Nick Saban is no stranger to appearing on ESPN as he often goes on with the ESPN College GameDay crew ahead of Alabama’s big matchups.
But, according to a new book by John Talty called “The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban,” the legendary Alabama coach almost left Tuscaloosa to take a job at the Worldwide Leader in Sports just after the iconic Kick Six loss to Auburn in 2013.
The New York Post has details from the book:
“When the season ended, Saban is said to have “empowered (media agent Nick) Khan to reach out to ESPN with the message Saban was thinking about the next chapter in his career and considering whether media should be a part of that.”
Khan, now the co-CEO of WWE, then apparently set up a meeting in Pasadena, Calif., with Saban, his coaching agent, Jimmy Sexton (also of CAA), and Syracuse’s Athletics Director John Wildhack, who was then a senior executive at ESPN.
Saban is said to have “zeroed in” on the possibility of joining ESPN’s “College GameDay,” and “quizzed” Wildhack on a number of questions about life at ESPN, organizational structure and if it was like “working on a team” — a characteristic that was of much importance to Saban.”
Saban, of course, opted to stay at Alabama and that was the best decision he could’ve made. Saban and the Alabama program have won 3 more national titles (2015, 2017, and 2020) since that iconic loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The book is set to be released on Aug. 9.
