Saban saddened by Tuberville's departure

Alabama football coach Nick Saban is almost getting used to the question. For the fourth time this season, Alabama’s football coach was asked about an opponent’s departure.

No, Saban wasn’t celebrating Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville’s resignation on Wednesday.

“There eventually gets to be an expectation that no one’s ever satisfied. Nobody’s ever satisfied,” Saban said. “It happens all the time. And it’s too bad.”

Clemson’s Tommy Bowden, Tennessee’s Phillip Fulmer, Mississippi State’s Sylvester Croom, and now Tuberville all lost to Alabama this season and later either stepped down or were forced out.

The Crimson Tide’s 36-0 victory over Auburn Saturday wrapped up Alabama’s first undefeated regular season since 1994.

Saban, who met with reporters after Wednesday’s practice in Tuscaloosa, spoke about his departed SEC colleagues.

“Those guys are really good coaches. They’ve done a really good job for a long time. They’ve got a tremendous body of work,” Saban said.

“I really question some of the judgment relative to how it is for our game that people ... who have done that kind of job and affected so many people in a positive way ... would not be given more respect and consideration than what these guys have been. So I guess we’re 5-7 away from the same thing.”

Saban called Tuberville “a good friend” the week of the Auburn game.

“I have a tremendous amount of professional respect for him. He’s done a fantastic job wherever’s he’s coached as a head coach,” Saban said. “I had a lot of respect for him when he was an assistant coach and a defensive coordinator.

“So we want nothing but the best for his future. We have to compete in this game and we’ll both do the best job that we can, I’m sure, to help our teams have the best success that they can have.”

Saban said he didn’t think Alabama’s resurgence played any role in what happened at Auburn.

“It shouldn’t have. I would think not. And certainly shouldn’t have,” he said. “When you see a program start to lose toughness, discipline, those types of things, that’s one thing. That’s not the case (at Auburn). It wasn’t the case at Tennessee. It wasn’t the case at Mississippi State. It wasn’t the case anywhere.”

Saban said the week of the Iron Bowl that “it’s not just another game.”

“We have a tremendous amount of respect for the rivalry, because we respect both schools and the tradition that both schools have and the support and passion the fans bring.” the Tide coach said before the game.

After Fulmer’s forced resignation at Tennessee, the Alabama coach said he certainly didn’t want to see a professional lose his job.

“No, I don’t think you ever play for this. You play for your team and what your team can do,” Saban said the week of the LSU game. “You want your team to try and dominate so they can be successful.

“You’d really like to win the game on your ability to execute, not somebody else’s inability to. That’s what makes you feel good about having success is you know you kind of did a good job relative to how you played, how you performed and how close to your capacity you really played to.

“I think every guy knows that and that’s really what you want for your team. You don’t really want anything bad to happen to the other team, you just want your team to play well.”

Saban, a tireless recruiter, said before the Iron Bowl that Auburn doesn’t affect what Alabama does in recruiting.

“My approach in recruiting has never been to worry about what the other guy is doing,” the coach said. “I have never done that and never will do it. It’s always been about our program and this is what we have and don’t say bad things about somebody else. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know any bad things about somebody else. ...”

“I feel in my heart that every guy should want to come to school here because we have a great program. So that’s no disrespect or negative to anybody else and it never will be. That’s what I believe and that’s how we recruit. It doesn’t really make any difference what anybody else does.”