people sort of buy into their role? How do they buy into the principles and values of the organization that are going to help them be successful? You know, when you’re recovering from hip surgery, it’s just a personal do your therapy every day, go for it, do what you’re supposed to do and trust in the people who are going to help you get where you need to get to get back to normal."

With Alabama’s fall camp right around the corner, Saban was asked to describe what this time of year is like for his team. Alabama players are set to report next Thursday before hitting the practice field for the first time the next day.

Saban: “Now everybody has to realize the real thing is starting. Now everything has consequences, everything that you do. If you made a mistake in spring practice, it was just to learn from. But now when you make a mistake, it could have significant consequences. So players have to be ready to take the next step when it comes to mental energy, intensity, sense of urgency and those types of things to be disciplined players and accountable to do their job.”

Contact Andrew Bone for all of your real estate needs; buyers, sellers, investors, developers. Property management; BoneHomeTours.com Call 205-531-5577 or click here

Talk with thousands of Alabama fans inside the Talk of Champions Forum