As things were proceeding poorly against Tennessee on the night of Oct. 25th, Alabama coach Nick Saban knelt in front of Bryce Young for a brief sideline talk. Their foreheads almost touched, as Saban calmly and intimately gave his 20-year-old quarterback some counseling, Things eventually got better, with a 28-point fourth quarter keying a 52–24 victory.
This was a side of Saban the world rarely sees. Normally a cauldron of in-game intensity, occasionally raging at assistant coaches or players or officials, this was a different style of coaching. Lowering himself to a player’s level on the bench and quietly speaking eye-to-eye demonstrated an oft-overlooked Saban gift: At age 70, he’s attuned to what people half a century younger need from him.