Ancient Alabama Football coach Nick Saban and Bill Belichick go way back.
The two legendary coaches first met in 1982, when Saban was defensive backs coach at Navy, where Belichick’s father, Steve, was an assistant for many years. Saban was Belichick’s defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns in the early ’90s.
The two became close and were featured in a 2019 HBO documentary called “Belichick & Saban: The Art of Coaching.” Additionally, Saban welcomed Belichick to Tuscaloosa for the Crimson TideThe annual Pro Day events lasted for many years while he was at the height of his NFL supremacy as head coach of the New England Patriots.
On Thursday, Belichick, 72, was featured as head football coach in North Carolina, an almost surreal decision that took the college football and sports world by storm.
As for Saban, the college football legend appeared on Friday’s edition of “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN and gave his thoughts on Belichick’s decision to take the North Carolina job.
“I’m happy for Bill. I think he probably wanted a new challenge and this is definitely going to be a great challenge for him. North Carolina is a great academic institution, and they have a lot of athletic tradition there. basketball and football. And Bill is a great coach.
Saban spoke about the biggest challenges facing Belichick in Chapel Hill. Not surprisingly, recruiting was at the top of the list.
“The difference in college is how do you get guys on the team? It’s different recruiting guys than having to recruit them because recruiting is like building relationships full time 365 days per year in terms of not only evaluating a player you want, but creating relationships with them to get them. Now everyone says it’s like the NFL because they’re making money now. but you still have to be able to sell them to be able to develop.
“I think Bill will be able to do it, but I think the biggest challenge for him is the time it will take to recruit. Making phone calls, talking to parents and all that kind of stuff to get the players what you need.”
Saban also reiterated his stance on NIL and said he supports college athletes being paid, even though he disagrees with the current system in place that allows for these payments.
“Having the resources is important to be able to pay them and I’m happy that the players are getting paid. I’m not crazy about the system they’re getting paid in and I hope we can fix that, but I do. I think that Bill will do a great job there recruiting good players, and he will do a great job developing those players. The biggest adjustment for him will be the time spent recruiting.
For more coverage on Belichick’s move to North Carolina, visit our friends at Tar Heels Yarn.
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This article was originally published on Roll Tide Wire: Nick Saban talks Bill Belichick’s biggest challenge at North Carolina
