Nick Saban is all smiles after winning his seventh national title. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Saban doesn’t often share emotions publicly, but he did not hide them on Monday night.

Saban was unusually happy with his Alabama Crimson Tide for their performance against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship. He was actually happy during his halftime interview, which is very unusual. He was happy in his postgame interview on ESPN, too. And he was even shown crying after the team won it all.

Saban said all along how proud he was of his team’s players for maintaining their focus and overcoming all the adversity the challenging season presented. He said this was one of his favorite teams because of all it achieved considering the circumstances. His tears confirm everything he felt about this squad.

Here was the last occasion when Saban got choked up.

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