JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Charles Kelly spent four years serving as an assistant under Nick Saban at Alabama. During that time, he helped lead the Crimson Tide to a pair of playoff appearances, including an undefeated national title run in 2020.

Still, when it comes to memorable events, Kelly will have a hard time topping Day 1. During an appearance at the Alabama Sports Writers Association in Jacksonville on Sunday, the first-year Jacksonville State head coach reflected back on his time under Saban, highlighting a chaotic first day on the job.

After attending his first staff meeting at Alabama on a Sunday night back in December of 2019, Kelly’s first task was to chauffeur Nick Saban on a five-stop recruiting trip across the southeast the following Monday.

The trek started with a trip to Troup County High School in LaGrange, Georgia. From there, the two drove to Lanett High School across the state line in Alabama before making their way up Roanoke, Alabama to visit Handley High School.

The pair then drove back to LaGrange before flying to Chattanooga, Tennessee. From there, the plan was to fly back to Montevallo, Alabama before making it back to Tuscaloosa for an official visit on the Crimson Tide’s campus.

“That was my first day with Nick Saban,” Kelly recalled with a laugh. “God blessed him with a lot of stuff, but patience ain’t one of them. Patience is not his thing.”

Nevertheless, Kelly was making good time during his one-day recruiting tour. That was until he reached Chattanooga, a familiar recruiting ground from his previous role as an assistant at Tennessee.

“I was hopping through this,” Kelly said. “We’re hopping from plane to plane, and I’m driving. So we get to Chattanooga, and I knew the coach. The high school coaches, they don’t know the rules for contact. Everybody just brings everybody in there like, ‘Hey, this is Coach Saban.’ You put Coach Saban there, somebody takes a picture, that’s illegal contact. My job is to protect Coach.”

Kelly spent the next few windows policing the situation, looking around corners to make sure Saban wasn’t put into any illegal situations. He was also put in charge of time management, making sure chatty coaches didn’t derail the pair’s tight schedule.

“We’re in a hurry, and I’m looking at my watch, and I’m like ‘We’ll never make this if we don’t go,’” Kelly said. “Finally, I just said, ‘We got to go, I got to get Coach back to the airport. Because Coach wasn’t going to say that.”

A relieved Saban commended Kelly on his getaway skills on the walk back to the car. Unfortunately, another delay was on the way. Upon returning to the vehicle, Kelly remembers noticing a fan attempting to take a picture of him and Saban. The assistant didn’t think much of it until he pulled up at a red light, only to see the same fan following behind in a car.

“When we get to the red light, I see him in the rearview mirror, and the guy has got his phone up, like trying to video Coach,” Kelly said. “Hey, he runs his ass into the back of my vehicle.

“Boom! I mean, Coach is in the seat. Coach is like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ … First thing Coach says is, ‘You think he meant to do that?”

Kelly didn’t wait to find out. Enraged, he tore out of the driver’s seat before unleashing a butt-chewing that made even Saban blush.

“I get out, and I am in a bad way,” Kelly said. “I looked at my bumper, and my bumper was OK. I mean, I said a few things I should have said. I get back in the car, and Coach is like, ‘Hey man, it’s OK.’ I said, ‘we’re good Coach.’”

Kelly never revealed whether or not he and Saban made their next visit on time. He also didn’t mention if the recruiting stops proved fruitful.

Regardless, he set a pretty interesting first impression with his new boss.