Nick Saban Is a Winner Without Peer, But His Classiest Moment Might’ve Come in Defeat

With legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban retiring on Wednesday, the college football world has spent every minute since reminiscing about some of the coach’s most legendary moments. One of the most telling, however, came in defeat. 

Fans were quick to remember the heartwarming moment when, after his team’s College Football Playoff championship loss to Georgia in January 2022, he stopped his players from leaving the postgame press conference. 

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With quarterback Bryce Young on his right and edge rusher Will Anderson on his left, both star players were dismissed to the locker room during the somber affair, but Saban didn’t let them leave without giving them with a message. 

“These two guys that are sitting up here: they’re not defined by one game,” Saban told reporters. “These guys played great for us all year, they’re great competitors, they were great leaders on this team and they contributed tremendously to the success of this team, and we would not be here without ’em.” 

He finished the tender message by letting everyone know how proud he was of them. Both Young and Anderson would go on to become first-round NFL draft picks.