Thanks to the new labor deal, NFL practices aren’t what they used to be. College coaches aren’t bound by the new emphasis on reduced intensity.
As a result, some college programs now make their players even more prepared for life in the NFL than they used to be. Chargers tackle D.J. Fluker, a first-round pick in 2013, says that Nick Saban runs one of those programs.
“Playing at Alabama, practice-wise, is probably a lot harder than playing in the NFL,” Fluker recently told 99.1 FM in Tuscaloosa, via AL.com. “Being under Coach Saban and the practices he makes each and every day was like an NFL game. That prepared me the most, being in that environment every single day. . . . Coach made everything organized, just like being in the NFL.”
That’s a great recruiting pitch for Alabama, assuming players are willing to have their butts busted by the man still lovingly (or otherwise) known in South Florida as the Nicktator.
The difference between college and NFL practices could be another reason to assume that Saban won’t be inclined to end his career by taking another shot at the only level where he ultimately failed as a head coach.