Nick Saban flooded with anonymous calls after coach’s number is leaked

In a completely unsurprising twist, the Alabama football program has become a lightning rod for criticism after the College Football Playoff selection committee put the Crimson Tide into the playoff at No. 4 to play Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

The ACC’s undefeated champion, Florida State, was left on the outside looking in at No. 5. The committee cited the injury to quarterback Jordan Travis as the reason for the Seminoles’ snub, which paved the way for Alabama to get in after defeating Georgia for the SEC championship game.

Nick Saban, as the head of the program, has been on the receiving end of a significant amount of the ire. And to make matters worse, his number was leaked to the public.

“I’ve had probably over 250 anonymous callers today, calling me every name in the book, talking about how we shouldn’t be in the playoff,” Saban told his players at the Crimson Tide’s award’s banquet Sunday, per Rivals’ Alabama site. “So we still have naysayers out there. We still have players who don’t believe in us.”

This is, of course, the kind of blatant disrespect on which Saban and his programs thrive. And although Kirby Smart and Georgia have copied the playbook with some infamous downplaying in the past few seasons, this time the doubters are actually real.

“Most of these people are from Florida,” Saban added. “I don’t know how in the hell they got my number, but it is out there.”

Being doxed is never a good thing. But it can be motivating. Saban and Alabama will be looking to make their case in Pasadena, California on New Year’s Day.