Armen Keteyian with The Athletic was granted unique access inside the Alabama program with Nick Saban recently.
The cameras were able to capture quite a bit in Act 1, from an outing at his place with a bunch of players and what Saban can learn about his guys from a relaxed setting away from football like that, to how his competitive nature fuels him so much, to his admitted "softer side" away from the field and Alabama football facility.
The first installment of this series is pretty laid back. See it in the clip below.
https://youtu.be/--YQziBoHsY
Act 2 digs into the football side of things a bit more, including how the program uses GPS to track speed and explosiveness of players in-game and in practices.
Jeff Allen, who oversees all of that data, shares in the clip that in the national title game against Clemson last year, Tide players were operating at about 15%-20% below what they were during the season. Why? They're still looking for those answers.
https://youtu.be/VpWCicAVAac
Act 3 gets kicked off with Saban's drive to the office as camp is set to begin, starting with a 7:30a meeting of his staff. Then the cameras follow Saban out to the practice field.
Right after practice, Saban is working out and getting a sweat on with strength and conditioning coordinator Scott Cochran.
As Act 3 wraps up, Saban is asked about how much longer he plans to coach - something he's seemingly asked every year. His response?
"I've been part of a team since I was 9 years old, and I'm scared to death of what it will be like when I'm not a part of a team."
Saban goes on to close out the episode with some thoughts on his own mortality, how he has things he'd like to do after football, and then adds, "Coaching is not a job, it's a way of life. As long as I feel like I have the energy to do it, which I do, then I'm excited about having the opportunity."
See all of Act 3 in the clip.
https://youtu.be/UvlPrADBBeE