Nick Saban rarely misses a national championship game. Even with the Crimson Tide falling short of the playoff, Alabama’s head coach is in Los Angeles as part of the ESPN broadcasts ahead of Georgia vs. TCU.

It’s familiar territory after he made similar broadcast appearances in for the 2014 BCS title game at the Rose Bowl and the 2020 CFP championship in New Orleans.

Saban’s car wash of interviews began with Marty and McGee on the SEC Network. Their conversation ran the gamut from the challenge of sustaining success to more abstract topics.

The fact Saban’s in the stadium in something other than a coaching role begged the question about his ability to consume games causally.

He can’t.

“I don’t even like to watch games, to be honest with you, because it just feels like work,” Saban said. “I see a team run a formation and a play and I think ‘How do we adjust to that? What would we do? How would we block that stunt when they do a certain blitz on defense.’ This is no enjoyment to me. I might as well be at the office getting ready to play the game.”

So, he can’t just power down the internal computer?

“Oh, I can turn it off,” he said. “But when you turn the game on, it comes back on.”

Saban led Alabama to seven of the first eight playoffs before falling one spot short in the ninth this year. In national title games, he has a 7-3 record — 3-3 in the CFP era after losing last January to Georgia.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.