The latest sports news surrounding the NCAA has mostly been in relation to the transfer portal or NIL deals, and those stories are only going to get bigger. Most of the focus has been on the impact of college basketball, but that’s going to change after recent comments from prominent head coaches.
University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher have been going back and forth with pretty heated comments in the media. There has always been a pretty clear rivalry between the former coworkers, but things have now been ramped up.
The Rivalry
The Alabama Crimson Tide is the class of college football, and Saban has been able to build up a dynasty with that program. Saban has been able to put together the best recruiting class seemingly every season, but that could be changing with the new rules that are in place.
During an event with business leaders in Alabama, Saban commented that A&M bought every single one of their incoming recruits, and a number of them came from the transfer portal. Saban noted that the new NIL rules made this a possibility, and he clearly believes that it’s bad for college football.
A&M wasn’t the only school that Saban called out when speaking to the business owners about recent NIL deals. Saban also mentioned Jackson State and head coach Deion Sanders as taking advantage of the new rules to help buy players to their school sports news.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin also called out Texas A&M and their recruiting practices of late, but Saban is a much bigger name in the sport of college football. Saban did make it clear that his players are also benefiting from the new rules surrounding NIL, but that he has not used that as a recruiting tool.
Alabama had the number two recruiting class a season ago, and Texas A&M was at the top of the list. The Crimson Tide head coach has openly wondered if he will also have to change his ways and begin buying players in an effort to keep up.
Other coaches have put blame on the NCAA for creating this new mess, but Saban has made it clear that he doesn’t believe that the NCAA is at fault. Many states have passed new laws pertaining to NIL, and the NCAA no longer has a clear policy.
Fisher Throws Shade at Saban
It didn’t take long for Nick Saban’s comments to get back to Jimbo Fisher, and the Texas A&M head coach also didn’t take long to respond. When Fisher was finally in a position to speak to reporters, he took some serious shots at his former boss sports news.
“Despicable” was a word that continued to pop up as Fisher spoke to reporters at a news conference, and he made it clear that A&M didn’t buy any of its players. Texas A&M has some serious moments in the SEC and throughout college football, and Fisher is upset that he has to defend his work.
The upcoming recruiting class for Texas A&M includes 20 different players that are ranked inside of the top 150. Fisher made it clear that the only reason that Saban was complaining is due to the fact that Alabama is no longer on top.
After defending his own program in the media session, Fisher then started to personally attack Saban and his character, although a name was not used. Fisher worked under Saban from 2000 through 2004 at LSU, but it’s clear that these men are no longer friends.
Saban Walks it Back
After hearing the backlash from Fisher regarding his comments, Saban walked back his comments, but not his overall stance. Saban noted that he was wrong for singling out those two programs, but he also believes that the process of recruiting has been changed for the worse.
The Hall of Fame coach actually went as far as saying that he misused the term, “bought,” but is still not in agreement with how the Aggies put together their recruiting class. These two teams are set to meet up on Saturday, October 8 at Alabama.