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What Alabama football coach Nick Saban told Brian Kelly before and after he took LSU job

Before and after Brian Kelly took the LSU football coaching job this offseason, he talked with Alabama football coach Nick Saban.

Saban coached LSU from 2000-2004 and won a national championship in 2003.

“Nick and I have always had a relationship,” Kelly told CBS Sports in April. “We’re busy. It’s not like we’re going to sit down and we’re going say, ‘Hey, what do you think?’ In my conversations, he can talk about his experiences and what the strengths are of a program like LSU. I was able to put enough together that this was a great program and a great opportunity. He’s been here. He knows. When you can get advice and counsel from a guy like Nick Saban, he’s a good one to take it from.”

Saban was asked about those conversations Wednesday during the SEC coaches teleconference before Alabama faces Utah State on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT. He told Kelly it was a good job with a lot of passionate fans and that people in Louisiana are great people.

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“I told him that I thought he would do an outstanding job there and it’s certainly going to be challenging for us playing against,” Saban said. “They’ve always got good personnel and now they’ve got a really good coach. Not that they’ve not had great coaches in the past, but just a real challenging situation for us. But I’m sure he’ll do a great job there.”

Kelly left Notre Dame this offseason, where he became the all-time winningest coach in program history in 2021. Even though he was not in the SEC until now, Kelly has faced Saban before. The most recent matchup was when Alabama and Notre Dame faced off in the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2020. The Crimson Tide won 31-14.

Kelly has not beaten Saban before but will get his next opportunity when Alabama travels to Baton Rouge on Nov. 5 to face the Tigers.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football: Nick Saban advice for Brian Kelly on LSU coach job