“Most coaches walk right in off the street, sign in and sit down, but he practically has an advance team of assistant coaches who call to make sure everything is done a certain way for his visit. He has to come in this entrance and leave at this exit. It was like we were dealing with a rock star. We could not deal with every coach who comes through here if we had to deal with them the way we had to deal with him. By the time he actually got here, I really didn’t want to be around him. I wanted to say, ‘Look, you don’t treat people this way.’ I thought he really needed to examine what he was doing.”
– Brentwood Academy coach Ralph Potter on Nick Saban.
Potter and several other high school coaches were interviewed by David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press for a story on Saban’s recruiting style. Despite the above, Paschall assesses Potter’s final assessement of Saban as “pleasant.” Written with a “despite what you’ve heard” angle, the story ultimately headlines Saban as “personable.” Paul Finebaum had Paschall on his Monday radio broadcast to discuss the “fascinating article.”
Trust me, if your “personable demeanor” is newsworthy enough to deserve an exposé that scores its author a radio gig, you’re not a nice guy.
“It’s a complete catastrophe…”
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