Nick Saban had a confession to make.

"I've gotten soft around here," he said in March.

A smile spread across his face as laughter filled a campus barbershop where former Alabama stars Julio Jones, Ryan Anderson and Eddie Jackson were in his midst.

It was a surprising admission by a man who had long cultivated a serious, steely, unforgiving persona. It was also rather meta for the intensely guarded coach. After all, Saban made the remark during the first installment of Bama Cuts -- a video series distributed through the football program's Twitter pipeline showing the coach buoyantly chopping it up with Crimson Tide alums living their NFL dreams.

Here was Saban taking everyone behind the ramparts of Alabama's kingdom and revealing a different side of himself, the ruler.

When the scene shifted to his chateau on Lake Tuscaloosa in late May, cameras captured Saban and his current players having fun in the water. The coach made a cameo on Snapchat after the fuel pump in his boat malfunctioned, setting in motion the kind of high jinks that can cause a social media post to go viral. Elsewhere, the university's videographers spliced together a montage of the leadership team-bonding activity featuring Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Terrell Lewis and more riding along on Saban's vessel and cruising on jet skis.

Once again, Saban is also seen...smiling.

"I know Nick Saban gets a rap of being a no-nonsense guy, and a guy that doesn't like talking to the media, and doesn't like being out in public," said former Alabama offensive lineman Mike Johnson. "But what Nick Saban likes even more than that is winning and having talent and doing all those things. For him to step out behind that shadow, I think this is another step in the evolution that is Nick Saban."

It is a calculated move by persnickety coach to alter the perception of his program as a grim football factory belching out robotic players who suppress their personalities in the name of "The Process."

After the Tide experienced a disappointing recruiting cycle this past year, fell to sixth in the national rankings, and lost its firm grip on the top spot it held for seven straight years, Saban initiated a course correction. He overhauled his coaching staff, ushering in a wave of younger assistants who have their fingers on both their mobile devices and the pulse of a generation raised in an Instagram age of selfies, hashtags and commitment videos.

"That's one thing you've got to give Coach Saban credit for is that he is not one of those old dogs you need to teach new tricks," said former Alabama linebacker Cory Reamer. "For as much as success as he's had, he could have easily been that way. Recruiting is now such a production. And he realizes while it may not be his favorite thing to do, he has to be able to relate to these kids to whatever means are comfortable with, which is social media."

In an SEC that now features a group of coaches who once served as assistants for Saban, the 66-year-old is not stubborn enough to concede an advantage to his chief competitors. But he will go only so far to match them.

Saban doesn't have a Twitter account. Instead, he has both participated in university-produced content and encouraged others connected to the program to market Alabama on his behalf.

Take, for instance, Scott Cochran. The gravelly-voiced, adrenaline-fueled Crimson Tide strength and conditioning coach first appeared on Twitter in February, which surprised Johnson.

"Is this a fake account or are you joining the Twitter scene?" Johnson texted Cochran.

"No," Cochran replied. "That's me. We want to give people a different look at what's going on."

Since his debut on the social media platform, Cochran has posted a slew of clips with current and former players lifting heavy weight, offering a glimpse at what it is like to train with the Crimson Tide. For jocks who aspire to be groomed at Alabama, it's a visual feast.

More so than Saban, Cochran is able to capture the essence of what the Tide is trying to sell to prospects because he fits the bill as a hard-nosed coach who also has a good time.

"I just think that there's some myths about Alabama football that we sort of fight all the time in recruiting," Saban said. "Things like: It's no fun, it's all business. That's not true at all. I think Minkah [Fitzpatrick] said it best: He said 'I didn't come to Alabama to have fun, but I had more fun than I had at any time in my life.' So I think we just try to show the other side. Our players do have a lot of fun. They have a lot of togetherness, a lot of camaraderie in what we do. Alabama is a special place and I think when you go there, you find that out and you relate to it. You have a lot of pride in it. We're just trying to show that side of the program a little bit more."

That is evident to Saban's former players who saw him at the dawn of his tenure in Tuscaloosa, when he was trying to resurrect the Crimson Tide. Back then, several social networks were in their infancy and Saban was busy instituting the strict, buttoned-up, football-obsessed culture that launched a dynasty but now doesn't have the "cool" factor it once did. Still, even in those days, Saban invited his players out to the lake and joked around with them. He just didn't publicize it -- doing his best to stay in character by being the autocratic coach who scowls on the sideline and barks at reporters.

"He did build the persona of being a hard-ass," Reamer said. "I still think he is... As [social media] has become more prevalent in today's society, he can show the side the media never saw and most people never saw that he actually does have time and he has a light side to him."

For so many years, Saban didn't see the benefit of broadcasting that aspect of his personality to the masses. Now he does because of the positive impact it could have on recruiting.

The change in approach, Johnson said, is a result of "self-scouting" and Saban's willingness to adapt.

"It's not a different Nick Saban," Johnson said. "The players know that guy and that's why they love them and that's why he's always known as a players' coach. I just think Nick Saban has always been so guarded and so calculated in terms of the image he puts out. I think this is a way for Nick Saban to say, 'Look, you can get to know the real me and I can also be in charge of what you're seeing.'"

But will he ever relent and create a Twitter account to disseminate that message?

Reamer thought about it for a beat.

"No," he replied. "I don't think he's necessarily going to go to that extent."

The Alabama coach may have softened, but there is a limit to how much he'll bend.

Rainer Sabin is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin