Kirk Herbstreit Opens Up About What Nick Saban Is Really Like Off TV

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While no one will ever truly replace the great Lee Corso's presence on College GameDay, seven-time national champion Nick Saban has stepped in to fill the role of the on-air coach rather well over these past couple of seasons. And if you don't believe it, ask Kirk Herbstreit.

Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show last week, Herbstreit said that Saban is more than willing to be told that he's willing to be told that he's wrong in ways that he wasn't known for during his time as a coach.

“Oh yeah, he’s cool with it," Herbstreit said.

“This is the greatest thing about Nick Saban. I’ve known him since he was the head coach at Michigan State. So, I’ve known him for almost 25 years. When he first came onto GameDay… He’s Nick Saban! Right? And we’ll get done with a segment, and he’ll turn to me, because I’m sitting right next to him. He’ll look over to me, and he’s like, ‘Was that okay?’ You know, and I’m like, “Yeah, man.'”

“But he wants to be coached like he’s a player. He’s like, ‘Don’t just tell me what I want to hear. I want to get better at this.’ He really, I think, has an appreciation for not just being ‘I’m Nick Saban, and that’s enough.’ But really understanding studio television, and ‘How can I be better?'”

“So, I love that about him, because he doesn’t have to do that, right? I mean, he’s Nick Saban. He can just be Nick Saban. But he wants to really try to study the craft and get good at it.”

Saban post-Alabama

For a coach who had a notoriously low tolerance for nonsense when he was a coach at both the college and NFL levels, it certainly has been a surprising change to see Saban smiling, laughing and even hamming it up with the GameDay cast.

Saban has shown that it's not some ruse to get back into the good graces of other college football programs or get another NFL job.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Apr 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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