By Jordan Sigler
Copyright newsweek
Legendary college football coach Nick Saban was in no mood for humble praise coming from North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick on Saturday morning. During UNC’s pregame warm-ups ahead of their contest against Clemson, Belichick told the hosts of “ESPN College GameDay” that Saban taught him a lot about defense during their time working together with the Cleveland Browns.
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“I learned an awful lot from Coach Saban,” Belichick said. “We came from different defensive systems, and we merged them together in Cleveland. I learned a lot from him about man-to-man coverage, which we didn’t play a lot of at New York (Giants) and, you know, the 4-3 defense, which he played at Michigan State and Toledo.
“So it’s a great experience watching Nick handle the free agents and recruit and build a program at Alabama. I’m very grateful for the relationship that I have with him and all the things that I’ve learned from him. He’s the best that’s ever done it.”
TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA – SEPTEMBER 7: former University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban is honored with a ceremony dedicating the field in his name during the halftime break between the Alabama Crimson Tide and South Florida Bulls at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 7, 2024 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images)
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Saban responded to Belichick’s praise by offering some of his own to the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach, saying he learned more from Belichick about defense during their time with the Browns than Belichick learned from him.
“I never thought, and all the time we’ve been friends, that I’d ever say that you’re full of (expletive), but I learned a lot more,” Saban said amid laughter from his co-hosts. “I learned a lot more from you than you ever learned from me.”
“I never thought in all the time we’ve been friends that I’d say you’re full of s—. But I learned a lot more from you than you ever learned from me.”Nick Saban and Bill Belichick have nothing but respect for one another 👏 (🎥 @CollegeGameDay) pic.twitter.com/xy1UxZHgor— ESPN (@espn) October 4, 2025
Belichick’s comments about Saban’s success in recruiting came after a report came out in The Athletic this week that quoted a Group of 5 head coach who claimed North Carolina was trying to recruit talent that was subpar for the Power 5. While Belichick and Saban were masters of defensive strategy, Belichick is going to need to recruit better players if he wants to build a relevant program to rival that of Saban’s teams at Alabama.
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