Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris had a breakout rookie season last year. He showed that he was ready for the NFL day one. Apparently, it didn't happen overnight either. Harris was a strong, powerful tailback in college at Alabama for Nick Saban. But unlike many of Saban's players, Harris was not one to back down from the legendary coach.
Harris recently joined The Pivot Podcast and talked about his relationship with Saban.
“Me and Saban, we did not get along at first… I'm not the type of dude to just sit back and let somebody talk to me in a way and then not expect me to say something,” Harris said. “I can take coaching, but it's a certain type of line when you cross, it's like, ‘All right, I'm a man, you ain't gonna talk to me like that.'”
Harris shared his perception that the legendary coach was not used to someone talking back to him. He referenced some of the arguments between the two where he claims to have let Saban know that he can coach him, but should not “belittle” him.
Saban is known for being hard on his players. So, this story certainly stands to reason. However, Harris talked about the final blow up during his last season. Saban reportedly took the rest of the day to get to know him as a person. They were on the same page ever since that day.
That season in 2020, Alabama won the National Championship. Harris rushed for 1,466 yards and an absurd 26 touchdowns. He didn't slow down entering the NFL either.
Najee Harris had a huge rookie season, rushing for 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns on 307 carries. He also caught 74 passes for another 467 yards and three scores.
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