Nick Saban grew up in West Virginia and spent much of his coaching career in the north until he was hired at LSU in 2000, so he’s no stranger to the cold.

But Alabama playing a game in a harsh winter climate is unusual, so there was a novelty factor involved when Saban wore a tan leather jacket leaving his team’s flight to Indianapolis on Friday night.

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The jacket took social media by storm and was later revealed by Saban’s daughter, Kristen Saban Setas, to have been owned by her father for 30 years.

“It’s a classic,” she wrote in an Instagram story. “Leather never goes out of style.”

A few Saban players agreed.

“His jacket was very cool,” security Jordan Battle said on Saturday. “I haven’t seen Coach Saban in such a style. And to see that he has a little booty, that puts a little joy in my heart.

Quarterback Bryce Young added, “The coach’s jacket was fly. The coach is always going to step into something we’ve never seen before as a team. So that’s to be expected.

The temperature in Indianapolis was in their teens when Alabama landed on Friday night before Monday’s national championship game. The Tide and Georgia will meet inside the temperature-controlled Lucas Oil Stadium, but the outside temperature for the 8 p.m. ET kickoff will be in the teens and drop to single digits by Tuesday morning. Weekend temperatures should not exceed 40 degrees.

“How come we don’t do that outside?” »Saban asked reporters gathered for an interview inside the Indianapolis airport on Friday night.

This season marks the first time the College Football Playoff has hosted its championship game in Indianapolis since its inception in 2014, with Dallas, Phoenix, Tampa, Atlanta, San Francisco, New Orleans and Miami having hosted previous games. Los Angeles and Houston will be the next two locations, followed by Las Vegas and Miami.

But Indianapolis is no stranger to hosting great winter events. It was the site of Super Bowl XLVI in 2012, hosted the NFL Combine each year in late February, and was the only site for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament last March. The city has indoor walkways connecting the Lucas Oil Stadium to the adjacent convention center and several nearby hotels.

“We were coming here to Indianapolis, we knew it was going to be really cold outside. He told us to take a coat, ”said running back Brian Robinson. “It was the coat he grabbed to keep warm for the time being here.”

Battle – originally from Fort. Lauderdale, Fla. – said it was a “good feeling” to walk down the stairs from the plane and onto the tarmac in freezing weather.

Young – from Pasadena, Calif. – said the reality of the national championship game “set in” when he got off the plane.

“You go out, it’s obviously a different climate change,” he said. “But you really realize that you are in this new environment. You know why you are here. Everyone understands why we are here. So every time you get that setting change it starts to get more and more real about what we’ve been working for, knowing that the game is right around the corner.

“It’s always fun to play in different environments. But coming out, it’s really just that confirmation, when you get into the setting where you’re going to play, you know what time it is. So for us, it was just that reassurance and confirmation of knowing that we’re here for it and that it’s time to shut up for it.

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on twitter @mikerodak.