Spurrier backs Alabama's Saban in feud with Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher
College Football Hall of Fame coach Steve Spurrier gave his support to Nick Saban following the Alabama head coach's highly publicized battle with Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher earlier this week.
"I don't know why (Fisher) is mad at Saban," Spurrier told DawgNations' Mike Griffith. "Did Saban say something that wasn't true?"
The feud began Wednesday when Saban told a local group of business leaders that the Aggies "bought every player" in their top-ranked 2022 recruiting class using name, image, and likeness deals. The seven-time national champion coach then insisted the Crimson Tide approach NIL the "right way."
Fisher delivered an impassioned response at a press conference Thursday, calling Saban's claims "despicable" and labeling him a "narcissist."
Spurrier, who won six SEC titles coaching at Florida, added that he's not impressed with Fisher's accomplishments. Fisher became the first former Saban assistant to beat the Alabama coach last season.
"I don't think Saban told any lies in there, so I don't know what he was mad about," he said. "Since (Fisher) beat him last year, I guess he can talk now. He hasn't beat much of anybody, but he beat Saban last year. But they haven't won the division or anything since he's been there."
Saban apologized to both Fisher and Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders publicly, but couldn't reach either for a private conversation.
However, he didn't back off his comments that using NIL to lure high school athletes was bad for college football.
"I think we have some unintended consequences of name, image, likeness in some of the circumstances we're in right now," he said during an appearance at the PGA Championship on Saturday, according to ESPN.
"We've always had guardrails on rules that govern competitive sports to create parity, and I think the situation that we're in now in college football, we don't have that," he added.
Both Saban and Fisher were reprimanded by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey on Thursday.