Nick Saban Voices that he Doesn't Believe Peyton Manning and Gase Visits were against NFL CBA Rules

Report: Nick Saban doesn't believe visits with Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning, Adam Gase broke NFL rules

Photo Courtesy: +Denver Broncos (AP)

Nick Saban doesn't believe anything wrong occurred two weeks ago when Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and offensive coordinator Adam Gase visited Alabama.

In an interview Friday with The Denver Post, Saban said he never met together with Manning and Gase to discuss football-related topics. The +NFL is investigating the matter because it does not allow players to have individual meetings with coaches before teams begin their offseason workouts.

"I'm like shocked that anybody would think someone did anything wrong on their part," Saban told The Post. "I never met with Adam. When I talked with him I talked about his family. Peyton, we talked an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Adam had been talking to our assistant coaches. I never talked with Adam about football."

Gase and Manning arrived separately, Saban told +The Denver Post.

"Peyton had called and said he wanted to drop by," Saban told The Post. "Adam had already been around for a couple days when Peyton showed up. It was kind of a coincidence that they were around at the same time. I don't know if they left together but I know they didn't arrive here together."

On Thursday, Saban said Manning and Gase "were just making some visits." He lauded Manning, a future Hall of Fame quarterback, for his desire to learn and said the experience was mutually beneficial.

"Since they're a no-huddle team, we had a lot of questions for them, in terms of what gives them problems and what defensive teams do that gives them problems," Saban said Thursday. "That was kind of a mutual, hopefully beneficial -- I know it was a benefit to us. I hope it was a benefit to them as well."

Gase, one of the rising coaching stars in the +NFL, and Saban date back to the +Alabama Crimson Tide coach's days at +Michigan State Athletics. Gase also worked under Saban as a graduate assistant and recruiting assistant at +LSU Football.

Manning has also made visits to +The University of Oklahoma and +Oklahoma State Athletics during the offseason, according the The Post.

Saban exchange with Gase, Peyton, but was not 'We all met..."

Nick Saban: I never said we all met

ALEX SCARBOROUGH via +ESPN

Nick Saban visited with +Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning at the Alabama football offices early last week. Saban also spent time with Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase -- on the same day and in the same location.

But don't connect the dots any further than that, Saban insists.

"I never said we sat down together," Saban said in an interview with +The Denver Post on Friday night.

The  coach made headlines Thursday when he told reporters of the visit with Manning and Gase.

The meeting, as Saban described it, was a mutually beneficial experience in which Manning sought out ways to improve his game, Gase was able to talk shop, and Saban and his staff were able to learn a thing or two about the no-huddle offense.

But had the visit of Manning and Gase occurred simultaneously, it might constitute a violation of the NFL collective-bargaining agreement that forbids players from having meetings with coaches before teams begin their offseason workout programs.

+Alabama Crimson Tide Head Coach, Saban, had vague language Thursday -- "The two of them were just making some visits" -- seemed to indicate it was a collaborative effort, prompting an NFL review of the matter. Saban's collective use of the word "them" seemed to tie the coach and coordinator together.

Whether it is a punishable violation by the NFL is still to be determined, the league has said.

As Saban told reporters Thursday night: "Since they're a no-huddle team, we had a lot of questions for them, in terms of what gives them problems and what defensive teams do that gives them problems. That was kind of a mutual, hopefully beneficial.
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Peyton, Gase, Saban share each other's mastery in Tuscaloosa
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Peyton Manning, Adam Gase exchange their Valuable Knowledge of the Game with 'Bama's, Nick Saban

Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning, Adam Gase swap 'knowledge' with Nick Saban in recent visit to Alabama

Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase and quarterback Peyton Manning were on Alabama's campus last week. (AP photo)

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Last week, thousands of high school coaches flocked to +Alabama Crimson Tide to hear from Nick Saban, +Baylor's Art Briles and coaching legends Joe Gibbs and Gene Stallings -- among others -- at the Crimson Tide's annual coaching clinic.

Just a week earlier, one of the game's biggest names and one of the rising stars in coaching snuck in and out with little fanfare.

+Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and offensive coordinator Adam Gase made a recent visit to Alabama, Saban said after Thursday's practice.

Manning and Gase were "making some visits," Saban said, and Alabama just happened to be on their agenda.

"To be honest with you, he was just trying to learn so he could be a better player," Saban said. "I think a lot of people would say, 'Wow, the guy is one of the best, if not the best, and certainly from a career standpoint probably about as good as anybody's been in the history of the league. After all the experience and knowledge that he has, he's going out and trying to seek more knowledge and understanding of the game of football so he can play better.'

"It's a great example for a lot of young people, whether they're playing high school, college, Pop Warner or whatever, and it's something that I have tremendous respect for. I really enjoyed visiting with him."

Manning, who has largely kept himself out of the public eye since the Broncos' Super Bowl loss to +Seattle Seahawks, has "been a friend and very well-respected for a long time," Saban said. They crossed paths when Manning was with the Colts and Saban was the head coach for the Miami Dolphins, and Saban's been friends with Manning's father Archie for a "long, long, long time."

Gase, who turned down a number of head coaching opportunities this past offseason to remain with the Broncos, worked under Saban in the late 90s at Michigan State and followed him to +LSU Football as a graduate assistant (2000) and recruiting assistant (2001-02).

Because the Broncos often pick up the pace, Saban said he picked their brain about some no-huddle concepts, specifically asking which defenses gave them the most trouble.

"That was kind of a mutual, hopefully beneficial -- I know it was a benefit to us," Saban said. "I hope it was a benefit to them as well."

“To be honest with you, he was just trying to learn so he could be a better player,” Saban told AL.com’s Andrew Gribble. “…

After all the experience and knowledge that he has, he’s going out and trying to seek more knowledge and understanding of the game of football so he can play better.” Saban had brief +NFL experience as head coach of the +Miami Dolphins from 2005 to 2006 and once squared off against Manning’s Colts in a late-season ’06 matchup, which +Indianapolis Colts won 27-22. The decorated coach also took the opportunity to learn from Manning by grilling the quarterback on the no-huddle offense, including which defenses are best suited to slow it. 

“That was kind of a mutual, hopefully beneficial — I know it was a benefit to us,” Saban said. “I hope it was a benefit to them as well.” Opponents of the Broncos and Crimson Tide, beware. The best are getting better.