Alabama head coach Nick Saban and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia have been friends since childhood. And while Manchin may not much about coaching football, he knows a thing or two about where Saban came from.
In a recent interview with On3.com, Manchin reflected on Saban’s infamous decision to leave the Miami Dolphins in 2007 to join Alabama. He said that at the time he advised Saban to take the Alabama job given that he’s more suited to “be a builder of men” than to coach people playing for money.
“I said, ‘Buddy, I love you, and I’m telling you. You weren’t raised to coach somebody that was playing for money,’” Manchin said. “‘You were raised basically to be a builder of men. That’s what your dad did. That’s all you ever saw in your whole life growing up. Whether you know it or not, that’s who you are.’”
Whether or not Manchin’s advice factored into the decision, Saban was apparently grateful for it. Manchin said that Saban called him up two years later to tell him that the Alabama job “might work out.”
“Hey, Joe,” he said, “I think this thing at Alabama might work out.”
Manchin joked that the Alabama job would have to work out given what he had done leading up to it. He said that his departures from Michigan State, LSU and the Miami Dolphins would probably keep him from getting jobs in those states in the future.
“Well, buddy,” Manchin said, “look at it this way. You can’t go back to Michigan. Louisiana’s off the charts too. You screwed them over. And I think Florida’s out, too. But we’ve still got 47 other states.”
.@Ivan_Maisel goes long on the Manchin-Saban friendship – w family photoshttps://t.co/e5rNI0ZdHM pic.twitter.com/RNwERCkbIj
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) August 19, 2021
Fortunately for Nick Saban, he probably won’t have to go to any other state. With his numerous national titles at Alabama, Saban is essentially the king of the state of Alabama.
Maybe once Saban is ready to stop coaching he’ll join Manchin in the halls of Congress.
He certainly wouldn’t be the first Alabama coaching legend to take his talents to Washington…
The post U.S. Senator Reveals The Old Advice He Gave Nick Saban appeared first on The Spun.
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