In last week's episode of "Old Man Beef," Alabama head coach Nick Saban sounded like a salty, crusty sore loser by calling out his ex-pupil, Jimbo Fisher. Taking a mid-May cheap-shot at the Texas A&M head coach was just the most recent sign that Saban' is starting to grow frustrated and out-of-touch with the evolution of college football.
Saban's accusation that Fisher and the Aggies "bought every player" in their recent recruiting class should've set off the hypocrite alarm, loud and clear. Alabama's a program that can recruit off its prestigious brand and image, but that doesn't mean they have a squeaky-clean track record. While the Crimson Tide haven't faced any major recruiting sanctions or violations, it's impossible to believe everything going on in Tuscaloosa was completely, morally square.
Leading an SEC powerhouse, Saban's a win-at-all-costs kind of coach. And surely, he's willing to do whatever it takes to win games -- even if that means bending rules once in a while (or regularly). Like the military or government, elite college football programs operate in a bureaucracy of their own, which has few regulations. And it's for this reason that not even Dr. Stuart R. Bell -- Alabama's esteemed president -- has tried to look the public in the eyes and tell them everything the school has done has been fair.
Since taking over at Alabama in 2007, Saban has gone 211-25. Unsurprisingly, six of those losses came in his first season with the program. Winning eight conference titles and seven national championships during this span, Saban has reinvented the definition of greatness. Year after year, the Crimson Tide have defied logic with uncharacteristically high success, mainly due to an endless pool of the country's best high school talent.
At the age of 70, the sweet taste of constant winning has made Saban's taste buds increasingly sensitive to the bitterness of losing games. Struggling and adversity are two things he hasn't handled particularly well. His difficulty with handling challenging times explains why he disappeared and then resurfaced like Harry Houdini, when leaving the Miami Dolphins for Alabama. The buildup of disdain also explains Saban's decision to attack his old pal, in Fisher.
Getting annihilated by the SEC rival Georgia Bulldogs -- and by another former mentee in Kirby Smart -- during last year's national championship game surely had to hurt. But getting bested in the recruiting battle by Texas A&M -- in the same year NIL regulations came into play -- gave off a different type of sting. It shows that, although Saban still has the juice to go out and get top recruits, other programs now have the booster packages and financial means to beat the mighty Tide.
Losing in the national championship is halfway acceptable, and it's happened to Saban before. And with the inexperienced Bryce Young leading the way at quarterback, it was almost expected last year's team would lose to a veteran Georgia defense. Coming in second place -- in both the on-field and off-field battle -- indicate that Saban's days of sheer dominance may be numbered.
Watching two guys who've benefited from Saban's tutelage -- in their route to college football prominence -- try to yank the reins out of the legend's hands makes it that much worse. Alternatively, if both Smart and Fisher belonged to different conferences, it might've been a little bit easier. But Saban realizing he has two of the biggest faces in the sport breathing down his neck -- and inching closer to claiming the SEC's top spot -- can't be easy.
Before the fat lady starts singing about the end of the era, let's realize it's far from that. Alabama still posses the talent and reputability as a school to be a top-dog for a few more years. But all good things must come to an end. And sometimes the decline is gradual, not instant. The retirement of Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski and Villanova's Jay Wright in college basketball showed that all coaching dynasties have an expiration date.
As men who cut their teeth on the pre-NIL days of the NCAA, the unknown presented by this new era of college football must be threatening. Programs can now legally offer booster packages to recruits, making the probability of parity and attrition at the top of college sports much greater. Like corporate CEOs who thrived on the old way of doing things, adapting to the new-school way of thinking has to be uninviting.
Student-athletes are more empowered than ever before, and it'll be harder for team coaches to have the same authority and control over them. Recruitment is now an ongoing process, which also means those coaches can no longer get away with just playing Mr. Nice Guy when they visit a kids' living room.
It's important to remember that we're still three months away from the start of college football season. Talk is cheap if you can't walk the walk. If Texas A&M can't contend with Alabama come Oct. 8, then Fisher will come off as the real chump here. But, at the same time, the level of pettiness displayed by Saban toward change within the sport -- paired with the success of other schools -- signal his days as the undisputed king of the SEC may be numbered.
Jack Stern is a columnist and an associate producer for CBS Sports Radio. You can follow him on Twitter @J_Stern97.