Alabama head football coach Nick Saban has a long history of crying into the wind about fast-paced offenses. Starting all the way back in 2013 when he was losing to Texas A&M with Johnny Manziel and Gus Malzahn's Auburn teams, Saban has been complaining about how he hates uptempo offense. 

So, it's no surprise at all that Saban is back on the whining horse after his team gave up 52 points and lost to Josh Heupel's breakneck Tennessee team in 2022. 

In an interview with Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, Saban was asked about new proposed rules that would eliminate clock stoppages after first downs in an effort to speed up games. His answer is exactly what you'd expect… 

"Everybody in college pretty much goes no-huddle and fast. Compared to the NFL, where everybody almost gets in a huddle, that makes a huge difference with how many plays are in a game. I’m not saying that should be regulated, but that’s why there are a lot of plays in the game.

"The way it used to be, the [official] would spot the ball and you couldn’t snap the ball [immediately]. When a team can snap the ball within seven seconds of the [play] clock, is that really good for player safety? I’m just asking the question. When you are on the defensive side, you can’t even change personnel."

Oh no. Let me cry a big crocodile tear for the "safety" of Nick Saban's defensive players… The real irony in these statements is that Saban himself has repeatedly used tempo in his offense with Bryce Young (Bama was 8th in the SEC in time of possession in 2022) to throw off defenses. I'm sure Saban was VERY concerned about the safety of Tennessee's players when he used no-huddle offense to score against them. 

Give me break. 

Incredibly (or perhaps unsurprisingly), Saban doubled down on the crying in the same interview when he was asked about using fake injuries to slow down offenses… 

"We never do it. … But again, when you are doing that? People are going so fast that you can’t catch your breath and can’t substitute anybody. They could control it a little bit if they say a team makes a first down and then you get an opportunity to sub players on defense. That would be one thing. You can go fast if you want, but if you make a first down, the defense [gets to sub]. Now, if [the defense] doesn’t sub, you can keep going fast."

It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the Tiny Tyrant eventually gets his way on this. The SEC and the NCAA bow constantly to Saban so perhaps they'll implement some nonsense that slows down offenses such as Josh Heuepl's. But until that day comes, I'll just leave you with this very stupid meme I made and we can all point and laugh at this angry old man as he yells at the clouds… 

Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK