Nashville Predators minority owner Nick Saban brought more to the table during the team’s general manager search than his name brand in the sports world.
Predators majority owner Bill Haslam confirmed on June 3 during Chris MacFarland’s introductory news conference as the team’s new president of hockey operations and GM that Saban, the former Alabama football coach, spoke to every candidate during the search process.
“Nick believes in process in a big way,” Haslam said. “So he brought that same mindset, A, to our process of hiring somebody. But B, as he was questioning people, and he was involved with everybody we talked to, you could see him drilling down, well OK, then what. He doesn’t ever take the easy first answer.
” . . . Incredibly helpful and really thankful that he was willing to jump in and be vitally involved in the process.”
That process landed on MacFarland, who was the GM of the Colorado Avalanche during their recent string of success, including the 2022 Stanley Cup-winning team.
Saban, currently an analyst with ESPN’s “College GameDay,” was not at the news conference at Bridgestone Arena. Instead, he was testifying in front of a U.S. Senate committee in Washington, D.C., in support of recent legislation regarding college sports.
Saban’s résumé, with seven national championships, is not up for debate, nor is his ability to build a successful sports organization from front to back. His insight was helpful for the rest of the search committee, Predators CEO Sean Henry said, and it helped the team make a compelling hire.
“We all know he’s a winner. Biggest winner we all know,” Henry said. “But the presence that he has and the way he evaluates things, it changed the entire interview process for us. There are times we were looking at him, saying, ‘I wish I asked that,’ or ‘I wish I saw it that way.’ But the other is the credibility that he gives you, when he reaches out to Chris and they talk, it just changes everything that you can do or would do.”
“Saying it’s impressive is such a slight to him. It was incredible.”
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Nick Saban played role in Nashville Predators general manager search