The open feud between Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher appears to have been snuffed out, at least according to what Alabama's head coach said on Tuesday at SEC Media Days.
Saban was asked directly about the relationship with the Texas A&M head coach and former assistant, and he calmly sidestepped any additional bulletin board material as it related to Name, Image and Likeness.
"I have no issues or problems with Jimbo," Saban said. "He’s done a great job at A&M, he did a great job for us. I always take criticisms or whatever in a positive way to self-assess me personally in terms of, maybe there is something that I could do better. So any comments that anybody makes, you or any coach, I always take into consideration."
The issue popped off in mid-May when Saban panned the Aggie's top-rated recruiting class with the allegation that they had paid for those players through NIL partnerships. Fisher, who will take the podium on Wednesday in Atlanta, fired back quickly in an angry press conference. His scathing rebuke strongly implied that Saban's programs had not always adhered to NCAA rules. At the time Fisher said that Saban had called him, but the Aggies coach did not answer.
It's also worth noting that the Aggies landed one of the biggest upsets of the 2021 season, a 41-38 win over then No. 2 Alabama at Kyle Field that marked the first time Saban had lost to one of his former assistants in 25 such games.
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Alabama linebacker Will Anderson was also asked about the squabble between coaches.
"We don't have to speak on it much," he said. "When the game gets on, we'll address it then."
Even if the situation has been defused, it's unlikely going to be a point of contention that goes away in the foreseeable future. Saban pointed to himself as a supporter of NIL opportunities, which have been particularly lucrative for his players to the tune of $3 million in the 2021 season alone.
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Alabama players won't be the ones affected by the wide-open system at present, but he has concerns about a lack of "competitive balance" and unfulfilled promises that draw players to certain situations.
"There’s a lot of people using this as inducements to go to their school by making promises to which they may or may not being able to keep in terms of what players are doing," Saban said. "I think that is what can create a competitive balance issue between the haves and the have nots."
Alabama noted that his program was one of the "haves" in that situation, which would be a difficult point to argue.