Was lack of preparation behind Alabama football losing skid? What Nick Saban said

BIRMINGHAM — After a wild weekend of college football, Nick Saban said he didn't know what to say about "everybody getting beat last week." Instead, before speaking to the Monday Morning Quarterback Club in Birmingham, the Alabama coaching legend cracked a joke.

"I'm just glad I'm not coaching," Saban smirked.

For the first time since 2007, when Saban first took the helm at Alabama, the Crimson Tide has suffered back-to-back losses. While providing his media pundit skills throughout ESPN's college coverage over the weekend that followed Alabama's 20-17 loss to Georgia, Saban spoke at length about how a young team responds to adversity.

The Crimson Tide's response? A 26-10 loss at Tennessee on Saturday, Oct. 17.

At the Monday Morning Quarterback Club meeting in Birmingham, Saban was asked if he thought Alabama "skipped" steps in preparing for the Volunteers, or if they just ran into a "good" Tennessee team.

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Saban shrugged and said he "can't speak to, internally, what happens on the team," but said that he knows sometimes when "key players" aren't available, it makes an "impact."

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Saban didn't name-drop wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams, who sat out of this year's series with injury after leading Alabama in receiving yards over Tennessee in 2025, or offensive lineman Racin Delgatty. He also didn't mention the mid-game exits for running back EJ Crowell or defensive back Zabien Brown.

"But I think Tennessee is a good team, especially on defense," Saban said, his eyes widening, signaling he meant it.

"I mean, they were physical. We couldn't run the ball. ... Jim Knowles is a really good defensive coordinator. They had us covered most of the time, and they ran the ball."

Saban highlighted that Tennessee is "winning a different way" nowadays.

"They used to win with wide-open, explosive plays and outscore you. Now, it's play good defense and run the ball. Shrink the game and they're pretty damn good at it," Saban said.