Phil Savage, the longtime color analyst for the Crimson Tide Sports Network has an upcoming book detailing insights into Alabama football practices and games, along with tid bits on head coach Nick Saban.
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The book detailing the Alabama football program, titled “4th & Goal Every Day: Alabama’s Relentless Pursuit of Perfection” will be released Aug. 29. Craig Stephenson of AL.com was able to obtain an advanced copy and shared some interesting information after reading it.
Savage has a long history with Saban, even going back to the NFL in 1991 with the Cleveland Browns, where Saban was the defensive coordinator and Savage was an entry-level defensive assistant. Savage moved up the ladder in the NFL, becoming an assistant coach, scouting director and eventually a general manager. He also currently serves as the executive director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, in addition to his current radio duties.
Savage became the color analyst for the Tide Network in 2009, and without being prompted, sent Saban a scouting report for the opener against Virginia Tech. Saban was impressed, and asked Savage it he would continue the reports before every opponent. He continued to do so and Saban has included them, along with his notes as well as his other assistants reports before each game since then.
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During the 2015 championship season, there was an early quarterback battle between Jacob Coker and Cooper Bateman. Coker pulled ahead and started the early season games, but before the home game against Ole Miss, Bateman got the surprise start.
According to Savage, Coker and Saban got into a heated argument in Saban’s office the Thursday prior to the game. The context of the argument was Coker’s frustration over Saban’s reluctance to name him the permanent starter.
Savage stopped short of saying that Coker’s benching was for disciplinary reasons, but the implication is clear. Regardless, Bateman faltered and Coker came in and sparked the Tide and remained the starter for the rest of the year, going on to win the championship.
Remember the infamous blowup on the sideline between Kiffin and Saban during the closing minutes of the blowout win in 2016 over Western Kentucky? There was a fumble in the shadow of Alabama’s end zone and Saban went off on Kiffin.
Savage writes that after the fumble Kiffin said into his headset “dumb players make dumb plays”. This is an open channel, and obviously all the coaches heard this. Saban fired back “no, dumb offensive coordinators call dumb plays.” Awkward silence anyone?
There are more insights and tidbits during Savage’s last 111 games with the Alabama football program, and will be an interesting read as the book is released just a couple of days prior to the kickoff to the 2017 season.