If there is one person in the world of sports who knows what it\u2019s like to win so much that he got tired of winning, it\u2019s Nick Saban.<\/p>\n
And while he\u2019s more than a year removed from retiring as the head coach of Alabama, the ESPN College GameDay star is still a pretty big deal in Tuscaloosa.<\/p>\n
So much so that the 7-time national champion head coach played a key role in the university\u2019s commencement ceremony on Thursday. Only Saban wasn\u2019t the headliner, with the 73-year-old delivering a seven-minute speech before introducing President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s certainly an honor for me to be here and participate in this historic event to be able to introduce President Trump to address the graduates here today,\u201d Saban said. \u201cSo it\u2019s a special moment for me. But I gotta be honest with you, I feel like I\u2019m the warmup band for The Rollings Stones. And the first song they\u2019re going to play is \u2018Start Me Up.’\u201d<\/p>\n
After offering some words of wisdom to the graduating class, the former Miami Dolphins head coach proceeded to tell a story about the Crimson Tide\u2019s visit to the White House in 2018 after winning the previous season\u2019s national championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery gracious host and he\u2019s the first president that invited us to come into the Oval Office,\u201d Saban said of Trump. \u201cSo I take the three captains in the Oval Office and the President\u2019s really nice to everybody. And he\u2019s got this very big, good looking, auspicious box on his desk that has a red button on top. And one of the players said, \u2018Is that what you launch the missiles with?\u2019 And he said, \u2018well, push it and find out.\u2019 The player said, \u2018nah, I don\u2019t want to do that.\u2019 He said, \u2018oh, go ahead. Go ahead, go ahead. Push it. See what happens. Find out.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Rashaan Evans finally got the guts up, went over, pushed the red button. Some lady came in with a Coke on a tray.\u201d<\/p>\n
Legendary coach Nick Saban introduces President @realDonaldTrump<\/a> at the University of Alabama\u2019s commencement, sharing a memorable story from the 2017 championship team\u2019s White House visit. pic.twitter.com\/oWF8oOFwbV<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) May 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n As for Trump\u2019s speech, The New York Times described it<\/a> as \u201cvacillating between campaign rally material and a commencement speech as he used his past political grievances to encourage students to fight for their futures.\u201d The nearly hour-long speech<\/a> included criticisms of former President Joe Biden\u2019s economy, defenses of his own policies and commentary regarding transgender athletes.<\/p>\n Considering his significant standing in Alabama, Nick Saban has long been linked to a potential political career of his own; something he hasn\u2019t shown much public interest in participating in. But while his own political leanings remain unclear, college football writer Alex Kirshner noted in 2023<\/a> that the West Virginia native is \u201cat least a little bit\u2014emphasis on \u2018a little bit\u2019 \u2014of a Democrat,\u201d citing his public support<\/a> of now-former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.<\/p>\n \t