This is completely inevitable. I warned about it several weeks ago. Anyone who is praising Saban's attititude toward the media is completely off base, and completely ignorant of the types of articles it will lead to. I'm not a Greg Cote fan, primarily because he forces humor that doesn't work and he devotes far too much time to the NFL in comparison to other sports. His columns on college football or college football players are predictably lame because he simply doesn't follow the sport closely, and relies on comments from others.
Cynical columnists and reporters, like Cote, are going to freelance and spin negative like never before when presented with an attitude like Saban's. He's never going to try to befriend a reporter or provide easy access or a quick smile. I'm afraid Nick Saban will find that plays much differently in Miami, Florida than East Lansing or Baton Rouge.