Jan 1, 2021; Arlington, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban and Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly meet on the field before the Rose Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

When Brian Kelly left Notre Dame many questioned why.  But one person who Kelly turned to ask for advice before he took the LSU job was Alabama’s, Nick Saban, who coached at LSU for five years.

That may come as a surprise to many but Kelly says he and Saban have a relationship.

“Nick and I have always had a relationship,” Kelly told CBS Sports in April. “We’re busy. It’s not like we’re going to sit down and we’re going say, ‘Hey, what do you think?’ In my conversations, he can talk about his experiences and what the strengths are of a program like LSU. I was able to put enough together that this was a great program and a great opportunity. He’s been here. He knows. When you can get advice and counsel from a guy like Nick Saban, he’s a good one to take it from.”

Saban said he told Kelly this about the LSU job:

“I told him that I thought he would do an outstanding job there and it’s certainly going to be challenging for us playing against,” Saban said. “They’ve always got good personnel and now they’ve got a really good coach. Not that they’ve not had great coaches in the past, but just a real challenging situation for us. But I’m sure he’ll do a great job there.”

Saban didn’t have that kind of relationship with former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron. In fact, after their 2019 victory in Tuscaloosa, he was caught on video dragging the Tide after the Tigers’ win, which came back to haunt him a year later when Alabama would stomp LSU in Baton Rouge on their way to winning the 2020 national championship.

But it seems like the tide has turned so to speak in this relationship.

[Tuscaloosa News]

About Stacey Mickles

Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.