When discussing the greatest coaches in the game, Bill Belichick, George Halas, and Don Shula naturally steal the limelight for their contributions to the NFL. A name that is criminally left out of the conversation is 73-year-old Nick Saban.
With an unparalleled and unheard-of record of success that spans multiple decades, Saban has redefined what it means to build a championship program. His methodical and systematic approach to recruitment, player development, and strategy has helped him become one of the most successful college football coaches of all time.
For too long, Saban has been overlooked in the pantheon of American football greats, with many only knowing of him through their college football line research. Today, that all changes as we pay homage to the great man.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about this great football.
Nick Saban: The Early Days
The seven-time National Championship winner was born in 1951 to a blue-collar family in Fairmont, West Virginia. Saban’s parents made their money from the small, family-run service station they owned.
Here, a young Nick Saban learned the value of hard work and resilience. His love for football, though, came from his father’s involvement in a local youth team that he founded and coached.
After honing his skills as a child on the football field and in the service station, Saban played quarterback for the 1968 West Virginia state championship team. Unfortunately, his talent was insufficient to propel him to the big time.
Despite that, Saban’s love for the game remained, and he channeled that love into education, earning a master’s degree in sports administration from Kent State in 1975.
(Nick Saban talks about his family’s gas station.)
First Forays Into Coaching
During his brief time playing for Kent State from 1970 to 1972, Saban was under the tutelage of head coach Don James, who hired him as a graduate assistant at the same team after he completed his master’s degree.
Over the next 10 years or so, Saban held assistant coaching roles at Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy, and Michigan State before being hired as an assistant at the Houston Oilers in the NFL after being passed over for the head coach position at Kent State in 1987.
The Progression to Head Coach
Two years later, Nick Saban was appointed head coach by the University of Toledo. He had an immediate impact on the team, recording a 9-2 season, with Toledo finishing as co-champion of the Mid-American Conference.
(Nick Saban’s attention to detail was evident even when he was at Toledo.)
Keen to capitalise on that success, Saban accepted an offer to join the Cleveland Browns as defensive coordinator after his maiden season with Toledo, remaining with the NFL outfit for the next four years. Despite working with revered coach Bill Belichick during his spell in Cleveland, Saban would describe his time there as the “worst of my life”.
Looking to bounce back, Saban took on the head coach role at Michigan State in 1995, where he stabilised the team’s fortunes over his first three seasons. After five years without a winning season and fresh off the back of NCAA sanctions, Saban’s three seasons of consistent improvement were a welcome relief to fans and administrators in Michigan.
In 1999, Saban guided the Spartans to a 9-2 season before shockingly resigning to take over the reins at LSU. Michigan ultimately finished the season with a 10-2 record and a Citrus Bowl victory, representing the team’s most successful season since 1966.
Nick Saban in the Modern Era
Since the turn of the millennium, Saban has held roles at LSU, the Miami Dolphins, and Alabama. Whilst he racked up a series of impressive wins at LSU and left with an incredible 48-16 overall record, his crowning achievements in the game have come at Alabama.
There, he has built one of the most dominant dynasties in college football history. His Crimson Tide teams have won six national championships, making him the only coach in the modern era to have won national titles at two different schools.
(Nick Saban shares some of his life lessons with Alabama graduates.)
His influence has been felt far beyond the trophy room, though. Not only has he helped to find and develop some of the best talent in the NFL, but he has also had a profound impact on the way the game is played.
Saban has been at the cutting edge of tactical innovation and strategy, with several of his plays adopted by leading NFL coaches. Now, he is an analyst and sportscaster for ESPN and shares his knowledge of the game with fans.
However, his impact on football in this country should never be forgotten.