Nick Saban is calling on Ray Rice to teach his Alabama players an important lesson ... saying he had the ex-NFL star give a speech to the Tide "about how to treat the opposite sex."
Rice has been preaching to players and schools all over the country since he was booted from the NFL after TMZ Sports posted video of him punching his then-fiance in the face in a hotel elevator in 2014.
Saban clearly thinks the former running back has a valuable message he can relay to his team .