Thursday, University of Alabama backup quarterback redshirt freshman Blake Barnett left school in order to seek out playing time at another school. Barnett started the first game for Alabama, but was later replaced by true freshman Jalen Hurts.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban said Thursday night during his weekly radio show that he was taught by his dad growing up to not quit and see things through or else he would have been kicked out of the house.
Stephen A. Smith reacted to Saban’s comments Friday on ESPN2’s “First Take,” calling the coach “hypocritical” because he quit on the Miami Dolphins after publicly denying he would not before taking over as the Crimson Tide’s coach.
Partial transcript of Smith’s reaction as follows:
“I thought it was very hypocritical on his part and I was very disappointed in his comments. You know me, he is my favorite coach in college football. I love me some Nick Saban, he’s the man. But in this particular instance he’s wrong. Let’s harken back to 2006, January of 2007. In January 2017, Nick Saban left the Miami Dolphins as its head coach with three years left on his contract to take over Alabama. Less than a month earlier in December of 2006, Nick Saban looked at the media and said, ‘I guess I have to say this. I will not be the coach at Alabama.’ So essentially he lied, or he changed his mind. Whatever the case may be, he had three years left on his contract following a 6-10 season in Miami and left that contract. It speaks to what my problem is with the collegiate ranks. Coaches are given latitudes that the players themselves are not given.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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