Media members put up with a lot from college coaches. Not giving straight or honest answers is one thing, but when a coach makes it harder for the people covering the team to do their jobs, Tim Brando draws a line.
The FOX college football broadcaster took Alabama coach Nick Saban to task for not releasing a depth chart for Saturday’s game against Middle Tennessee. What Saban may call gamesmanship amidst a quarterback battle, Brando calls bullying.
“Nick Saban’s not delivering a Depth Chart is beneath him, despite likely giving the guys calling the game some semblance of lineups,” Brando said on X (formerly Twitter). “He should be above that but clearly these days he’s not in the best of moods.”
This is not the first time the lack of a depth chart has drawn the ire of Tim Brando. He even referenced his spat with Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh that played out on Twitter in 2017.
As for Saban, Brando says that he owes the media, particularly those covering the Crimson Tide locally better.
“Why bully his local media in such a manner? The …kissing he’s demanding here is a joke! When much is given, much is also expected and the Goat needs to act like the greatest as opposed using your brand as a bully pulpit and that’s all this is!”
Saban’s excuse for not releasing a depth chart is that he wants some flexibility at quarterback as Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner battle for the starting job. He said that a depth chart could end the competition because once an order is put down on paper, it “is etched in stone.”
Brando doesn’t buy the explanation and says Saban is using the media to avoid fans waking up to a harsh reality about the team in 2023.
“Using its ‘etched in stone’ is a bit much, when the truth really is my QB room ain’t what it used to be,” he wrote.
