Alabama Crimson Tide College Football Pregame Quote, 12/30/2021

Big Play Brunch

BRAD SHAM: Now, what we’re about to do here we have never done at the Big Play, but COVID has increased everybody’s flexibility. So we are going to welcome both head coaches virtually, which is the safest way to do this. We will hear them talk a little bit about this great matchup and their place in this game.

And then we’re going to spend just a few minutes with them and then let them get about the preparations for this big semifinal game. And then you’ll have a chance to enjoy your brunch and the company of the people sitting with you. And then we’ll resume the program.

There is a great quote from John Wooden, one of the greatest coaches of all time in any sport. Coach Wooden said, ‘A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.’ And these men absolutely have done and are doing just that. So we’re going to welcome them virtually.

First of all, the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year from the undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats Head Coach Luke Fickell. Coach [Luke] Fickell, good morning. (applause)

LUKE FICKELL: Good morning.

BRAD SHAM: And the seven-time national title-winning head coach from the University of Alabama, and no stranger to this venue, Nick Saban. Coach Saban, thanks for taking some time. good morning to you. (applause)

NICK SABAN: Thank you. Good morning.

BRAD SHAM: So it appears that we can all hear each other. So I’ve just got a few questions. I’m going to touch on one or two non-football things first.

Let’s dive right in. Coach [Nick] Saban, I’d like to ask you, first, the question that I think a lot of people would really like to know and that is: Do you ever wear the blue Aflac jacket in public?

NICK SABAN: (laughter) Absolutely not.

BRAD SHAM: So anybody who was hoping for that photo op, forget it. That’s not going to happen.

Coach (Nick Saban), this has been quite a journey for your team this year. And I think all of us who follow the sport have heard you say several times expressions about your fondness for these players and what this particular Alabama team has done.

Would you talk a little bit about how you would describe this team and what the ‚Äì the path they’ve taken to get here as the Number 1 seed.

NICK SABAN: I think that it’s always a challenge when you come off of a successful season to see how the players are going to respond. A lot of new opportunities, a lot of new roles for people to assume, whether it’s leadership, new players at new positions. Lots of young players getting opportunities.

And I think this team showed a tremendous amount of resiliency to be able to overcome adversity throughout the course of the season, to create a great opportunity for themselves to play a great Cincinnati team here in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, which we certainly appreciate this opportunity for our team and what they’ve done to create it for themselves.

BRAD SHAM: Coach (Nick Saban), I know you recruit partly on the success that your program has had. How do you keep from having players new to the program feel burdened by the success of the teams that have come before them?

NICK SABAN: I think we just try to create a culture where we’re really trying to help players be more successful in life, show them and lead them and how they create value for themselves personally, academically, and athletically. And try to create a standard for them to aspire to that is going to be beneficial for them on and off the field and their future.

And I think that’s the way we try to get players to come to our program, understanding that we want to try to create more value for you and your future so that you have a better opportunity to be successful.

BRAD SHAM: Well, Coach [Luke] Fickell, speaking of successful, there’s only one undefeated team left and that’s your team. I think people who are both familiar with the Bearcats and not familiar would love to hear you talk for a minute about what has made this team special. Why was this team able to be so successful?

LUKE FICKELL: Well, I mean, I think, first, it starts with leadership. We’ve been very fortunate to have a bunch of guys that came back from last year that had a pretty successful season. Obviously didn’t end the way we wanted it to.

And in some ways, maybe it was the springboard to putting us to where we are today because we had some guys make some decisions to come back. And obviously Desmond Ridder, Coby Bryant was a guy who came back for an extra year as well. They really felt like they had unfinished business.

So it was different for us coming into a season where we had greater expectations than we’ve ever had in the five years that we’ve been here. Obviously, Coach [Nick] Saban and Alabama knows about expectations; but it was different for us.

And for those guys to kind of take it upon themselves to embrace the expectations, know that it was going to be a little bit different in how they had to handle not just themselves but the locker room in general, they’ve done a phenomenal job. And what they’ve done is to put us in a position that we’ve got for tomorrow afternoon.

BRAD SHAM: You both do such a great job of emphasizing the role that the players have, both in the individual game and the program.

Coach [Luke] Fickell, how do you find your players responding to the challenge of playing the Number 1 seed in the tournament, particularly coming from the AAC?

LUKE FICKELL: Well, I’ll tell you that tomorrow afternoon. (laughter)

But I think the great thing is we inherited a group of guys even when we got here that ‚Äì there’s still a few left, that were no matter what very competitive guys. And from the day we walked in the door to where we are now, there’s a lot of things that have developed, leadership being probably as big a thing as any.

But the competitive spirit that they’ve had and the guys that have been attracted here by nature, that’s just who they are. So we’re very fortunate. And that’s what I mean about going on and taking on the champs. Our guys understand the challenge in front of them but know that they are all about competitiveness and are really excited about this opportunity.

BRAD SHAM: Coach [Luke] Fickell’s first opportunity as a head coach to be in the CFP playoffs. Coach [Nick] Saban, no one has done it more than you. What do you remember about what you felt like and experienced in your first trip as a head coach in the playoffs?

NICK SABAN: Well, I think what the players need to understand when they get in a playoff game is there’s a lot of external factors that can affect players because you get very outcome-oriented when you’re in a playoff-type situation.

And I think what’s most important for the players is to be able to stay focused and keep the main thing the main thing, focus and practice on what you have to do to play against a very good player that you’re obviously going to play against in a game like this and what you have to do to be able to go out and execute and do your job and compete at a high-level on a consistent basis.

And there will be a lot of adversity to overcome. But all great competitors have an ability to do that. And that is something that we’ll be challenged to do in the game tomorrow.

BRAD SHAM: Coach [Luke] Fickell, the focus that Coach [Nick] Saban is talking about is a little different from your team. How do you keep them from getting too wide-eyed at the opportunity?

LUKE FICKELL: I think we rely upon those guys that have brought us to this position. That’s where we’re fortunate.

Yeah, we’ve never been in a situation like this. Even last year, the challenge of the Peach Bowl was a great opportunity for us. We weren’t successful, but I think we did learn a lot about ourselves.

But we’re going to rely a lot upon some of these guys that have really battled through the 4-8 season and kind of don’t take for granted the opportunities that they have in front of them. Recognize where they’ve been and where they’re headed.

And I think, like I said, that idea that the competitiveness of them, try to block out all the other things that are really going on and even the environment and the atmosphere and what is to come and just focus on the game and really kind of ‚Äì they’ve done a good job of that this year. Obviously, it will be a greater challenge for us tomorrow.

BRAD SHAM: So a little bit about that atmosphere. Coach [Luke] Fickell, some of you may recall, has not been here as a head coach. But he was on the Ohio State staff that won the first CFP national championship in this stadium (AT&T Stadium) in Arlington, Texas. What do you remember, Coach [Luke] Fickell, about that trip?

LUKE FICKELL: Obviously, that’s something that I can play upon, just having the ability to be in this situation and knowing the magnitude of what it is.

But it’s always about what we can kind of give to our kids. I don’t know that there’s a whole lot of ‚Äì other than understanding the atmosphere and what a venue it is to play in, I think the fortunate thing for us is to be able to practice in the dome (AT&T Stadium) this week, for our guys to get a feel and a grasp. I know there’s nobody in there, but just the surroundings of things, the magnitude of it, the size of it is something, I think, for our guys to be able to kind of understand before they walk in there tomorrow afternoon.

But there’s a lot of things that we’re going to have to be able to handle. We want it to be about the play on the field and being able to handle the guys that are in front of us, as opposed to the external things that we have no control over.

So we’ve talked about those things. Our guys understand them. But it’s going to take some maturity.

BRAD SHAM: Coach [Nick] Saban, you are clearly familiar with the physical surroundings. You are 5-0 at AT&T Stadium between previous Cotton Bowl Classic appearances and regular-season kickoff games.

What is it about the place that you and your players seem so comfortable in?

NICK SABAN: Well, it’s a great venue, first of all, to be involved, A, in the playoff. AT&T Stadium is an outstanding place to play, a venue to be involved in. And the Cotton Bowl is something that’s very, very special.

But regardless of what’s happened in all those games in the past, it won’t have any impact on this game at all. And our players need to stay focused on what happens on the field. And the field is always 53 yards wide and 100 yards deep. And there’s going to be a guy in front of you whether they are playing offense, defense, special teams.

And you have got to be focused on being accountable to do your job and do it on a consistent basis. That’s the only way you can be successful when you play against great competition.

BRAD SHAM: One of the things, of course, that is different about being in the playoff is the fact that for the winner there is another game. Before this playoff, that was never the case. And so I’d like each of you to talk a little bit about how from a college football standpoint that has changed the way you coach and prepare the team, feel about the game, and how your players feel about it.

NICK SABAN: Go ahead, Luke. (laughter)

LUKE FICKELL: I was going to let Coach (Nick Saban) obviously go. He’s obviously done this several times, and me the first time as a head coach.

But I‚Äôve been fortunate enough at least to have been in this situation and obviously as an assistant coach. It’s really ‚Äì as our kids ‚Äì like Coach said earlier, you can’t worry about what’s to come, what’s the day after in the schedules and things like that. It’s really about homing in and focusing on what’s in front of us. We can’t overly worry about anything beyond tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow afternoon based on whatever happens in the game will take care of itself.

But first things first, we can’t worry about those other things. This is a challenge unlike anyone that we’ve ever faced before. And if we have any bit of focus or any bit of worries about what’s to come beyond that, we’re going to have a really tough time.

So it’s for us as coaches and us ‚Äì and all of our players, don’t worry about anything beyond tomorrow. Let’s make sure we take care of the things we can handle and stay focused and all that we can do for tomorrow afternoon.

NICK SABAN: I would say that the most important thing is when you’re in games like this, people can have a tendency to focus on outcome because outcome is what sort of propels you into the next opportunity.

But I think the most important thing is you have got to stay focused on what you need to do to get the outcome. And that’s what happens play in and play out. And that’s very challenging sometimes, especially when external factors are all concerned about the outcome.

The players themselves, and the coaches, and the people in your organization have to be very focused on what they have to do to do a good job and what they need to do to get the outcome they’re seeking.

BRAD SHAM: I have got a question for each of you that’s specific to you but completely unrelated to football.

Coach [Luke] Fickell, a lot of folks might not know that you have two sets of twins and six kids ranging in age from first grade to college. I think ‚Äì as a father, I’d like to know how are you sitting upright? (laughter)

And, seriously, how do you balance all that with the demands of being a head coach in college football?

LUKE FICKELL: Well, I go to work and leave it to a very special lady (Amy Fickell) at home that really makes this whole thing work. I know for me and how we do things, there’s no way possible for me to be as much into my job and the 18- to 22-year-olds, 125 guys that I’m around on a daily basis if I didn’t have that at home that could really handle and be the rock and take care of those five boys that are crazy at most times and then one, what I would call, saving-grace daughter that just turned 17 years old.

If it wasn’t for them and my wife and them being a part of this program in all that I do in my job, it wouldn’t work. But it has been. My wife is phenomenal, and my kids are all a part of what it is that we do within the program. It just ‚Äì it works for us as a family.

BRAD SHAM: Thank you.

Coach [Nick] Saban, a member of the staff was at a function where you were speaking once and heard you tell a story that I’d like to see if we can verify about being in your hometown in West Virginia and they threw an appreciation day in your honor after you won your first national title involving your wife Terry who apparently you were interested in dating back in high school and she was dating someone else. Do you mind sharing that story? (laughter)

NICK SABAN: Oh, boy. That’s an old one.

BRAD SHAM: It’s a new audience, Coach (Nick Saban.) There’s no old jokes in front of a new audience.

NICK SABAN: Well, it is kind of a joke.

But I grew up working in my dad’s service station, wore white socks, had grease under my fingernails all the time. Wasn’t the ideal circumstance.

I went to the country school. Miss Terry went to the city school. They wore IZOD sweaters and penny loafers, which we didn’t have. So it was really hard to get a date with any of the girls in the city based on the circumstance.

But I always had my eye on Miss Terry. She’s been the love of my life actually and very supportive. But she always had this boyfriend, Mickey Schaeffer, that I could never sort of wean her away from.

So when I finally was successful, when we were juniors or seniors in high school, we went off ‚Äì and she’s been very supportive in helping me be successful.

And when we went back for this day, Mickey Schaeffer had a – kind of a fast-food type of – service station type of place. And I wanted to not pass up the opportunity to drive by and let Miss Terry know that this is where you could have ended up if you had ended up with him. (laughter)

She was very quick to respond that, ‘If I had ended up with Mickey Schaeffer, he would be the head coach at Alabama now.’ (laughter)

BRAD SHAM: Thank you. Thanks, Coach (Nick Saban).

Finally, for each of you very quickly, Coach [Luke] Fickell, you first, in terms of getting ready for the game tomorrow, when you look at Alabama, what are the things that jump off the tape at you that give you the most concern?

LUKE FICKELL: It’s all three phases of the game. I think that when you play a great team, obviously like Coach [Nick] Saban has, you really look at the whole picture of things now. It was a little easier when I was just the defensive guy because I only had to focus on one thing.

You just notice that in all these phases of the game they’re going to play really sound and really well. I always believe the game is won up front. I know there’s going to be a lot of great athletes on the field.

But I know for us in particular, our ability to be able to play and play well up front on both sides of the ball is going to be a really big deal because that’s where the game’s always won.

BRAD SHAM: Thank you.

Coach [Nick] Saban, what jumps out at you about the Bearcats?

NICK SABAN: I think they have great balance as a team. They play well in all phases of the game. They block more kicks in a special teams circumstance than any team in the country, which is a very challenging circumstance for us.

Offensively, they’ve got great balance. The quarterback does a fantastic job of making choices and decisions, running and passing and make plays with his feet. They have got good skill guys outside.

Defensively, they are very aggressive. They affect the quarterback in many ways. They have got really good cover people.

So this is as fine a team and as well-coached a team as we’ve played all season long. And they play together as a group, and you can tell they’ve got great team chemistry.

BRAD SHAM: Gentlemen, we thank you both very much for your time. Appreciate your being here. We’re honored to have you here in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. We’ll let you go back to your teams. Thanks for your time.