Former Alabama Crimson Tide running back Damien Harris recently shared a memorable experience involving his ex-coach, Nick Saban. During the 2025 SEC Media Day on Monday, July 14, Harris discussed his time under the guidance of the celebrated coach, a video of which was posted by Alabama Crimson Tide on AL.com’s Instagram page.
Harris reflected on a mistake he made that led to Saban giving him the cold shoulder, an occurrence he noted had never happened to him before. Hailing from Richmond, Kentucky, he emphasized that this incident stands out as his best story from his years playing for Saban from 2015 to 2018.
“I’m gonna give you my best Nick Saban story. It’s not funny. It’s not a joke. This is what Nick Saban is about. My senior year, we played Tennessee on the road. The only time in my four years at Alabama that I was late to anything was before this Tennessee game. On the Friday before, we do our meetings, we go through a little walkthrough,” Harris reminisced.
Harris revealed that he overslept, resulting in his tardiness to the Friday meeting. He confided in a few teammates and even sought advice on how to sneak in. Emphasizing the importance of punctuality with Saban, the 28-year-old found it unusual that Saban chose not to speak to him that day.
He recounted what transpired the following day:
“Then you get to Saturday and right before we go out for warmups and stuff, coach Saban comes up to me and he’s like, ‘I know you were late yesterday. Because of that, we’re gonna have to go with the other guy, Josh Jacobs. Your job is to just be a cheerleader.’”
Damien Harris played as a running back for the New England Patriots in the NFL from 2019 to 2022, wrapping up his career with the Buffalo Bills in 2023. He has since transitioned into a role as an analyst for CBS Sports.
Life Lesson Revealed by Damien Harris Following Nick Saban’s Snub
In the same discussion during the 2025 SEC Media Day, Damien Harris elaborated on the implications of Saban’s decision to start Josh Jacobs against the Tennessee Volunteers.
“He was like, ‘I want you to understand this isn’t because you were late. It was because you didn’t come talk to me about it, because you didn’t take ownership of your mistake because you didn’t have the self-accountability to come look me in the face and tell me, ‘Hey coach, I was late,’ as somebody who ended up being a permanent captain,’” Harris said.
Saban reprimanded Harris not for his lateness, but for lacking accountability. Harris concluded by stressing that he always keeps in mind that when coaches and mentors indicate that there are life lessons to be gleaned from football, they are indeed speaking the truth.
Image Source: Damien Harris @ Instagram
