Nick Saban: 'I take a bath in the lake every day'
VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. — Snakes? Snapping turtles? You kidding me?
There are 86 more days until Alabama’s season opener against Louisville, and head coach Nick Saban has plenty to worry about until then. He’s got a quarterback battle to sort out, an entire secondary to replace and a slew of freshmen to develop. Those are the things that go through the head coach’s mind during the dog days of summer.
Although, when it comes to his favorite hangout, nothing comes in the way of relaxation.
“I love the lake,” Saban said at his annual Nick’s Kids Golf Tournament on Thursday. “I swim in the lake, take a bath in the lake every day. Everybody kills me over that. People don’t take baths in the lake. I try to have Ivory soap so it floats, you know? Miss Terry doesn’t, but I like that.”
Saban was then asked if he ever had any apprehension due to snakes. After a brief hesitation, the head coach reminded reporters of his country upbringing.
“Are you kidding me?” Saban said. “I grew up in West Virginia. If you worry about snakes, you can’t do anything.”
How about snapping turtles?
“No, I don’t worry about them either,” Saban said with a smile.
On top of his daily baths, Saban has made headlines out on Lake Tuscaloosa this summer. Last week, he invited some of the Crimson Tide’s team leaders out for a spin on his new boat only to have it stall out away from shore.
A video of the incident immediately went viral with most figuring Saban ran out of gas. Thursday, the head coach reiterated he wasn’t at fault for the mishap.
“It was the fuel pump,” Saban said. “It’s a brand-new boat, first time in it. But this is amazing that everybody I talked to -- friends in Michigan, people in California, everybody in the world thinks I ran out of gas. So, I thank you all for that.”
That hasn’t stopped friends from poking fun when they can. Although, it hasn’t been all bad. In fact, Saban said he received some assurance in case he ever gets stranded in the water in the future.
“I think the best one I got was I got a text from some players at the Naval Academy who had the largest battleship in the Navy," Saban said. "It says, ‘Coach, we’ve got your back. We’ll come pick you up anytime you need us.’”
All jokes aside, Saban spent Thursday teeing it up at Old Overton Club for his 12th annual Nick’s Kids Golf Tournament. The tournament, led by Saban, his wife Terry and other members of Alabama’s coaching staff, helped raise funds for various charity projects.
After braving the 91-degree heat, it’s safe to assume Saban will be making another dip in Lake Tuscaloosa later in the day.