Nick Saban Emphasizing Rest for Players, Not Coaches During Bye Week
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama head coach Nick Saban made his annual appearance at the Monday Morning Quarterback Club in Birmingham on Monday afternoon.
The Crimson Tide (7-1, 5-0 SEC) is coming off a huge win over then-No. 17 Tennessee on Saturday. Now, ninth-ranked Alabama has a crucial week off, setting up an opportunity to get players rest before the final stretch of the season.
"From a football standpoint, obviously we have a bye week this week," Saban said. "We just walked through today, watched some film and [will] practice Tuesday, Wednesday [and] Thursday. Hopefully get some guys healed up and recovered, spend some time working on things that we're gonna see in these last four games that we haven't been exposed to."
"I think it's about correcting, I think it's about doing quality control on what you've done. See if there's some tendency or something that you would add or subtract that would create more balance. [...] It's a lot about self-analysis and how you can implement that in a more positive way."
Saban was asked if the coaches on staff were in need of some rest and recovery.
"I don't know, is there an analytical way for anybody to know whether I need a break? I mean, we've got all of these young bucks out there coaching — I know they don't make them like they used to, but you ought to be worried about me, not them," Saban joked.
"That was a good question, but I'm pushing the coaches to keep on keeping on so that we can get better, analyzing what their players need to do at their position and what they're doing collectively as a group. And what we need to do as a team to try and improve as a team. It's not nearly as taxing for the coaches in the bye week as it is during the regular week, so there is some psychological relief for everyone."
