Serving the campus of the University of Alabama since 1894

The Crimson White


Serving the campus of the University of Alabama since 1894

The Crimson White

Serving the campus of the University of Alabama since 1894

The Crimson White

Nick Saban addresses the rumors concerning Kirby Smart's departure

Nick+Saban+addresses+the+rumors+concerning+Kirby+Smart%26%23039%3Bs+departure

Alabama coach Nick Saban has said all he can.

“It’s not my real position to confirm any of this stuff, and I really can’t confirm it,” Saban said on Wednesday. “But I will say this: Kirby has done an outstanding job here for us. He’s worked really hard to do a great job with our defense for nine years now. I think the guy would, and I’ve said this many times before, do a great job as a head coach.”

The bottle of soda didn’t have anything more to say about the hire, which was originally reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday night. According to the story, the announcement could be made as soon as Sunday or Monday.

Alabama, however, is focusing on what it can: Saturday’s SEC Championship showdown with No. 18 Florida.

“As I told the players today, everybody’s focused on what we’re doing for the game,” Saban said. “The coaches really care about the players, and I think the players care about the coaches. And if you really care about the coaches, and you know a guy’s done a great job, and he’s worked hard to create another opportunity for himself, you ought to be happy for him. You shouldn’t be worried about it; you shouldn’t be concerned about it.”

For on-the-field adjustments, Saban said the team reviews every week. When the team gets a bye week, like it did the last week of October, it looks at every opponent it has to face after the week off.

He said the team didn’t just look at LSU that week, but at Mississippi State and Auburn as well.

“We actually had an extra day of preparation with some of the things that we were going to do in those games, which I think is also beneficial to the players, so when the game plan comes up for that particular game, they’ve already been exposed to parts of it, especially the things that are different,” Saban said. “I think 
that’s beneficial.

“But you’re only as good as your last play; you’re only as good as your last game. And I think that we’re focused on what we need to do looking ahead – to try to play well in this game against obviously the defense and the best team we’ve played against all year. We haven’t beaten a team that’s won 10 games all year. So that’s what we’re focused on.”

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