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HOOVER, Ala. — Those iconic tirades Alabama head coach Nick Saban directs at officials during games will soon have more of a consequence. SEC coordinator of officials Steve Shaw announced a new rule Tuesday which states officials now have the power to enforce an immediate 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty if a coach enters the field of play to question or protest a decision.
“That will be a pretty big change, but I think our hope is our coaches adjust, and it becomes a non-issue,” Shaw told reporters at SEC Media Days. “... We still have a sideline warning if they're crowding the sideline or the team is out of the team area. We still have a sideline warning. It's a warning, a 5-yard, a 5-yard then a 15-yard penalty. This other you can go to immediately if they come out to protest an officiating decision, but we still have the other warning process.”
Related: SEC Media Days Coverage
How the new ruling will affect Alabama’s often hot-tempered head coach is yet to be seen. However, Saban seemed willing to cooperate under the new guidelines when questioned about the topic Wednesday.
“I hope that this is not a circumstance or situation that affects a game in the fall because it is pretty restrictive,” Saban said. “But it is what it is, it’s the same for everybody. We’re going to do the best we can to manage it.”
Video: Saban speaks at SEC Media Days
Saban said Shaw demonstrated plenty of examples of when coaches came onto the field to argue, particularly instances where they went all the way out to the hash marks to dispute calls. Saban said he agreed with Shaw that those cases were unacceptable and the coaches in those situations should have been penalized.
One change to the rule will now be that coaches will now receive a flag the first time they step on the field instead of just a verbal warning.
“I think if those coaches were penalized and we didn’t have that kind of tolerance to that kind of behavior, maybe we wouldn’t need a rule like this that is really sort of a sledgehammer,” Saban said.
Of course, Saban will still be allowed to throw his trademark tantrums, he’ll just have to do so on the from the sidelines. Shaw said as long as coaches “stay in the white... they'll be given all of the latitude that they've gotten over all these years.”
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Several coaches have taken great measures to ensure they don’t get too carried away during tense moments. Both Saban and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, who served as an assistant coach at Alabama from 2007-2015, have “get-back” coaches charged with reining him in by the belt if he ventures out on the field.
“We’ve always had a get back coach,” Saban said before breaking into a smile. “We think we need more than one.”
All jokes aside, Saban took time to state his respect for the officials, reiterating that he will do his best to make sure not to add any more difficulty to their jobs.
“They try to do a great job of managing us as coaches on the sidelines , which can be difficult at times, especially with the emotion that goes into a game and the intensity that we all have.” Saban said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for the way those guys have treated me in the past, and I’m hopeful that I can be respectful enough of them not to ever put them in a position or for any of our coaches to put them in a position where they have to penalize us for not being able to behave properly on the sidelines.”
