What do Nick Saban and Shakespeare have in common? The Bard wrote the following words, and the more we hear from the GOAT, the more he brings them to life:

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”

Saban has insisted that the state of the game in this new NIL and transfer portal world had nothing to do with his January retirement after 17 years as the Alabama football coach.

Right. Pull this leg and it plays Jingle Bells.

In the latest insightful story produced by ESPN.com’s Chris Low, a detailed look at Saban’s retirement decision, Greg Byrne’s pursuit of Kalen DeBoer and the week that rocked the college football world, Saban says the quiet part out loud. He describes returning from the overtime loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl semifinal to face individual meetings with players that were, shall we say, not exactly team-oriented.

We had heard from sources close to the program that certain players treated those conversations like contract negotiations. Saban confirmed it to Low in the following two paragraphs in Wednesday’s story.