Nick Saban Rejects Extreme Arch Manning Idea

During Friday's edition of ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show," Nick Saban, who won seven national championships over his legendary career, pushed back on the idea that the Longhorns should bench Manning due to his play.

“I think a couple of things," Saban said. "I don’t think Texas has been able to run the ball very consistently, and that puts you in a lot of tough down-and-distance situations. That puts more pressure on the quarterback, because that’s an advantage for the defense.

"When we had a player that was struggling, or when we lost, I always wanted to be as technical as I could be, so the players could actually see: if I just do this correctly, we can have success. Rather than putting a lot of pressure on them, I wanted to focus on the technical side of corrections—whether it’s footwork, arm mechanics, or making the right reads."

Saban added that the Manning will benefit from the additional reps more than he would from sitting back and watching.

“I don’t think you only bench a guy if he’s struggling," Saban said. "You do it when you feel like he’s not committed to doing things the right way, or if his actions are really having a negative impact on the team—especially from an attitude standpoint. If he’s trying to do it right, you stick with him. When you bench somebody, you’d better make sure the guy you put in is going to be better than the one you took out. Otherwise, you just create more problems for yourself.”

Manning at least has time to figure it out, as the Longhorns host Sam Houston on Saturday night and have a bye week before opening SEC play against Florida on Oct. 4. However, the pressure is definitely on him to to get it together soon.