From his postgame press conference at Georgia through the first 14 minutes of Monday's presser, Alabama coach Nick Saban was seemingly in a jovial mood.

Then, almost unexpectedly, that changed.

Asked by a reporter how he keeps players focused considering the "noise outside the program and the perception being fluid week to week," Saban -- usually reserved, especially after coming off an SEC win -- went off.

"I say the same thing as when y'all buried us last week and all that," he said Monday. "It really doesn't matter what you think. It really doesn't matter what you say. I'm hoping nobody on our team is playing for you. I hope they're playing for each other, and their team and what they want to accomplish, and not what you think, because that's not certainly what I'm doing. I'm coaching and working for our players and our team to be as good as they can be. And if that's not pleasing to somebody else, it's not pleasing to somebody else."

Saban, who raised his voice during the rant, was speaking directly in response toward the media, who he said wrote off Alabama following the team's loss to Ole Miss two weeks ago. The Crimson Tide has since beaten Louisiana-Monroe, 34-0, followed by a convincing 38-10 victory at then-No. 8 Georgia this past weekend.

Against the Bulldogs, Alabama was an underdog for the first time in 73 games, or the 2009 SEC Championship Game against Florida.

"I said before I believe in our team," Saban said. "I do believe in our team, and we're going to work hard to make our team better. And I hope the players respond the right way, and it's not going to be for you. The fans, yes. Because if it was up to you, we're six feet under already. We're dead and buried and gone. Gone."

After a long pause -- a period of time which allowed the microphone to be passed to the next reporter -- he put in one final word.

"So if that was the case, we would have to get some respirators out or something down there to put life back in people," Saban said.

Saban's occasional press conference rants usually serve as a means for sending messages to his team.

Earlier Monday, Saban said he was proud of the team's "statement" win but would still like to see more consistency out of his team moving forward.

"We are what we are as an identity, only if it happens on a continuum," he said. "You always have the next challenge, you always have the next game."

Saban's passionate response begins around the 13:56 mark in the above video.

Watch player interviews from Monday:

 

More From Praise 93.3