Hannah recently spoke with AL.com and the following came up. I think Hannah gave the perfect answer about two great coaches.
Question: "You mentioned Bryant and Saban, so I’m curious. There was an SI cover after Alabama won its most recent championship with Saban on the cover. They photoshopped a houndstooth fedora on Saban’s head. Some Alabama fans took exception to that. What is your reaction?"
Answer: "I’ll tell you a story. I remember when Saban was first hired. Some guy called me. He asked me what I thought of Saban. Really, I didn’t know much. He said, “Well, he has a hard time with his coaches and coaches really fear him, and this and that and the other.” I said, “Well, that sounds like coach Bryant.” Then, he said, “He doesn’t get along with the newspaper guys and doesn’t do well with the media.” I said, “Well, that sounds like coach Bryant. He kept going and everything he said about Saban sounded like coach Bryant.”They aren’t the same people. I think coach Saban is a little bit closer to all his players than coach Bryant was. Coach Bryant was maybe closer to one or two guys on the team. That’s it. The rest of them were scared to death of him.I think Saban reaches out a lot more in recruiting. He’s an unbelievable recruiter. He has gotten so much talent down there. They are different personalities and some other subtleties, but they are both great coaches who have accomplished a whole lot at the University."
Question: "You mentioned Bryant and Saban, so I’m curious. There was an SI cover after Alabama won its most recent championship with Saban on the cover. They photoshopped a houndstooth fedora on Saban’s head. Some Alabama fans took exception to that. What is your reaction?"
Answer: "I’ll tell you a story. I remember when Saban was first hired. Some guy called me. He asked me what I thought of Saban. Really, I didn’t know much. He said, “Well, he has a hard time with his coaches and coaches really fear him, and this and that and the other.” I said, “Well, that sounds like coach Bryant.” Then, he said, “He doesn’t get along with the newspaper guys and doesn’t do well with the media.” I said, “Well, that sounds like coach Bryant. He kept going and everything he said about Saban sounded like coach Bryant.”They aren’t the same people. I think coach Saban is a little bit closer to all his players than coach Bryant was. Coach Bryant was maybe closer to one or two guys on the team. That’s it. The rest of them were scared to death of him.I think Saban reaches out a lot more in recruiting. He’s an unbelievable recruiter. He has gotten so much talent down there. They are different personalities and some other subtleties, but they are both great coaches who have accomplished a whole lot at the University."
