Nick Saban at SEC Media Days 2024: 3 interesting things Alabama legend said in his debut as analyst at Dallas event

It's a brave new world for former Alabama coach Nick Saban at SEC Media Days 2024. On Sunday, he made his first appearance as part of the media at the opening day's event in Dallas, Texas, after years of being one of the most prominent personalities in the SEC. Saban's immediate comments confirmed that he's aware that things will be a bit different for commentator Saban than for coach Saban.

3 interesting facts from Nick Saban at SEC Media Days 2024

Shown here with then-Arkansas coach Chad Morris, Nick Saban was the brightest coaching star in the SEC for years. (Photo Credit: Austin American-Statesman/IMAGN)

#1. Credentials matter

Nick Saban at SEC Media Days 2024 got off to a bumpy start. Saban apparently forgot his credentials, which is a significant no-no at the massive event for media members.

"I've never worn a credential in my life and was always, for 17 years, able to get into SEC Media Day without a credential," a chuckling Saban told ESPN this morning. "I had to go back to the room today to get my credential to get in. That's one of the biggest changes I see. It's not like it used to be."

Indeed, it's not like it used to be. More teams, more media and a bigger annual showcase created an environment that, as Saban noted, was different from the one he visited during his first SEC Media Days in 2000.

#2. A busy SEC staff in Dallas is business-minded but polite

Despite his situation, Saban had no real axe to grind with the SEC personnel who made him produce a credential during the Media Days event.

"People were very polite," said Saban. "So it was OK."

In fact, when other media personalities repeated the story and tried to get Saban into a heated state, he turned it down.

"They were just doing their job," he said later on ESPN's SEC Now program.

It's others who have been more bemused by the situation, if also perhaps more negative. Fellow commentator and former Georgia Bulldog Benjamin Watson jokingly said:

"Somebody's going to get fired."

#3. Media Saban or Coach Saban, the meaning of media days is unchanged

While it'll get lost in the kerfluffle of credentials, the biggest revelation so far on the Nick Saban at SEC Media Days 2024 tour is one of preparation. Saban remarked earlier this morning that SEC Media Days, in his coaching career, marked the transition from developing your team for the upcoming college football season to preparing them to compete in the season.

The same will hold true for him as a media person. With the transfer portal, there's a never-ending flow of college football news. But rosters are essentially complete, and teams are about to ramp up practice schedules. The focus shifts from a season in the deep, dark future somewhere far off to games played a few weeks away. Saban synthesized the preseason experience.

That said, stay tuned because there will be even more highlights to come from Nick Saban at SEC Media Days 2024.

How impressed are you by the legendary coach's first turn as a media member? Weigh in below with your thoughts in our comments section!