TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Jimbo Fisher extended his hand. Nick Saban shook it.
The two coaches exchanged a few words that, from a distance, seemed pleasant enough. Fisher smiled at his former boss, then patted him on the arm.
The pregame meetup, while brief, felt familiar. It’s the customary midfield greeting that occurs between coaches before games around the country.
This handshake was notable because of what happened five months ago, when the two coaches exchanged verbal salvos that included Saban alleging, without proof, that A&M bought its entire roster, and Fisher responding with a scorched-earth rebuttal that included him dubbing the greatest coach of all time a narcissistic false god.