Cam Newton recently shared an interesting story about how the legendary Nick Saban once disciplined former Alabama running back Damien Harris.

On his “4th & 1 with Cam Newton” podcast, the former quarterback detailed a story in which Harris, who was usually punctual, was once late, but didn’t alert Saban that he was going to be late. Saban told Harris he wouldn’t be starting Alabama’s next game.

“Damien Harris was a stand-up teammate, a hard runner, went to the University of Alabama, and was an extremely hard-running running back, if I didn’t already say that,” Newton said (5:52).

“The story goes he was not late many times, and was only late one time. And this one time that he was late, he got the information and was told that he’s not going to start because he was late. But that wasn’t the issue, and that wasn’t the point that Nick Saban was trying to make. [The point] Nick Saban made to Damien wasn’t that you were late,” he added.

“It was the fact that when you were late, you didn’t come and tell me that you was late – as a man. You didn’t look me eye to eye and say, this is really what happened. And when you think about that as a father, when you have children, when you have boys, when you have those type of individuals that are looking to you for tutelage and direction, this is what it’s all about,” Newton concluded.

Harris played four seasons for the Alabama Crimson Tide before being drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. There, Harris played for another great coach, Bill Belichick, for four seasons, before signing with the Buffalo Bills in 2023 on a one-year deal. He officially retired from football in March of last year.

Could Nick Saban return to coaching college football?

Saban retired from coaching college football in January 2024. His retirement came shortly after the landscape of college football took a major turn, with changes to rules related to NIL and the player transfer portal.

However, in a recent interview with FOX News, Saban hinted that retirement was a bit too boring for him, as he found himself reminiscing on the thrill of coaching.

“I never really had any thought about getting into coaching until two days ago, when Ms. Terry said I had to run the sweeper through the entire downstairs,” Saban said. “So while I was running the sweeper, the thought occurred to me that when I was coaching, I had a heck of a lot better job than this.”

Nick Saban is set to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on December 9 in Las Vegas.