FROM THE OUTSIDE, what happened a year ago this week looked like a bruised ego lashing out. Alabama coach Nick Saban couldn't abide not having the top-ranked recruiting class in the country, so he took aim at No. 1 Texas A&M, claiming it "bought every player" via name, image and likeness deals.
Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher was so incensed by his former boss' comments that he called a news conference for the following day. He said, among other things, that Saban was a "narcissist" who should have been slapped.
Opposing coaches said while Fisher made it unnecessarily personal, it was Saban who started the war of words by crossing a line and singling out Texas A&M.