Ian Rapoport thinks he had a pretty good working relationship with Nick Saban back when he was covering Alabama football. Saban, however, seems a little less certain.<\/p>\n
While on The Pat McAfee Show Friday afternoon, Rapoport\u2019s appearance came to close when he was informed Saban was waiting for his turn.<\/p>\n
\u201c@RapSheet<\/a> was full of shit when he covered me and he\u2019s still full of shit \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02<\/p>\n I always appreciated him as a reporter\u201d<\/p>\n Coach Saban #PMSLive<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/FOtIR3ZJ4O<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/zDvOMcX5Em<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cTell him I said hello,\u201d Rapoport told McAfee. \u201cI was one of his favorite reporters ever. Loves me. Favorite reporter ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Hesitant to believe Rapoport, McAfee asked Saban about the NFL insider when he came on the show, and Saban didn\u2019t hold back after learning Rapoport alleged he \u201cloved\u201d him.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah I loved him. He was full of sh*t when he covered me and he\u2019s still full of sh*t,\u201d Saban lashed out seemingly in jest, because his tune on Rapoport quickly changed. \u201cHe was good. And it\u2019s no surprise to me that he\u2019s done really well in the business. Because he was objective, and he was always fair and I always appreciated that.\u201d<\/p>\n Saban has famously claimed he never read what reporters were writing about him or his teams during his time as head football coach at Alabama. But even without knowing what was being written, he still liked the way Rapoport covered Alabama enough to call him an objective reporter. Saban had a notoriously combative relationship with the media during his time as a coach, and there were times where his relationship with Rapoport was no different.<\/p>\n Rapoport covered Saban and Alabama for The Birmingham News for about three seasons from 2006 to 2009. When Saban retired from Alabama two years ago, Rapoport reflected on his time in Alabama<\/a> writing, it \u201cwas like nothing I\u2019d ever experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n The Birmingham News hired Rapoport before Alabama hired Saban. But once Saban arrived, Rapoport\u2019s work quickly started getting national attention. Rapoport credits Saban for putting him on the path to becoming the NFL insider and reporter he is today. And if that\u2019s the case, then Rapoport couldn\u2019t have been totally full of sh*t when covering Saban.<\/p>\n \t