Alabama Crimson Tide Football

Nick Saban isn't feeding his former team any rat poison.

The former Alabama head coach recently picked Georgia and Texas to play in the SEC title game, and he explained his decision on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday.

It's kind of reverse rat poison. I always hated it, and I'm going to hate it on this show, I might as well say it, on this show or any show or (College) GameDay," Saban said (3:53 mark). "Having to predict and make hypothetical decisions about who's going to win a game, who's going to win a championship, who's going to win what conference. I've always hated that. So I picked Georgia and Texas, because it's reverse rat poison for Alabama. It's a motivating factor for them not to get picked, because I hated to get picked first or second because you don't know how that's going to impact your team psychologically.

Saban, who retired following the end of the 2023 season, constantly preached about not taking the "rat poison" that was preseason hype around his Alabama teams. The legendary coach believed that if his team listened too much to what people were saying about his team, they could let it go to their heads and not perform to the best of their abilities.

That mindset of ignoring the outside noise worked well for Saban and the Crimson Tide, as Alabama won six national championships during his tenure.

Now that he's not on the sideline, Saban is hoping his players will remember his message to avoid the "rat poison" and focus on winning games.

Alabama will begin its first season without Saban on the sideline since 2006 when it takes on Western Kentucky on Aug. 31.

Five-star running back Akylin Dear committed to Alabama on Tuesday, according to On3's Hayes Fawcett.

BREAKING: Elite 2025 RB Akylin Dear has Committed to Alabama, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’0 210 RB from Quitman, MS chose the Crimson Tide over Ole Miss & Mississippi State

“I mean who wouldn’t 🤷🏾‍♂️ RTR 🐘”https://t.co/QVzLbPtTwM pic.twitter.com/lt2hzdVq7H

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) August 20, 2024

Dear, who was choosing between the Crimson Tide, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, is the No. 2 running back and No. 31 overall player in 247Sports' composite rankings.

"The Quitman High School standout displays good patience and vision at the line of scrimmage while demonstrating the short area burst and explosiveness to change gears from the first to second level to create separation between the tackles," 247Sports' Cooper Petagna wrote in his scouting report.

"An efficient mover that can make defenders miss with his one cut elusiveness or contact balance, Dear excels finding hidden yardage and accounting for yards after contact utilizing his powerful lower half."

Dear originally committed to Ole Miss before reopening his recruitment in June. That followed three other decommitments for the Rebels.

Nick Saban's retirement raised major questions about the future of Alabama football. In Kalen DeBoer, the school found a coach who delivered quick results at each of his first two stops but hadn't yet encountered the kind of challenges he'd face in Tuscaloosa.

Recruiting was one such facet. Washington was 26th in 247Sports' composite team rankings in 2023, which proved to be DeBoer's only full recruiting cycle in Seattle. That kind of return won't cut it at Alabama.

So far, the first-year head coach is showing he can maintain the incredibly high standards Saban set. The Tide are second in 247Sports' composite rankings, and Dear is their sixth 5-star commitment. He's also the second running back in the group, joining 4-star recruit Anthony Rogers.

Alabama general manager Courtney Morgan has agreed to a historic contract extension to remain in his role with the program after receiving interest from USC.

Per ESPN's Eli Lederman, Morgan will be the highest-paid front office figure in college football under his new three-year deal that averages $825,000 annually.

Morgan's contract comes after ESPN's Jake Trotter reported on Aug. 1 that Texas Tech and James Blanchard agreed to a two-year deal worth $800,000 total that was believed to make him one of the highest-paid general managers in college football.

Matt Zenitz of 247Sports first reported details of Morgan's contract, adding that he had been pursued by USC for a football president role.

Morgan spent the past two seasons working as director of player personnel and general manager at Washington with head coach Kalen DeBoer.

After DeBoer was hired by the Crimson Tide to replace Nick Saban, Morgan was the first official hire by the new head coach when he joined the program on Feb. 23.

"Courtney is such an important part of our program," DeBoer said at the time of Morgan's hiring. "He has great relationships across the country and is an essential part of helping us recruit and evaluate talent both at the high school level and in the transfer portal. Courtney is an important pillar in what we are trying to accomplish at Alabama, and I am very excited to be able to bring him to Tuscaloosa."

Morgan's tasks as general manager include managing Alabama's roster, along with overseeing and directing daily operations of the personnel and recruiting departments.

Lederman noted Morgan's original contract with Alabama paid him $500,000 annually, but USC attempted to hire him "to a similar personnel position" earlier this summer.

ESPN's Alex Scarborough noted in July 2021 that director of player personnel has become a crucial role within athletic departments following the adoption of name, image and likeness rules in college football.

Prior to his work at Alabama and Washington, Morgan was UCLA's director of player development in 2013 and 2014. He also worked at Fresno State when DeBoer was the program's head coach from 2020 to '21.

After creating championship belts featuring the logos of NFL and MLB teams, WWE is now entering the collegiate ranks.

ESPN's Pete Thamel first reported the news Friday and posted a photo of an Alabama belt produced by WWE:

The WWE is set to unveil branded title belts for a number of top college programs, including Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame and LSU. The WWE’s collegiate legacy title belts are in line with what they’ve done in the NFL and MLB. pic.twitter.com/nLuTlT4Y5j

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 16, 2024

Thamel added that WWE has the rights to produce belts for the following 20 schools: Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, LSU, Colorado, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Penn State, North Carolina, Michigan State, Nebraska, Florida State, Florida, Tennessee, Miami, Oregon and Kentucky.

WWE has long sent custom championship belts to teams after they win major championships in pro and college sports, and that included former WWE Superstar and current ambassador Titus O'Neil hand-delivering a belt to the Michigan Wolverines after they beat the Washington Huskies in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game to cap the 2023 season:

The company previously did so after teams won the Super Bowl and World Series, which was seemingly the inspiration behind WWE selling NFL and MLB titles on its website.

The belts, which are sold on WWE Shop, Fanatics, NFL Shop and MLB Shop, sell for $549.99 each, and they are the ultimate piece of merchandise for football and baseball fans.

Just ahead of the upcoming season, WWE and the NFL are announcing the launch of NFL legacy title belts for all 32 teams. pic.twitter.com/qe16zIdgzO

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 28, 2023

MLB Legacy Titles are here! Kickoff the 2024 season with these NEW MLB Legacy Titles! Shop your favorite team today! #WWEShop #WWE #MLB 🛒: https://t.co/2HopoBUBOv pic.twitter.com/nHEg8r7VmN

— WWEShop.com (@WWEShop) March 19, 2024

All 30 MLB teams and 31 of the 32 NFL teams have WWE belts for sale. The lone exception is the Jacksonville Jaguars since Jags owner Shahid Khan and his son, Tony Khan, own rival promotion AEW.

While there are hundreds of colleges and universities that compete at a high level in multiple sports, including football and basketball, WWE is honing in on many of the most popular schools to start.

Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, LSU and Florida State have all won national titles in football since 2013, while Kentucky and North Carolina won national titles in basketball in 2012 and 2017, respectively, and are considered two of the blue-blood programs in college basketball.

Some notable schools are missing, including two-time defending basketball national champions UConn, and other recent national champs in basketball, including Kansas, Baylor, Virginia and Villanova.

On the football side, Clemson and Auburn are among the biggest programs that aren't going to have belts produced by WWE out of the gates.

It seems likely that one of the hottest sellers for WWE initially will be Colorado championship belts due to the hype surrounding the Buffaloes' football team.

Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders arrived in Boulder last season as head coach, and he brought some elite talent with him, including his son, Shedeur Sanders, at quarterback, and two-way superstar Travis Hunter.

After a 3-0 start, things went off the rails for Colorado last season, and it ended up with a 4-8 record. However, with Sanders having another year under his belt to bring in his handpicked players, there is hope for the Buffs to take another leap forward and become bowl eligible in 2024.

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Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe's viral motto became the rallying cry for the Crimson Tide, and the team is now using it as the basis for a new documentary.

Alabama announced on Monday that it will premiere its "LANK" documentary this Friday, based on Milroe's "Let A Naysayer Know" saying.

Let
All
Naysayers
Know 👆 pic.twitter.com/opIdEUHxGO

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) July 29, 2024

L🅰️NK. The Documentary

Premieres this Friday! #RollTide pic.twitter.com/yrDOLv2xC6

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) July 29, 2024

Former head coach Nick Saban will be among those featured in the documentary. Saban stepped down from his position at the end of last season following 17 years at the helm and six national championships.

Alabama used the motto as motivation to bounce back from an early loss to Texas last season and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff after beating Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. Milroe also launched NIL-branded apparel with the phrase.

The Crimson Tide replaced Saban with former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer. Milroe and company will be driven to prove their doubters wrong once again as Alabama chases another CFP berth.

The field at Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium has been named after legendary former football head coach Nick Saban.

Alabama's board of trustees and committee officially approved the honor, meaning the Crimson Tide will play on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. ESPN's Chris Low first reported the news on Thursday.

Join us as we honor legendary head coach Nick Saban with the dedication of Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 7!#RollTidepic.twitter.com/tSyfy5II0P

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) July 19, 2024

A ceremony honoring Saban will be held on Sept. 7 as the Crimson Tide face off against South Florida.

Saban retired on Jan. 10 after spending 17 seasons at Alabama, winning six national championships with the school.

Saban has been recognized for his sustained success with the Crimson Tide before, as the school built a statue of him in 2011. The 72-year-old also confirmed that he would stay in Tuscaloosa and still have an office in the stadium during a Jan. 11 interview with ESPN's Rece Davis (9:00 mark).

Saban won 201 games with Alabama, earning 13 SEC championships. This included an impressive victory over Georgia in the 2023 title game, ending the Bulldogs' unbeaten streak and securing a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Saban likely won't be able to spend much time in his office during the 2024 season, as ESPN announced on Feb. 7 that he'll be joining College GameDay as an analyst.

Meanwhile, new head coach Kalen DeBoer will attempt to navigate through his first year with the Crimson Tide after he was hired as Saban's replacement on Jan. 12. Alabama should remain one of the SEC's powerhouses next season, as the school earned the No. 2 2024 recruiting class in the nation (per 247Sports).

As Saban transitions to his career as an analyst, he'll be returning to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sep. 7 as the school reportedly honors his coaching accolades with a new field name.

Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Booker used Nick Saban's own words to shade his former coach for predicting the Crimson Tide won't play in the SEC Championship Game this season.

Speaking to reporters at SEC media days, Booker addressed Saban's forecast for the 2024 campaign.

"He always used to say, 'Don't let some guy that lives in their mom's basement determine how you feel.' So I'm not gonna let some guy who plays golf all day determine how I feel," Booker said.

Now an analyst for ESPN, Saban appeared on Monday's episode of SEC Now and predicted Georgia will play Texas for the SEC title in December.

Saban did make sure to point out that Alabama is capable of getting to Atlanta if it can overcome some question marks in the secondary.

"I really like Texas," Saban said (h/t Kipp Adams of 247Sports). "I think Georgia's got a really good team, but I believe in our Alabama team, too. I believe in Jalen Milroe. I just think the question marks in the secondary... until those get resolved, it's hard to sort of jump on that bandwagon."

The Crimson Tide lost their top two cornerbacks from last season with Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.

There would seem to be very little risk in predicting Georgia to reach the SEC title game. The Bulldogs have played for the conference title in each of the past three seasons and six times in the last seven years.

Texas is coming off an appearance in the College Football Playoff last year, but that was as a member of the Big 12. It will be interesting to see how much different the Longhorns fare against SEC competition for the entire season.

The Longhorns' conference schedule includes matchups with Oklahoma, Georgia and Texas A&M. They also have a non-conference road game against Michigan on Sept. 7.

It is refreshing to see Saban, who was not afraid to go after the media for making preseason predictions when he was coaching, have to be on the other side of things now that he is working as a television analyst.

Now going into his junior season, Booker clearly took some lessons from his former head coach about how to handle things when someone makes a prediction about his team that he doesn't agree with.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer isn't feeling any additional pressure in his new job because he's replacing a legend.

Speaking to reporters from SEC media days on Wednesday, DeBoer called it "a great honor" to follow Nick Saban and carry on the success the Crimson Tide have had for the past 17 years.

"I totally get it," DeBoer said of the shadow cast by his predecessor. "There's only one Coach Saban. This program is special. I take it as a great honor to do anything we can to carry on the great tradition. It was more coaching football is coaching football."

Saban caught many people by surprise when he announced his retirement on Jan. 10 after one of the most successful runs any head coach in FBS history has ever had with a single program.

Alabama has only had one season with more than two losses since 2008. The program won six national titles in his tenure and played in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game six times, with three wins, since the playoff format was adopted in 2014.

The Crimson Tide own the longest streak of consecutive 10-win seasons in FBS history with 16 dating back to 2008. They have won nine SEC titles since 2009 and haven't finished finished lower than second in the SEC West since 2010.

Replicating that consistent level of success is virtually impossible.

DeBoer has a great resume to draw on as he looks to establish his own legacy in Tuscaloosa. The 49-year-old went 9-3 in 2021 at Fresno State after the program won a total of seven games in the previous two seasons.

Washington's turnaround was instantaneous when DeBoer was hired in November 2021. The Huskies went 11-2 in his first season, their first time with double-digit wins since 2018.

Last season, the Huskies went undefeated in the regular season, winning the Pac-12 title for the first time since 2018. They advanced to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game before losing to Michigan.

Washington's 14 wins in 2023 set a new school record, two more than the previous high-water mark done in 1991 and 2016.

DeBoer's first game as Alabama head coach will be on Aug. 31 against Western Kentucky at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban is enjoying a summer that isn't as busy compared to his days with the Crimson Tide.

Saban joked about the differences with his current life following his retirement on Jan. 10 compared to his 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa during a Monday appearance on SportsCenter.

"I'm not in a hurry," Saban said (5:40 mark). "I spent 50 years of my life being in a hurry. Stressful situations, make decisions, go see the next recruit, get ready for the next practice, and all of a sudden you don't have to do that. I didn't even know I was in a hurry for 50 years. The stress level is not the same. It's very enjoyable."

The 72-year-old retired at the end of his team's 2023 campaign, ending a legendary head coaching career. Saban won seven national championships and compiled a record of 292-71-1 in 28 seasons with Alabama, LSU, Michigan State, and Toledo.

He also spent six years in the NFL, serving as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.

The Crimson Tide will attempt to maintain their status as one of the SEC's top teams and defend their 2023 conference title under new head coach Kalen DeBoer, who was hired on Jan. 12 after two successful seasons with Washington.

As for Saban, he'll still be part of the college football world after ESPN announced that he'll be joining College GameDay as an analyst beginning with the 2024 season.