Nick Saban reveals Alabama secretly recorded him, teases Tua Tagovailoa conversation in new doc

Nick Saban revealed Alabama has archived footage of team meetings that he didn't know about.

Now, that video, including when he told quarterback Tua Tagovailoa he was replacing Jalen Hurts at quarterback, will be featured in "Saban," a six-part documentary on the former Alabama coach .

"When I told Tua that he was going in at halftime for Jalen, I didn't know any of that (footage) existed," Saban told Rich Eisen about the 2017-18 national championship game in which Tagovailoa led Alabama past Georgia in overtime with the infamous second and 26 play. "So to see all of that inside out sort of stuff that happens behind the scenes, I thought would be very, very interesting for fans in terms of the competitive nature of sports."

Saban said 70 people were interviewed for the documentary, which he says goes behind the scenes.

He said Alabama never told him they were recording behind the scenes in the locker room and in tea meetings.

"I would never let the media in the locker room after the game," Saban said. "I thought there was a time when they coach-team relationship was very important.

"What you said to the team was not for public information. Well, Alabama was doing an archive on all those things. I never knew that stuff existed."

"Saban" will premiere on Oct. 8, at 5 p.m. Central (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT). Subsequent episodes will air throughout October and into November on ESPN.

The documentary series traces Saban's early life in West Virginia and at Kent State University and his coaching career from low-level assistant to young head coach on through the glory years at Alabama, where he won six national championships in 17 seasons before retiring in early 2024. Saban and wife Terry are interviewed extensively in the series, along with more than 70 friends, coaching colleagues and former players such as Bill Belichick, Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Kirby Smart, Jalen Hurts, Derrick Henry , Bryce Young , Julio Jones , AJ McCarron , DeVonta Smith and Tua Tagovailoa.

"With my coaching days behind me, Miss Terry and I have been doing a lot of reflection and realized we were ready to tell our story," Saban said last month . "The team at Words + Pictures has encouraged me to really look back not just at my time at Alabama, but every stop along the way – and not just reflect on what happened but consider the process which made it happen. I interacted with a lot of players and coaches along the way and I'm happy to see that so many of them have contributed to this docuseries. There's a lot to tell, and I'm excited to share it all."

"Saban" also promises never-before-aired footage from practices, sidelines, locker rooms and other "behind-the-scenes" moments.

"Nick Saban's impact extends far beyond the championships and historic success he achieved on the field," said Brian Lockhart, Senior Vice President, ESPN Original Content. "What makes this series so special is the extraordinary access to Coach Saban, Miss Terry and the people who know him best, paired with rare footage that offers a new perspective on his remarkable journey. Saban is a definitive portrait of one of the most consequential figures in college football history, and we're proud to share it with fans."

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