Nick Saban
Nick Saban
Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Alabama, a position he has held since the 2007 season. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins and three other universities: Louisiana State University, Michigan State University, and the University of Toledo. His eight-year contract totaling US$32 million made him one of the highest paid football coaches, professional or collegiate, in the United States at the...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth31 October 1951
CityFairmont, WV
CountryUnited States of America
If a player isn't performing relative to the so-called investment that you have in him, sometimes you have to make tough decisions. We were committed to the guy. He was committed. If anything, I feel personally responsible that we didn't make it work with the guy.
I don't think we're considering a lot of changes.
I don't think we played very well. We didn't look quick, we didn't look fast and we didn't play with the same energy level that I've seen us play with throughout the year so far. I'm not blaming it on anything because that's not my nature, but we certainly didn't have the energy and the enthusiasm that we've played with to this point.
I don't think we're where we need to be. I don't think we're where we can be.
I don't think you want me to say what I think about that,
I don't think it's just that position (quarterback),
If Williams were committed to coming back and being a productive player, ... ... well, I've discussed this with some of the leaders of the team, and I think he'd be welcome.
His team, as well as himself, had a few bumps in the road. They struggled, offensively, for whatever reasons. I just don't know the specifics of it.
He's going to have to carry a little more than maybe he's ready for. We're very pleased with his development, but in the absence of Ricky, we're going to lean on him a little more than we would like to.
He's done a good job. He has minimized his mental mistakes. He's become a starter and he has played fast in the games and made some plays. We (will) keep working with him in hopes that he'll be able to execute on a consistent basis and continue to eliminate those mental errors that can get him in trouble.
The Pac-10 obviously did pretty well against the SEC this past week, ... Our players need to be aware of that and know that our league is nationally-known and when we go play places people are anxious to play us.
We looked at him last year, quite a bit. Kelly's a smart, experienced quarterback. He's very capable of managing a game and doing what they need him to do to have success and it will be up to us to execute what we have to, to try to stop it.
He's played a great role for this team all year. He's been unselfish, he's been a really good team guy and he's been very helpful with a lot of other players in terms of what he's done. I can't tell you how much we appreciate it as an organization based on what he's done and how he's played and how he's overcome a lot. We're real proud of him.
He is not badly hurt. He told me today that if it were the regular season, he would play in this game, but we are obviously not going to take any chances.