Nick Saban Takes Subtle Jab At Michigan Football One Day Ahead Of Rose Bowl

The Alabama coach was asked about the sign-stealing saga with Michigan and he took a very subtle jab at Harbaugh and the Wolverines.

Although Connor Stalions resigned from Michigan on November 3, Stalions and the sign-stealing saga story are nowhere close to being a distant topic of discussion. It's been a topic during the Rose Bowl week between Michigan and Alabama and both Alabama players and coaches have been answering questions on the matter. 

Nick Saban was the latest to field a question about the ordeal and while it sounds like the legendary coach couldn't care less about it -- it didn't stop him from throwing a subtle jab at Michigan and the football program. The word Saban used to describe it was 'integrity'.

"No, we're really not concerned about that," said Saban. "Integrity in the game I think is really, really important, and our team has had every opportunity to prepare for this game just like they have every other game."

Harbaugh took a three-game suspension by the Big Ten and Tony Petiti revolving around Stalions and the sign-stealing scheme. The Michigan coach missed Penn State, Maryland, and Ohio State before coming back to coach the Big Ten Championship game against Iowa. 

One way to fix coaches and staffers from trying to decipher the opposing team's signs and signals is to get up to date with helmet comms. 

"I think that especially when you're a no-huddle team you've got to adapt and adjust how you communicate with the quarterback," continued Saban. "And hopefully one day we'll get to the NFL system where you can just talk to the guy in his helmet. I think that would be a lot better."

It was the last question of the media conference between Saban and Harbaugh on Sunday morning. Harbaugh didn't respond to Saban's comments, nor was he asked anything about the sign-stealing saga involving his team. But it appeared Harbaugh wasn't a fan of the question or maybe how Saban answered it. 

"But for now, we just have to adapt to how we communicate with the quarterback, and we'll change it up and try to not put our players at a disadvantage in any way," said Saban.

Michigan and Alabama will kick off at 5 p.m. ET.