Former Alabama football head coach Nick Saban has offered his take on the ongoing Bill Belichick firing debate. Saban, now a part of ESPN’s College GameDay crew, compared Belichick’s first season of coaching college football and his first season at Alabama.Belichick took his first-ever college football head coaching gig at UNC late in 2024. The legendary NFL coach had the entire off-season to ready his team at Chapel Hill, engaging in an extensive recruitment campaign.However, the Tar Heels are 2-3 after five games, with many calling for him to be fired. Saban, speaking on the College GameDay set on Saturday, said:“Every coach needs to have the opportunity to establish his culture and also to recruit his kind of players. First year at Alabama, we lost to ULM. Remember that? ... You know, I get in my car to go home, and I got to stop and get gas. I got no gas. I used to wear my LSU national championship ring. I pay for the gas. The guy says, ‘Hey, what is that?’ I said, ‘It’s a national championship ring. We’re going to do the same thing here.’ He said, ‘We’ll never do it as long as Nick Saban’s the coach.”On the clamoring for Bill Belichick firing, he said:“There was an acclimation for Bill. You know, I know how organized he is. Probably misjudged a little bit of the timing of the first portal window. So they probably didn’t get an opportunity. You know, when you change coaches, you’re gonna lose players, so you got to replace those players… and they’re doing a great job of recruiting.”Bubba Cunningham restates commitment amidst Bill Belichick firing speculationsUNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham has expressed confidence in the head coach in a recent statement amidst Bill Belichick firing speculations. The statement was posted by UNC earlier in the week on X alongside a statement by Belichick.“Coach Belichick has the full support of the Department of Athletics and University,” Cunningham wrote.Similarly, the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach stated his full commitment to the program and the building process he’s leading. He wrote:“I’m fully committed to UNC Football and the program we’re building here.”The Tar Heels are having a much-needed break from playing this week. They play next against the California Golden Bears on Oct. 17.