Nick Saban, darling of SEC media days, was initially denied entry after forgetting his credential

DALLAS — In a freshly pressed gray suit and pink tie, a mic protruding from behind his left ear and a thin layer of makeup on his forehead and cheeks, the 72-year-old man glares into a television camera as four stage lights illuminate his features.

Meet the newest member of the college football media contingent making his SEC media days debut: Nick Saban.

He kicked things off by forgetting his credential in his hotel room.

“It’s a little different,” Saban said on air Monday. “I’ve never worn a credential in my life and was always for 17 years able to get into SEC media day without a credential. I had to go back to the room today and get my credential to get in.”

It’s true: A security officer at first denied a credential-less Saban access into media day on Monday, the first of the four-day extravaganza in the downtown Dallas Omni Hotel. He scrambled back up to his room, fetched the badge and found his way into the event.

Disaster averted.

What commenced then was a very unusual day here: Nick Saban, the analyst not coach, parading across media day not as the interviewee but as the interviewer. He spent nearly four hours, not at the main room podium answering questions from hundreds of journalists, but toward the back of the room, from an elevated SEC Network stage, offering opinions and analysis and even giving a prediction (Gasp!).

ESPN sportscaster and former football coach Nick Saban speaks during the Southeastern Conference NCAA college football media days Monday, July 15, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

His 22nd media day appearance was, perhaps, his most entertaining showing yet.

He predicted Georgia and Texas to play in the SEC championship game, took a shot at new coworker Paul Finebaum and even picked a surprise team to make a run for the league title (Ole Miss).

Saban went as far as to…

Source link : https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/nick-saban-darling-of-sec-media-days-was-initially-denied-entry-after-forgetting-his-credential-225724240.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-07-15 22:57:24

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