SEC Unfiltered: Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher rally fan bases in dispute

Welcome to SEC Unfiltered, the USA TODAY NETWORK's newsletter on SEC sports. Look for this newsletter in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Today,  Knoxville News reporter John Adams takes over: 

College football dominated the sport news cycle Thursday against all odds.

The PGA Championship had just teed off, the NBA playoffs had reached the semifinals, and the New York Yankees were back on top in Major League Baseball.

But none of that could compete with the verbal shots fired back and forth between a couple of native West Virginians, Alabama coach Nick Saban and his former assistant, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher.

Saban said Fisher had "bought every player on their team" while implying college athletics’ very existence has been imperiled by the NCAA’s decision allowing student-athletes to prosper from their name, image and likeness.

Fisher’s response was emotional and deeply personal. I haven’t seen a football coach so worked up since Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy delivered his epic  “I’m 40, I’m a man,” speech following a columnist’s unfavorable assessment of a Cowboys player.

Fisher’s presentation and delivery couldn’t match Gundy’s but was more vicious, and more newsworthy since it was aimed at college football’s greatest coach. Fisher also demonstrated an expanded vocabulary by referring to Saban as a “narcissist,” a trendy psychological term I’ve never heard uttered by a football coach.

Apparently aware that “narcissist” might be lost on a segment of his audience, Fisher spelled things out, implying Saban had enough skeletons in his closet to terrify a mall full of Halloween shoppers. Don’t take his word for it, Fisher said. Just check with other Saban assistants who also are aware that St. Nick hasn’t run a pristine program.

A couple of obvious conclusions: Saban and Fisher won’t be exchanging Christmas cards in December; Saban feels threatened by Fisher’s Aggies, who beat him on the field last fall and edged him out for the nation’s best recruiting class in February.

Another conclusion: Both coaches rallied their fan base.

Never mind that Saban has won six national championships at Alabama. He almost made the Tide seem like an underdog: How can you expect him to compete against Texas oil money in recruiting?

His comments also served as a wake-up call to Alabama fans: “Pay up if you want to keep competing for championships.” Tide backers might not have an oil well in their backyard, but they never have been cheap about Alabama football, especially when prodded by their beloved coach.

As for the Aggies, they can take pride in their coach not only standing up to Saban but stepping on him. They probably can’t wait to live up to Saban’s critique by buying another recruiting class.

If they have any money left, they can bet on Texas A&M against Alabama on Oct. 8.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: SEC Unfiltered: Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher rally fan bases in dispute