took Nick Saban exactly five words and one ice-cold stare to do what four straight Michigan losses to Ohio State could not: silence Desmond Howard, at least for a moment.
“Des, keep it professional.”
That was the entire response, delivered Thursday morning on The Pat McAfee Show, three days after Howard’s postgame commentary on ESPN’s College GameDay following Ohio State’s 24-21 win in Ann Arbor ignited a firestorm.
Howard, the 1991 Heisman Trophy winner and lifelong Michigan loyalist, had declared on Saturday night that the Wolverines “played the better game from start to finish” and were undone only by “some baffling calls” and bad luck. The remarks, broadcast to millions, were instantly branded as the latest example of Howard’s unapologetic maize-and-blue bias.
Social media erupted. Within hours #DesmondHoward, #HomerDes and #KeepItProfessional were all trending nationally. Ohio State fans resurrected old clips of Howard’s incorrect predictions; Michigan fans circled wagons.
Then came Saban.
The retired Alabama legend and current GameDay analyst had picked Ohio State to win before kickoff and stayed largely neutral during the broadcast. But when McAfee asked him point-blank about Howard’s take, Saban didn’t hesitate.
He leaned forward, locked eyes with the camera, and delivered the line that has already been turned into T-shirts in Columbus and Tuscaloosa alike.
“Des, keep it professional.”
The studio went quiet for half a beat before McAfee erupted in laughter and repeated the phrase three times, each louder than the last. By Thursday afternoon the clip had 52 million views across platforms.
Howard responded hours later on First Take, attempting to laugh it off.
“Coach Saban can say whatever he wants — he’s got seven rings,” Howard said with a grin. “But everybody knows where my heart is. I played there. I bleed maize and blue. I’m not apologizing for that.”
Behind the scenes, however, sources close to ESPN say network executives held an internal discussion about on-air impartiality, though no disciplinary action is expected.
Saban elaborated slightly in a Thursday evening interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith.
“I have all the respect in the world for Desmond as a player and as a person,” Saban said. “But when you put that headset on, you’ve got a responsibility to 130 teams, not just one. That’s all I was saying.”
The exchange has dominated college football’s rivalry week hangover, overshadowing even Ohio State’s playoff-clinching victory and Michigan’s fourth straight loss in the series — the longest Buckeye streak since 1993-99.
For a day, at least, the sport’s loudest voice wasn’t a coach on the sideline or a player on the field. It was a 74-year-old retiree in a black polo, reminding everyone — with five perfectly chosen words — that some standards never retire.
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