The New York Jets have announced their interim general manager. It’s a name that Alabama fans will definitely recognize.
A former Alabama football analyst, commentator and Nick Saban chum is the new interim general manager of the New York Jets.
Veteran NFL and college football mind Phil Savage was promoted to the role of interim GM Tuesday after the Jets fired outgoing general manager Joe Douglas following five-plus seasons.
Savage broadcast Alabama games with Eli Gold from 2009-2017. More recently, he had been a team advisor for the Jets. Savage was previously the general manager of the Cleveland Browns for four seasons before being fired in 2008.
He joined Gold and CTSN (Crimson Tide Sports Network) in 2009 and called four national championship seasons for Saban and the Crimson Tide. Savage worked during game weeks to provide data and scouting reports on Alabama’s upcoming opponents, he said in his 2018 book, 4th and Goal Every Day: Alabama’s Relentless Pursuit of Perfection.
Savage and Saban also worked in the same organization with the Browns in the early 90s. Saban was Cleveland’s defensive coordinator at the time while Savage was a chief scout for the team.
Savage left CTSN in 2018 to become general manager of the Arizona Hotshots in the short-lived Alliance of American Football League (AAF). He joined the Jets as a front office assistant in 2019.
The Jets are in the midst of a disappointing 3-8 season and are tied for last place in the AFC East.
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Check out who Nick Saban picked to win Saturday’s Top 25 games in Week 12, including No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 10 Georgia showdown.
Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban and the rest of the “College GameDay” crew made their predictions for Week 12 games in both SEC and Top 25 action ahead of Saturday’s games.
Here’s who Saban picked while joining Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, and celebrity guest picker Cody Rhodes (a WWE wrestler and actor), on the set of GameDay from outside Sanford Stadium in Athens ahead of tonight’s marquee matchup between the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers and the No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs. (6:30 p.m. CT, ABC)
Nick Saban Week 12 SEC, Top 25 college football picks
Week 12’s slate is somewhat light in terms of head-to-head matchups. Only two games feature teams that are both ranked in the Top 25, including Tennessee-Georgia. To that end, Saban picked former assistant Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs to get a win in Sanford Stadium against Josh Heupel’s Vols.
Saban said:
“I think Georgia has the heart of a champion. They’ve won a lot of close games. They’ve won a lot of tough games. They’ve played in a lot of big games. I think Georgia responds tonight and the Hunting Dogs show up. Bulldogs.”
Elsewhere in SEC play, Saban picked the No. 3 Texas Longhorns to beat the Arkansas Razorbacks, the No. 23 South Carolina Gamecocks to beat the No. 21 Missouri Tigers at Williams-Brice Stadium, and the No. 22 LSU Tigers to beat the Florida Gators in Gainesville.
In other games involving Top 25 teams, Saban picked Dabo Swinney and the No. 16 Clemson Tigers to beat the Pitt Panthers in Pittsburgh. He also picked the No. 13 SMU Mustangs to beat Boston College, and the No. 19 Kansas State Wildcats to beat the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Saban picked Deion Sanders and the No. 20 Colorado Buffaloes to beat the Utah Utes, the No. 8 BYU Cougars to remain unbeaten against the Kansas Jayhawks, and the No. 25 Tulane Green Wave to beat Navy to clinch a berth in the AAC championship game.
Alabama football legend Nick Saban is now the one who’s using the ‘rat poison’ against his former team.
During an appearance on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” which is live in Athens for tonight’s Top 10 matchup between the fourth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers and 10th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, former Alabama football coach Nick Saban dusted off one of his greatest hits.
During a segment discussing which team GameDay panelists thought was the best in the SEC, Saban tried to give a somewhat cagy answer and attempted to reiterate something that guest analyst Tim Tebow had said moments earlier during the roundtable discussion.
“I want to make a point that Tim made about every team has a hole. Ole Miss probably is the best right now, but the reason they have a hole is because Georgia had recruited really, really well. Alabama recruited really, really well. They get high-profile players that leave after a year if they’re not playing. So, you lose your backup so you don’t have any depth left on your team. You have your frontline players, but you don’t have any depth. And you can’t recruit depth out of the portal because those guys want to come (start), so you’re not going to recruit any backup players. That’s why I think everybody’s got some holes.”
Saban’s fellow “GameDay” analysts Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee commented on Saban’s lack of a definitive answer as to who he thought was the best team in the SEC.
That’s when Saban dropped his iconic “rat poison” line.
“Look, man, I’ve got to use the rat poison every now and then… I love Alabama. That’s my team, that’s my guys, that’s who I’m rooting for. I said Ole Miss is playing really well.”
Saban first used the rat poison phrase during the 2017 season after No. 1 Alabama defeated Texas A&M, 27-19, in a tough night game environment at Kyle Field in College Station.
Saban said after that game:
“I’m trying to get our players to listen to me, instead of listening to you guys. You know, all that stuff you write about how good we are, and all that stuff they hear on ESPN, it’s like poison. You know what I mean? It’s like taking poison — like RAT poison,” an animated Saban said at the time.
We’ll see if Saban’s own brand of rat poison helps Alabama. For now, the Crimson Tide face the Mercer Bears today at Bryant-Denny Stadium at 1 p.m. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.
Where will Nick Saban and College GameDay be this Saturday, Nov. 16? Here’s what to know.
ESPN’s “College GameDay” announced where it will be for Week 12 of the 2024 college football season.
For the second straight week and the seventh time this season, the “GameDay” crew is heading to an SEC venue. Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and, yes, Nick Saban, will be at Sanford Stadium in Athens for the Georgia Bulldogs’ showdown with the Tennessee Volunteers.
According to ESPN, it will be the 10th time Athens will host “College GameDay.” Kickoff for Tennessee-Georgia is set for a prime time 6:30 p.m. CT start. The game will be televised on ABC.
Georgia (7-2) is No. 10 in the Coaches Poll and slid all the way from No. 2 to No. 12 in the committee’s rankings after its 28-10 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford.
For Saban, it will mark his first visit to Sanford Stadium since Alabama’s 38-10 rout of the Bulldogs on Oct. 3, 2015. Derrick Henry rushed for 148 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown run, in that game as part of his Heisman Trophy winning senior season.
The Crimson Tide’s defense forced four turnovers, including a 50-yard Eddie Jackson pick six to start the second half and extend Alabama’s lead to 31-3 in that game. Minkah Fitzpatrick scored a touchdown on special teams by blocking a punt and scooping it at the Georgia 1-yard line for an easy score.
Georgia had been favored to win, one of the few times during Saban’s dynasty at Alabama in which the Crimson Tide were listed as underdogs by oddsmakers.
Who does Alabama football play in Week 12?
Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide (7-2) will host the Mercer Bears (9-1) in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide are ranked No. 9 in this week’s polls and No. 10 in the playoff committee rankings after their 42-13 win over the LSU Tigers, Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.
College football legend Nick Saban praised Florida’s decision to retain Billy Napier into the 2025 season on ESPN’s College Gameday.
Perhaps the greatest college football head coach of all time — and certainly this generation — Nick Saban praised [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] for his coaching job at Florida this season on ESPN’s College Gameday Saturday.
The Gators have yet to put together a winning season under Napier, but Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin has committed to sticking with the head coach into the 2025 season. The decision to bring Napier back for a fourth year has drawn much criticism from a fan base eager to return to the top of the Southeastern Conference, but Saban says it’s the right choice for the Orange and Blue.
“Here’s the thing that I really appreciate: that somebody out there for this administration recognized the fact that Billy Napier has done a heck of a job of coaching this team,” Saban said. “They’ve had a lot of adversity, a lot of injuries, a lot to overcome, but yet every game, they start out and they play great in the first half, which tells me they’ve done a great job preparing their team with the players they have.”
One of the biggest reasons Napier still has support is the connection he has with star true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway. The former five-star recruit has impressed throughout the season and taken over for senior Graham Mertz, who’s done for the year following an ACL tear.
Lagway is now dealing with his own injury, a Grade 2 hamstring strain suffered in the first half against Georgia. Florida started third-string walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner against Texas on Saturday.
“The quarterback situation is going to be tough to overcome,” said Saban, “but I think (Napier) has built a good nucleus, and most importantly, culture, a culture that can win. If I was a recruit, I would recognize that and say this is a place I’m going to consider.”
Lagway practiced throughout the week and could return as soon as next week against LSU.
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The former Alabama coach makes his pick for the toughest environment in college football.
It is no secret that the environment the Alabama Crimson Tide will play in Saturday night in Baton Rouge is one of the greatest the sport has to offer.
That thought has been echoed by numerous across college football, with the latest in that group being former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who said Saturday morning during ESPN’s “College GameDay” that Tiger Stadium is the toughest place to play in the country.
“I think this is the hardest place to play in college football, because of the LSU fans,” Saban said. “The passion that the people have here is fantastic, and I think it’s great for college football.”
Saban, who was the head coach of the Crimson Tide from 2007-23, certainly knows a thing about coaching in Tiger Stadium, both on the home and away side as the leader of both programs.
The head coach at LSU from 2000-04, Saban had success in Tiger Stadium at Alabama however, owning a combined 6-2 record in Baton Rouge during his time in Tuscaloosa. This also included a five-game winning streak in Tiger Stadium in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020.
Alabama also lost their most recent trip to Baton Rouge back in 2022, and will look to get back on their winning ways in one of college football’s top environments Saturday night.
"I think this is the hardest place to play in college football because of the LSU fans."
Nick Saban knows a thing or two about the energy of a night game in Death Valley ⚡ pic.twitter.com/3durFzGXd6
Nick Saban sounds off on the Florida Gators’ controversial decision to retain head coach Billy Napier.
The University of Florida made a controversial decision this week when the school announced that head football coach Billy Napier would return for a fourth season in 2025 to lead the Gators.
Napier is in his third year in “The Swamp” and has compiled an overall record of 15-18 as Florida Gators coach. The Gators are 4-4 this year, but they’ve faced arguably the single toughest schedule for any Power Four team in all of college football.
On Saturday’s Week 11 edition of ESPN’s “College GameDay,” former Alabama football coach Nick Saban offered some words of support for his former assistant coach.
Speaking live from Baton Rouge where Saban and the “GameDay” crew are stationed for tonight’s massive Alabama vs. LSU showdown, Saban backed Florida’s decision to retain Napier:
“Here’s the thing that I really appreciate, that somebody out there in Florida’s administration recognized the fact that Billy Napier has done a heck of a job coaching this team. They’ve had a lot of adversity, a lot of injuries, a lot to overcome. But yet every game, they start out and they play great in the first half, which tells me that they’ve done a great job of preparing their team with the players that they have. The quarterback situation is going to be tough to overcome, but I think he’s built a good nucleus and most importantly… a culture that can win. And if I was a recruit, I would recognize that and say, ‘This is a place I’m going to consider.'”
Napier was a member of Saban’s staff at Alabama from 2013-16 when he was the Crimson Tide’s wide receivers coach. In December 2017, Napier became head coach at the University of Louisiana and would compile a 40-12 record in four seasons in Lafayette before accepting the Florida job.
Napier’s Gators are in Austin Saturday to face the No. 5 Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
How did Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin, Mario Cristobal, Curt Cignetti and other former Nick Saban assistant coaches do at their respective Power Four and G5 programs in Week 10? We take a look.
Several members of former Alabama football coach Nick Saban’s expansive coaching tree had a busy Saturday in Week 10 of the 2024 college football season this past weekend.
From as far south as Miami to as far north as Bloomington, Ind., Saban’s former Crimson Tide assistants had their teams involved in high-stakes conference games on the first Saturday of November.
Not all of the former Saban assistants were on their respective sidelines in Week 10. Among the coaches whose teams had bye weeks was Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian, whose team is ranked No. 5 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll.
Mike Locksley and the Maryland Terrapins were also on a bye, as were Brent Key and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Bill O’Brien and the Boston College Eagles, and Butch Jones’ Arkansas State program.
Former Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain’s Central Michigan Chippewas didn’t play Saturday as CMU has three consecutive Tuesday night games coming up (MACtion!).
Lance Taylor’s first-place Western Michigan Broncos also didn’t play Saturday but will look to improve to 5-0 in MAC play Wednesday when they welcome Northern Illinois to Kalamazoo.
A week ago, Roll Tide Wire ranked every member of the Saban coaching tree by their schools’ season-to-date performances. This week, we’re taking a look at how each of those head coaches and their respective teams fared in Week 10 action.
Again, former Saban assistants whose teams were idle in Week 10 do not appear on this list. With that out of the way, here’s how every former Saban assistant and his team fared over the weekend.
Major Applewhite (South Alabama Jaguars)
Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Overall/Current Record at South Alabama: 4-5
Week 10 Game: Georgia Southern 34, South Alabama 30
2024 Salary: $825,000
South Alabama had a fourth-quarter collapse against a Georgia Southern team they had on the ropes in Mobile. The Eagles got two touchdown passes from JC French to erase a 30-14 deficit heading into the fourth quarter. With both teams at 3-1 in Sun Belt play entering the game, this was a huge missed opportunity for Applewhite and the Jaguars.
Billy Napier (Florida Gators)
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Overall Record at Florida: 14-18
2024 Record: 4-4
Week 10 Game: Georgia 34, Florida 20
2024 Salary: $7.3 million
It’s hard for me to be too upset about Napier and the Gators’ performance against a Georgia team that’s simply better than Florida. The Gators competed and didn’t allow themselves to be pushed around in a game many figured would be a blowout. If not for an injury to Florida starting quarterback DJ Lagway, we could be talking about this game in a whole new light.
Charles Huff (Marshall Thundering Herd)
Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Record at Marshall: 27-20
2024 Record: 5-3
Week 10 Game: Marshall 28, UL Monroe 23
2024 Salary: $755,500
Huff and the Herd won their fourth game in their last five contests, getting two fourth-quarter touchdowns to hold off ULM to improve to 3-1 in Sun Belt play. Marshall is a half-game behind Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt East division. At 5-3 and scheduled to face a Southern Miss team that’s one of the worst in FBS for the second straight year, Huff is well in position to lead the Herd to a fourth straight bowl game in as many seasons as Marshall’s coach.
Kirby Smart (Georgia Bulldogs)
Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union
Overall Record at Georgia: 101-17
2024 Record: 6-1
Week 10 Game: Georgia 34, Florida 20
2024 Salary: $13,282,580
If we’re going by season-to-date rankings, Smart still tops our list at No. 1. The Bulldogs struggled for much of the afternoon against Florida in Jacksonville as Carson Beck threw three more interceptions to continue an alarming trend. He now has eight interceptions over his last three games.
Georgia has won all three of those contests in spite of Beck’s turnovers. While Beck looked much in the second half, questions still linger about his turnover ratio — and how much longer Smart can seemingly pin the blame on his receivers.
Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss Rebels)
Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images
Overall Record at Ole Miss: 40-17
2024 Record: 7-2
Week 10 Game: Ole Miss 63, Arkansas 31
2024 Salary: $9 million
During his appearance on “College GameDay” Saturday, Nick Saban predicted that Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks would pull an upset over Ole Miss. “Not so fast, my friend.” Jaxson Dart threw for a school-record 515 yards, and his six touchdown passes in one game tied Eli Manning (in 2001) and Matt Corral (in 2020). Ole Miss had 694 yards of total offense in a complete domination of the Hogs.
Last week, we wrote that Kiffin hadn’t been able to win the big one yet in Year 5 with the Rebels. With the No. 2 ranked Georgia Bulldogs coming to Oxford this Saturday, Kiffin has a chance to change that and put Ole Miss squarely back into the College Football Playoff race.
Curt Cignetti (Indiana Hoosiers)
Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Overall/Current Record at Indiana: 8-0
Week 10 Game: Indiana 47, Michigan State 10
2024 Salary: $4.25 million
A week after hosting “College GameDay” for the first time, Cignetti and quarterback Kurtis Rourke led the Hoosiers to their first 9-0 start in program history with another offensive explosion on Saturday in East Lansing. The Hoosiers are averaging 49.0 points per game this season, and their fewest points scored in any one game was the 31 they put up against the Washington Huskies in Week 9 and their season opener against FIU.
The Hoosiers host the four-loss Michigan Wolverines in Bloomington in Week 11. If they can beat the reigning national champions, they’ll face a “Game of the Year of the Week” in Columbus matchup against the Ohio State Buckeyes with major Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff implications on the line at “The Shoe.”
Mario Cristobal (Miami Hurricanes)
Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Overall Record at Miami: 21-13
2024 Record: 9-0
Week 9 Game: Miami 53, Duke 31
2024 Salary: $7.7 million
Cristobal’s Hurricanes pulled away from former Miami coach Manny Diaz and the Duke Blue Devils with a 36-point second half explosion to erase a 21-17 halftime deficit. Miami recently passed Ole Miss for the national lead in average yards per game at 556.9. They’re also averaging 47.4 points per game with quarterback Cam Ward leading one of the nation’s most explosive offenses.
At 9-0, Miami is one of only five unbeaten teams in college football, joining Cignetti’s Hoosiers, the No. 1 ranked Oregon Ducks, BYU Cougars, and Army Black Knights. With Clemson suffering a stunning 33-21 loss to the Louisville Cardinals over the weekend, the ACC is officially Miami’s to lose. Their schedule takes them to Georgia Tech and former Saban assistant Brent Key in Week 11.
Should Marcel Reed be the starter for the rest of the season?
Ahead of Texas A&M’s Week 10 road test against South Carolina on Saturday night, it’s become clear throughout the week that this game will come down to the play in the trenches, specifically the play of Texas A&M’s offensive line against the Gamecocks’ stout defensive line.
This should also be flipped, as the Aggies’ deep D-line should be able to generate a ton of pressure against South Carolina’s O-line, which has allowed nearly five sacks per game this season. However, Texas A&M’s impending quarterback decision between Conner Wegiman and Marcel Reed will drastically affect A&M’s offensive game plan.
On Saturday morning, during one of the many pre-game segments on ESPN’s College GameDay, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, alongside Kirk Herbstreit, broke down Texas A&M’s offense under Marcel Reed, head coach Mike Elko and OC Collin Klein, as Reed’s second-half insertion against LSU last Saturday resulted in a 31-6 run, including three rushing touchdowns from the redshirt freshman.
As Herbstreit noted, South Carolina has had a week to prepare for Reed’s dual-threat running ability. It’s all about playcalling, timing, and execution. Utilizing zone-read looks while Reed manipulates defenders’ eyes was the key to four of A&M’s five consecutive scoring drives, as A&M’s red zone offense is still one of the best in the country.
Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if South Carolina’s defense is ready for any counter-run looks that led to several open looks for Reed against the Tigers. However, this is all premature before knowing when he’ll see the field against the Gamecocks.
Texas A&M will travel to Columbia to face South Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 2nd, at 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on either ABC.
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Nick Saban will be in Baton Rouge next week. Except this time he’s on a TV set and not the sideline.
With College Gameday selecting the LSU-Alabama meeting for its week 11 destination, it means a return to Baton Rouge for Nick Saban.
Perhaps no man is more familiar with this rivalry than Saban, who coached at LSU from 2000-2004 before he built his dynasty at Alabama from 2007-2023. Saban led LSU to a national title in 2003 and added six more rings at Alabama.
He’ll be remembered for his time at Alabama, but Saban often speaks highly of his years in Baton Rouge.
Saban’s last public appearance in Baton Rouge was in 2022 — when Brian Kelly and Jayden Daniels upset Saban’s Crimson Tide squad.
Now that Saban is off the sideline, he’ll have a chance to appreciate LSU and Baton Rouge in a different way. I’d expect Gameday to lean into the storyline, playing with the energy from the crowd.
Saban’s 48 wins at LSU rank fifth in program history. His .750 win percentage ranks second, only behind Les Miles, among LSU coaches with two or more seasons.
LSU and Alabama each have open weeks in week 10, but the game is college football’s premier matchup in week 11.
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