Nick Saban Says 'Rat Poison' About Alabama's Early Season Struggles And His Coaching Ability Was Like A Good Bowl Of Wheaties

There's nothing like a good bowl of Wheaties in the morning to really get you going. For Alabama coach Nick Saban, the 'Breakfast of Champions' was significant 'rat poison' that helped his program turn the corner when the season appeared in-doubt.

The early season play of Alabama has been well-documented this season, especially during the two-game stretch that resulted in a loss to Texas and an ugly win over South Florida. From that point on, the Crimson Tide has continued to improve on both sides of the ball, while some pundits wanted to discuss the end of the Nick Saban era.

It almost felt contagious in September and October, as Alabama continued to put together the pieces. The non-stop chatter of Nick Saban potentially retiring at the end of this season led to some entertaining theories.

Was the Alabama coach going to step-aside because he decided to join Pat McAfee during the season on a weekly basis. This had to be the reason why there was chatter about a pending retirement, right? There was no way that Nick Saban wanted to expand his outreach for the Alabama program, along with doing more with media.

No, some of the notions that were floating around social media focused on Nick Saban getting too comfortable with the media, or smiling after a game. These were examples being used to one to the conclusion that 2023 could be the final season for the Alabama coach.

How many years Nick Saban still wants to coach is up for debate every time the coach says something nice during an interview. Sure, Saban has seemed to enjoy the fruits of his labor a bit more this season on the outside. Even in defeat, the Alabama head coach has presented himself in a different light.

Nick Saban Calls The Rat Poison A Good Bowl Of Wheaties

In true Nick Saban form, he finds different ways of motivating his football team. In this case, he took the early 'struggles' in 2023 and found a rallying cry for his program. Whether it's good or bad news, Saban loves to use the term 'rat poison' to discuss the attention his program receives.

During the Rose Bowl media day on Saturday in Pasadena, Nick Saban was asked for his thoughts on the negative attention his program, along with himself, received earlier in the year.

"Well, we had some really good rat poison early, it was almost like Wheaties," Saban noted. "Everybody criticized us and said we weren't good, we're done, Coach Saban is past his prime, all of that was like eating Wheaties. Breakfast of champions, that helped us."

He's certainly not wrong about the last part, with Alabama looking like a completely different team behind Jalen Milroe. Since that close win against South Florida, the Tide has had its moments of ups and downs, along with a prayer answered at Auburn.

But the one thing I'm pretty sure most folks can agree on this season is that this might be Nick Saban's best coaching job yet at Alabama.

If they can continue playing like a team out to prove folks wrong, they'll be playing for a national championship in nine days. If not, Saban will head back to Tuscaloosa and most likely start preparing for the 2024 season.

Either way, there's bound to be some rat poison following the Rose Bowl on Monday night.