Admittedly, Nick Saban does some nice things for some nice people.
He was very kind to a student from Arkansas a couple of years ago.
The foundation he and his wife, Terry, have done some good things.
Other than that, he just doesn't seem to be a very pleasant person, and that observation is from several years of covering his teams at LSU and Alabama once or twice a year, at SEC spring meetings and during SEC media days.
Obviously, that wouldn't make anyone an expert, but the man seems to be consumed with two things in his life: football and winning.
If a secretary can't help him win games, then don't speak to him, especially if the sun is up or down.
Several years ago, Coca-Cola put out promotional, life-size posters of Saban, Houston Nutt and Tommy Tuberville. When Saban saw they were life-size, and he was noticeably shorter than his colleagues, he ordered Coke to remove the posters. And the soft drink giant did so.
Last week, five-star quarterback Blake Barnett, a redshirt freshman, left the team. He started the opening game of the season but was quickly replaced by true freshman Jalen Hurts, a dual-threat quarterback, and Barnett saw the handwriting on the wall.
He wants to play, so he left the program.
Saban's response was that he didn't know anything about any player leaving the program. Not reading too much there, but he apparently wasn't willing to help the young man find a better fit, such as Bret Bielema did with Rafe Peavey.
It was Saban who wouldn't let North Little Rock native Altee Tenpenny transfer to another school in the SEC. Tenpenny worked hard to put his life back together until he died in a one-car accident last year.
Last summer at SEC media days, Saban refused to comment on whether Cameron Robinson and Hootie Jones would be disciplined after they were arrested in Monroe, La., for illegal drugs and possession of a stolen firearm.
This was before the prosecutor dropped all charges.
When pushed just a little by Paul Finebaum on his SEC Network show, Saban lost his temper, and after they went to commercial break he gave Finebaum a fiery earful. He is reported to have called Finebaum the next day and apologized for losing his temper.
Only Saban and Finebaum know if he apologized for being a bully.
Obviously, winning five national championships in football has given Saban a lot of leverage and power. His income of $7 million per year seems to have convinced him he's Teflon.
Oh, and that salary makes him the highest paid public employee in the United States of America, according to the Wall Street Journal, a publication that knows a little about money.
He must feel like he's won the lottery when he looks at his direct deposit.
And he doesn't have a house payment. The University of Alabama bought his house and leases it to him for an undisclosed, but presumably low, figure.
He has a full complement of well-paid assistants, who earn every penny, but he also has the luxury of having former USC head coach Steve Sarkisian and Mike Locksley, the former offensive coordinator and interim head coach at Maryland, as consultants.
Sarkisian makes $35,000 from Alabama and $4.2 million from USC.
That is currently legal, and a great advantage for a program that almost always ranks No. 1 in recruiting. If Tide offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has wearied of Saban, who announced in a news conference that he had chewed Kiffin's butt during a game, Saban can look around and go, "Next," just like he does with players.
Sports on 10/06/2016
