SEC Media Days: Kevin Sumlin audio and full transcript

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TUSCALOOSA, AL – OCTOBER 18: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide shakes hands with head coach Kevin Sumlin of the Texas A&M Aggies after their 59-0 win at Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 18, 2014 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel– “Coach you were just talking about pressure. Alabama has won 17 straight SEC games by an average of 3 touchdowns per game. I’m wondering how much pressure does that program and Nick Saban put on the rest of the coaches in the league?”

"Sumlin – ” I don’t know that it’s pressure. I think what it is, is in just about every league, not really every league, but you go through a time where one team is really the mark and we’ve looked at it that way since we’ve been here. So the pressure is that, I really don’t know that that’s the case, that’s the mark that everyone wants to be. You know what you have to do to get to Altanta in our situation and then you know what you need to do to try and win a championship. So the consistency of the program over the years did not come overnight. I think people understand that. But you can’t argue that that is the mark. That’s where everybody wants to be. So from my standpoint, from what we do, we got a lot of games in the West to play, and you can win a lot of games in the West and that one can take its toll on you. I think it’s took its toll on us the past couple years as a matter of fact. So we’ve got to do a better job of handling things mentally. I look back at that game and I think, ‘we’re winning that game with, what, six minutes to go in the third quarter?’ and a couple of things happen and we lose by, you know, ten points or whatever it was, two touchdowns. And then kind of unravel after that. So the mental part of that deal and what you do day to day, to get back to that question earlier, is the focus. Without a question, for what Nick (Saban) has done and what that program has done, they were ahead of the curve a long time ago with how they approach things. I think that has been the model that other people have tried to follow.”"

Doing what Nick Saban has done while at Alabama would be the lifelong goal of any coach. Few coaches win championships, while even fewer win multiple. Saban has the most championships of any coach in Alabama history, save for Bear Bryant. As it looks now, Saban will retire as the winner of the most championships of any school. It’s incredible, and no wonder every SEC coach is trying to implement some of what he does at their schools.