With SEC Media Days kicking off on Monday morning, the biggest storyline is, of course, the addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the conference and the first real media event for the schools.
Adding to the buzz, this year’s event marks the first time in 17 years that Nick Saban is not attending as the Alabama head coach but as a member of the media.
On the SEC Network’s broadcast of the event, Saban offered some strong thoughts on the Texas Longhorns and their fans believing they will simply come into the SEC and dominate right away.
“You know, what kind of tickles me is all these people asking these questions about how Texas always ran the conference they were in. They ain’t, they aren’t gonna run the SEC,” Saban said to a round of laughter from his SEC Network colleagues. “There’s a whole lot of arrogant people in a lot of places in the SEC, so you can forget about all that. They’ll be a good team and a great program, and [Steve Sarkisian] will do a great job, but that’s not gonna be a problem.”
Nick Saban from the top rope 😨
“Texas ain’t gonna run the SEC.” pic.twitter.com/OsYiLCS52R
— Touchdown Alabama (@TDAlabamaMag) July 15, 2024
Saban has always been opinionated and not afraid to speak his mind, but with no direct association to his school and no longer having to use ‘coach speak,’ fans can expect some wild soundbites from the legend.
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To Saban’s credit, he did pick the Longhorns to make the SEC Championship game in 2024 when asked to give his picks. He has made it clear from the start of his media career that there will be no pro-Alabama bias, picking Texas to face off against Georgia in the title game, citing a lack of depth in the Tide secondary.
Perhaps he simply does not want his former team to listen to any ‘rat poison’ now that he is the one delivering it.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
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