Nick Saban gives Pat McAfee his take about the Panthers benching Bryce Young

Bryce Young's former coach at Alabama thinks he's getting too much of the blame for Carolina's failures.

Tim Weaver | Sep 21, 2024

KANSAS CITY, MO - APRIL 27: Alabama head coach Nick Saban talks with Bryce Young in the green room backstage during the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft at Union Station on April 27, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. / (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

In this story:

Carolina Panthers

You don't need to have a football IQ like Luke Kuechly to see see how Bryce Young has struggled in the NFL, both this season so far and during his rookie year with the Carolina Panthers. That much has been plain for everybody to see. It can be easy to forget given how things have gone for him at this level, but Young has found a ton of success everywhere else he's been in this sport.

Nobody knows just how good Young can be better than Nick Saban, who was his former head coach during Young's time at Alabama. Now retired from coaching, these days the seven-time national champion is working as a college football commmentator for ESPN. Here's what Saban told Pat McAfee on Friday about Young getting benched.

Nick Saban on Panthers benching Bryce Young

Nick Saban "hates to see" the #Panthers benching Bryce Young:

"I hate to see Bryce Young get benched but I also don't see a lot of opportunity for him to be successful based on the skill players & offensive line around him..

(via @PatMcAfeeShow)pic.twitter.com/C7Q28LT0mm
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 20, 2024

While it's fair to state that the Panthers don't have all the pieces, they did dramatically improve both their offensive skill players and offensive line this year. Carolina's wide receiver room went from being arguably the worst in the NFL last season to about average thanks to the additions of Xavier Legette and Diontae Johnson. Their backfield is going to be radically improved when rookie running back Jonathon Brooks finally joins the lineup, and their offensive line is currently ranked fifth in pass blocking by Pro Football Focus.

So, at least that part of Saban's analysis is wrong. However, the single most important element for a young quarterback developing in this league is being paired with a head coach who knows how to guide an inexperienced QB through that process. Young simply hasn't gotten that, yet.

First, Frank Reich changed the offense on him three times last year before he even played in his first NFL game. Reich was fired after just 11 games and was eventually replaced by Dave Canales, who came in with a reputation as a quarterback whisperer but the results have been disastrous for his team in 2024, and not just at QB.

In other words, it's true that the organization has failed Young on a whole lot of levels, but let's leave the rest of the Panthers' offensive personnel out of it. Above all else, Young's issues have been a coaching failure.