No longer dealing with the everyday stress of coaching, Nick Saban is excited to watch the 2024 SEC Championship Game like a proud father as two of his former disciples, Georgia's Kirby Smart and Texas' Steve Sarkisian, go head-to-head. However, he is not afraid to mock either one of his two friends, which he did on the Week 15 edition of ESPN's ‘College Gameday.'
The unique episode featured both Smart and Sarkisian on-site with Saban in between them. After being asked about adjustments from their regular season meeting by host Rece Davis, both Smart and Sarkisian dismissed the question with generic responses, saying that they did not want to “over-analyze” the film and rather put the title game in the hands of their players. Saban wasn't having it.
“I think they're both bulls****** us,” Saban said, igniting a laugh from each of the ‘College Gameday' crew members.
While both Smart and Sarkisian coached at Alabama as Saban's assistants, their time in Tuscaloosa did not overlap. Smart served as Saban's defensive coordinator from 2008 to 2015 before being hired as the head coach of Georgia, while Sarkisian was a member of his staff in 2016, 2019 and 2020.
Though Smart has developed a name for himself at Georgia, he is one of the many prominent coaches of the sport who gained most of his early growth as Saban's assistant. Sarkisian, on the other hand, was the head coach of Washington and USC before joining Saban's staff and eventually re-establishing himself with Texas.
Texas and Georgia rematch in 2024 SEC Championship Game

Nearly two months after they first met in October, Texas and Georgia will rematch for the SEC title in Atlanta with a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff on the line. The Bulldogs won the regular season matchup, taking down the then-No. 1-ranked Longhorns 30-15 on the road in Week 8.
The loss was the only defeat of the season for the No. 2-ranked Longhorns, who have since won their last five games. Their spot in the College Football Playoffs is seemingly safe, even with another potential loss to Georgia.
The Bulldogs, however, might need a win to even secure a spot in the 12-team tournament. A loss would hand Georgia their third of the year, dropping them to 10-3 on the season. With Boise State securing its spot on Friday and several other key conference championship games still to go, there is still a chance that Smart's No. 5-ranked team misses the national championship bracket overall.