Nick Saban might be best known for building a college football dynasty at Alabama, but he’s adding a new title to his already impressive résumé: NHL team owner.
During his weekly Thursday spot on The Pat McAfee Show, Saban opened up about his latest venture - becoming a part owner of the Nashville Predators. It’s a move that might surprise some, but for Saban, it’s a natural extension of his growing business footprint in Nashville, where he’s already invested in luxury car dealerships through Dream Motor Group alongside longtime business partner Joe Agresti. The Predators are majority-owned by former Tennessee governor and truck stop mogul Bill Haslam, who brought Saban into the ownership group.
“It was an opportunity for me, really, with Mr. Haslam,” Saban said. “We talked about some sports franchise opportunities in the future, and this was the first one that came up.”
Saban’s enthusiasm for the sport was clear. While he’s not about to start diagramming power plays or running line changes, he sees hockey - and the Predators - as a smart investment in a sport that’s gaining ground.
“I love hockey. I think hockey is a great investment,” he said.
“They have a salary cap and it’s a growing sport. I think there’s a lot of interest in the sport.
And Nashville is a great city. We have businesses there.”
He’s not trying to play GM, but he does believe his experience running elite organizations can bring value to the Predators.
“I’m kind of a fan and look forward to being a part of the team,” Saban said. “I don’t know enough about hockey to really coach anybody how to play it, but I know enough about successful organizations that hopefully can contribute something… in a positive way.”
McAfee couldn’t resist poking a little fun at Saban’s new hockey allegiance, especially since the Predators lost to McAfee’s hometown Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. Saban, who grew up in West Virginia surrounded by Penguins fans, shared a story that shows just how passionate hockey fans can be - and how business decisions don’t always go over smoothly with the hometown crowd.
“I went to a Predators game in the playoffs several years ago and the Penguins were actually playing the Predators,” Saban recalled. “And I had a Predators jersey on, trying to promote our Nashville businesses.
And I got about a thousand negative emails from my people back in West Virginia who were Penguins fans. So I got my ass kicked on that one.”
But it wasn’t all hockey talk. With the College Football Playoff looming, Saban also weighed in on his former team’s upcoming rematch with Oklahoma. Alabama dropped a close one to the Sooners earlier in the season, 23-21, and Saban pointed to one key area that could swing the outcome this time around: handling pressure.
“The pressure package that [Oklahoma has]… that was a big difference in the first game,” Saban said. “When [Alabama] got their pressures blocked up, they made a lot of explosive plays.
But when they didn’t, it was devastating - sacks, fumbles, pick-sixes. It was feast or famine.”
That first meeting told a clear story: Alabama outgained Oklahoma by a wide margin - over 400 yards to just 200 - but turnovers flipped the game. Three giveaways, all deep in their own territory, led to 17 Oklahoma points. That kind of self-inflicted damage is hard to overcome, especially against a defense that thrives on chaos.
“If you have those kind of plays, Oklahoma will be successful,” Saban said. “That’s how they win.
They’ve not scored a lot of points, [but] their defense is outstanding and they thrive on making plays that impact the game. And they did it to Alabama a month ago.”
A big part of Alabama’s ability to right the ship will rest on quarterback Ty Simpson. The junior was a Heisman frontrunner in October, but his production dipped late in the season.
While he threw for 326 yards in the first meeting with Oklahoma, his performances against Auburn and Georgia raised concerns. Saban pointed to protection issues and pressure as the root of Simpson’s struggles.
“I really do think that some of the issues that have been created on Alabama’s offense come from the fact that there’s more pressure, more sacks,” Saban said. “They’ve been able to affect the quarterback, which led to the four interceptions that you’re talking about.”
Still, Saban isn’t hitting the panic button on Simpson - far from it. He emphasized how much a quarterback’s performance is tied to the play around him.
“[Simpson is] very capable,” Saban said. “But I’ve always said this - quarterback’s a hard position to play, maybe the hardest in sports, if the people around you don’t play well. So their ability to run the ball, their ability to protect, pick up pressures, the offensive line playing a little more consistently - that’ll help the quarterback.”
And if Alabama can clean up those areas?
“I think Ty’s very capable of getting back to where he was somewhere in the middle of the season when he was playing outstanding.”
Kickoff for Alabama-Oklahoma is set for 7 p.m. Central on Friday night in Norman, Oklahoma. The game will be broadcast on both ABC and ESPN.