Change was inevitable, though imperceptible. The combination of success, stability and personality strength has made Nick Saban the longest-running undisputed stateman in school football.
Whether asked about his impression of game trends, such as the ramifications of the movement portal or broader social problems, Saban has a wide reach, unprecedented in the history of school football due to the social networks that now dominate the country.
Saban also addressed social issues. The fact that he made a public interest announcement selling the effectiveness of vaccination as opposed to COVID-19 had a much greater effect on what any governor Kay Ivey could have said. He spoke in favor of Habitat for Humanity. Earlier this week, he returned to his home state of West Virginia to enroll in Senator Joe Manchin, who is incredibly influential in those days, for an awareness fundraiser about opioid addiction.
US Sen. Manchin and Nick Saban begin the game change in West Virginia WV News – WVNews247 https://t. co/hpIKLJK6Q2 pic. twitter. com/GGDf9NTTRt
Saban, who has been friends with Manchin since childhood, said the game can be anything to advance young people and said he understands that some young people don’t have the same opportunities, so he came home to help.
“But there are a lot of young people, who are talking about looking for help here today, who don’t have this opportunity to replace their lives in a positive way,” Saban said. “That’s why I’m here today, to help create opportunities. “
Saban has tried to make himself explicit over the past year while still being apolitical. The country is now taking sides in almost every one of the problems. Some people stand on both sides of the aisle like Manchin, others don’t. Saban’s help is neither public nor political. About the coronavirus factor, he has the point of view of someone who had a false positive, then had the virus and missed a football game, and also saw how his players treated him, that doesn’t mean everyone agrees. I’m not going to hide a Saban screen here, and I also think other people deserve to decide to get vaccinated. I know other people who don’t agree.
Not to mention on behalf of Saban, of course, I doubt he sees politics as a long-term political option. He spoke, spoke and made public service announcements where he thought it would help, if they were polarizing (social justice last summer). nonpartisan (who doesn’t need to fight opioid addiction?).
He is much happier in a global where he is in control, as he does with a football program, than in a political area of quarrels every day. This global, in the sense of normality that existed before March 2020, turns out to be coming. None of us, neither the football coaches, nor the sports writers, nor anyone else, can calmly retreat into a bubble that has broken. However, Saban’s time allocation will focus on in-person recruitment and physical preparation (Alabama’s Season Opening Opposite Miami will be harder than other people think).
Celebrity magnetism works either way. Saban uses it in recruitment, taking advantage of the popularity of calls among Alabama’s other advantages. But you can’t have traction in one direction.
The coach would devote a lot of time to the media explaining how a team is protected when they move from popular staff to two closed wings and no defenses. This type of consultation makes your eyes shine and disappoints researchers of 30-second sound clips that manipulate a Saban Convention press as if they were typhoon hunters in western Kansas, hoping that fury would descend.
But he has reached the point where he cannot stray from safe problems, those near his center and those who amus him.
Follow Cecil Hurt on Twitter: @cecilhurt