Nick Saban’s Verbal Spat With Paul Finebaum On And Off Air

Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Missouri all appeared at Wednesday’s SEC media day, though head coach Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide-as usual-stole the show.

“I think you have to look at the whole picture”, Saban said. “If they continue to do that, that will be how this matter is handled internally”. Robinson was arrested on possession of a controlled risky substance and illegal possession of a stolen firearm, while Jones was charged with possession of a controlled unsafe substance.

Fourth Judicial Disctrict Attorney Jerry Jones declined to prosecute Robinson and Jones last month due to “insufficient evidence”.

It has not been a quiet off-season for Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban.

Saban asked Finebaum and the rest of the panel that included Marcus Spears, Greg McElroy and host Dari Nowkhah, why Robinson and Jones were the only two men arrested in a auto that also included two other men. Saban continued on with facts on how there were two other people in the vehicle, but those didn’t get arrested for anything.

Concerning the players’ standing with the Alabama football program, Saban noted their past behavior as well as how they’ve responded since the arrests. There’s no law about concealed weapons in Louisiana. “So why did they search the auto just because there was a gun on the seat”.

“There are just a lot of reasons why there weren’t charges brought against these guys”.

“Regardless of that circumstance (surrounding the criminal case), our stance on this is we want to do everything we can to get these guys to change their behavior in terms of making better decisions”, Saban said during a segment on the SEC Network later Wednesday.

“There is a cross-section of people out there who maybe aren’t giving young men responsible information about making this decision, which is indicative of 107 guys going out for the draft a year ago”.

Robinson and Jones were required to take weekly drug tests, undergo routine drug counseling, receive gun education from Tuscaloosa Police, do 26 hours of ride-alongs with police, volunteer with the Police Athletic League and submit to outpatient drug treatment.

Robinson has started all 29 games during his Alabama career at left tackle, including playing through a severely sprained ankle his freshman season and with shoulder and knee issues in 2015. The stolen-firearms charge Robinson faced was a felony, while the other charges for Jones and himself were misdemeanors.

Saban said camp performance will tell the tale.

“Guys are presented different opportunities and have to make best decision for what’s best for them”, Odom said of Rhoades’ departure, per McMurphy, before adding, “We had a long discussion last night”.

But after the segment ended, Saban didn’t stop ripping into Finebaum. According to ESPN, an Alabama official said the two were forced to undergo a slew of tasks as punishment.

“Defensively, we have six starters back but we lost some really good players, and we lost depth, which will be a real challenge for us to replace, especially up front”, Saban said.