Najee Harris Names Biggest Difference Between Nick Saban, Mike Tomlin

Running back Najee Harris is one of the rare NFL players to have played for both Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. So how does Harris stack them against each other?

In his recent Q&A with TheSpun, Harris said that he feels Tomlin is “more of a players’ coach” than Saban. He explained that Saban is concerned with school as well as football and is less likely to joke around in the locker room than Tomlin is.

Harris made it clear that he doesn’t see that difference as a knock on Saban. Rather, he believes that both of their methods are good to help their teams win.

“Coach Saban is worried about school and football. He’s mainly about handling your business. Coach Mike T is more of a players’ coach. He sits down and chops it up with you to see how you’re doing. He’ll even joke around in the locker room. You probably aren’t going to get that from Coach Saban. That’s not a bad thing, that’s just how he is. But they both know how to win, and that’s so important.”

Najee Harris became Alabama’s all-time leading rusher in his four years under Saban. Upon joining the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2021 NFL Draft, that dominant rushing followed him.

Harris had 1,667 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns in 2021. He earned Pro Bowl honors as a rookie and led the NFL with 381 touches.

Clearly Harris has learned how to take the best of both worlds and parlay that into superb skill at the pro level.

Will Najee Harris be even better in Pittsburgh than he was at Alabama?

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