Former Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban Provides Insight On Leadership

Being a part of a team in any aspect of life is one of the toughest but also one of the most rewarding aspects of life.

For each leader of those teams, the key to building the foundation is respect and accountability.

The all-time great teams are usually player-led, and those players hold each other accountable and to a higher standard.

This goes beyond just following a coach and listening to what they teach, but it brings the team together which creates a sense of camaraderie and togetherness that can be unstoppable.

That is the mark of a great team, but it is one of the hardest feats to achieve.

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban spoke on ESPN's First Take and described what he wanted out of his leaders and what they had to do to be a leader.

"The people that are leaders on your team have to be committed to doing things the right way," Saban said. "You gotta set a good example, you can't be the guy who walks in the meeting late, you can't be the guy that's missing class.

"You gotta set a good example and be somebody that everybody else on the team can emulate because that's the only way they're going to respect you," Saban said. "When you stand up and speak and try and get people to follow you to do the things that you need to do to accomplish great things in college football or win a championship (they must respect you)."

Saban taught this mindset to many players that are currently on Alabama's roster, namely guard Tyler Booker, quarterback Jalen Milroe, and safety Malachi Moore. All three have been in the program for multiple years and are now multi-year starters who own the locker room.

This is their team and it'll be up to them to lead this team through the ups and downs of the season.

With the gauntlet of the schedule Alabama faces, there are going to be rough spots and stretches in games where things comes hard. Still, that's when the best of leaders set an even greater example by getting up off the floor when they've been knocked down and continue to fight for their teammates.

Related: Alabama Freshman Ryan Williams Named Preseason Freshman All-American