Nick Saban

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Nick Saban
Title	Head Coach
College	University of Alabama
Sport	Football
Team Record	0-0-0
Born	October 31, 1951 (age 55)
Place of birth	Fairmont, West Virginia
Career Highlights
Overall	NCAA 91-42-1 NFL 15-17-0
Bowls	3-6
Coaching Stats
College Football DataWarehouse
Championships
2003 NCAA Championship 2001 and 2003 SEC Championships
Awards
2003 Paul "Bear" Bryant Award
School as a player
1970-72	Kent State University
Position	Defensive Back
Coaching positions
2007-present 2005-06 2000-04 1995-99 1991-94 1990 1988-89 1983-87 1982 1980-81 1978-79 1977 1975-76 1973-74	University of Alabama (Head Coach) Miami Dolphins (Head Coach) LSU (Head Coach) Michigan State University (Head Coach) Cleveland Browns (Def. Coord.) University of Toledo (Head Coach) Houston Oilers (Def. Secondary) Michigan State University (Secondary/Def Coord.) US Naval Academy (Def. Asst.) Ohio State University (Def. Asst.) West Virginia University (Def. Asst.) Syracuse University (Def. Asst.) Kent State University (Def. Asst.) Kent State University (Grad. Asst.)

Nick Lou Saban (born October 31, 1951 in Fairmont, West Virginia) is the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. He is married to Terry Saban (formerly Constable) from West Virginia; they have two children, Nicholas and Kristin.

Contents 1 Assistant football coach 2 Head football coach 2.1 Toledo 2.2 Michigan State 2.3 Louisiana State 2.4 Miami Dolphins 2.5 Alabama 3 Criticisms and defenses 4 Yearly coaching results 4.1 College career 4.2 National Football League 5 Quotes 6 Trivia 7 References 8 External links

Assistant football coach

Saban was an assistant coach at Kent State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy and Michigan State in NCAA Division I-A, and with the Houston Oilers and Cleveland Browns in the National Football League. Having worked under Bill Belichick in Cleveland, he is considered part of the Parcells-Belichick coaching tree.

Head football coach

Toledo

Saban was hired to lead the Toledo Rockets in 1990. Coming off of a 6-5 season in both 1988 and 1989, the Rockets found quick success under Nick Saban by going 9-2. The two games that the Rockets lost all season came by narrow margins: one point to Central Michigan, and four points to Navy. With the 9-2 season, Toledo was co-champions of the Mid-American Conference. Saban left Toledo after one season.

Michigan State

When Saban arrived in East Lansing, Michigan prior to the 1995 season, MSU had not had a winning season since 1990, and the team was sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations committed under his predecessor.^[1]

• 1995-1998 - Beginning in 1995, Saban immediately reversed MSU's fortunes, taking the Spartans to bowl games in each of his first three seasons. From 1995 to 1998, Michigan State finished 6-5-1, 6-6, 7-5, and 6-6, respectively. On November 7, 1998, the Spartans scored a major upset by defeating #1 ranked Ohio State 28-24 at Ohio Stadium.

• 1999 - Saban led the Spartans to a 9-2 season that included wins over Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State. Bobby Williams is credited with coaching MSU to a Citrus Bowl victory over Florida, giving the Spartans an overall record of 10-2 for the 1999 season. It would be the best season in terms of wins for the Spartans since 1965, and it would see the Spartans reach their highest ranking since the 1966 team.

Louisiana State

In December of 1999, Saban accepted an offer from LSU to become their next head coach. LSU's football program, much like Michigan State's five years prior, was in poor condition when Saban was hired. LSU had won only three SEC games and seven games overall in the two previous seasons.

• 2000 - In 2000, the Tigers went 8-4 and won the Peach Bowl. The season marked a major turnaround, as Saban and his LSU Tigers pulled off a big upset of Tennessee, and beat rival Ole Miss in Oxford. Also, the Alabama Crimson Tide had their 31-year winning streak in Tiger Stadium snapped when the Bayou Bengals held on to defeat the Tide 30-28.

• 2001 - Saban enjoyed his best season thus far on the Bayou, as he led LSU to a 10-3 record, including an SEC Championship and a Sugar Bowl victory. After a disappointing loss to Eli Manning and the Ole Miss Rebels, the Tigers and quarterback Rohan Davey went on a tear. They closed out the year with six straight wins, including a win over Tennessee in the 2001 SEC Championship Game, and a 47-34 win over Illinois in the 2002 Sugar Bowl. It was the first outright SEC championship for LSU since 1986, and the first time the Tigers had won the Sugar Bowl since 1985.

• 2002 - This season was a bit of a disappointment after 2001. The season opened with high expectations, but a 26-8 thrashing at the hands of Virginia Tech raised serious questions about their outlook. However, the Tigers would rebound to win their next six straight. Unfortunately, quarterback Matt Mauck, who replaced the departed Rohan Davey, went down for the year with a broken foot against South Carolina, and the Tigers limped to the finish of the season. Back-up quarterback Marcus Randall played admirably, but the offense nevertheless struggled. LSU lost four of their last six games to close the season, including a 35-20 loss to Texas in the Cotton Bowl, and finished 8-5.

• 2003 - Disappointment would not be a part of the 2003 season. Quarterback Matt Mauck returned healthy, and the Tigers jumped out of the gate with five straight wins, including a 17-10 upset in Tiger Stadium over the defending SEC champion, and then undefeated, Georgia Bulldogs. The following week, though, would see the Tigers stumble at home to a mediocre Florida team, 19-7, that was led by a true freshman quarterback, Chris Leak, and a new head coach, Ron Zook. After the loss to Florida, LSU went on a tear, ending their regular season with a thrilling win over the Ole Miss Rebels to win the SEC West. After winning the SEC West, the Tigers dominated the Georgia Bulldogs to win the SEC. After a hot finish, they were selected to play the Oklahoma Sooners in the Sugar Bowl, which was the host of the BCS Championship Game in 2003. In a game with the BCS national championship on the line, the Tigers prevailed with a strong defense and an efficient offense, 21-14. LSU became national champions for only the second time in school history, and for the first time since Paul Dietzel and Billy Cannon led the Tigers to the national championship in 1958.

• 2004 - Saban and LSU sought to defend their national championship. However, LSU finished the regular season 9-2, and lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Capital One Bowl 30-25. At the end of the 2004 season, Saban left LSU to coach the Miami Dolphins.

Miami Dolphins

Nick Saban accepted the job of head coach for the Miami Dolphins on Christmas Day, 2004.

• 2005 - The season and the Nick Saban tenure officially kicked off with a crushing 34-10 blowout of the Denver Broncos. From there, however, the Dolphins struggled, losing seven of their next nine games to fall to 3-7. The two wins came over the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints, a game that ironically took place in Tiger Stadium due to Hurricane Katrina. The main culprit to the Dolphins' struggles was an underperforming offense that struggled to put points on the board. After a frustrating two months, however, the Dolphins would rally late in the season, as they won their final six games, including a win to end the season in Foxboro over the New England Patriots. The team finished the year 9-7, and narrowly missed the playoffs in Saban's first season.

• 2006 - Going into the 2006 season, the Dolphins were expected to contend for a playoff spot. The season, however, turned out to be a major disappointment. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper never recovered from his devastating knee injury from the previous season, and was ultimately benched after the fourth game of the season, when the Dolphins lost to the Houston Texans. Culpepper was eventually put on Injured Reserve, and it is still uncertain if he can ever return to his previous form. Meanwhile, as Culpepper was unable to play, Drew Brees, who doctors feared would never be the same again and who Saban had also considered signing, had an incredible year for the New Orleans Saints. After starting the season 1-6, however, the Dolphins got hot. They won four straight games, including wins over the Chicago Bears, who were then unbeaten, and the Kansas City Chiefs. Suddenly, the Dolphins were back in the playoff hunt at 5-6, but a 24-10 loss the following week to the Jacksonville Jaguars all but ended their playoff hopes. The Dolphins would rebound the following week to administer a 21-0 shelling to the New England Patriots, a game which shocked commentators over the fashion in which the Dolphins easily dominated the heavily favored Patriots. Unfortunately, the win would be the last bright spot for the Dolphins. Quarterback Joey Harrington was playing worse and worse, and was eventually benched in favor of third-string quarterback Cleo Lemon. While the defense was very good, the offense was anemic, with the only bright spot being Ronnie Brown, Saban's first draft choice, who gained over 1,000 rushing yards on the season. The Dolphins would lose their next two games to the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets to fall to 6-9 on the season. Changes outside Miami, however, were brewing. On November 27, 2006, The University of Alabama announced that head coach Mike Shula had been dismissed. This action followed a disappointing 6-6 regular season that included losses to rivals University of Tennessee and LSU, and was punctuated by a shocking home upset at the hands of perennial SEC "also-ran" Mississippi State University. Nick Saban was rumored to be at the top of Alabama's wish list, but Saban refused to consider or discuss the job while his NFL season was still underway. During the month of December 2006 Saban was relentlessly hounded by the media about the Alabama job, and he repeatedly denied the rumors in his weekly press conferences. Saban did eventually meet with Alabama officials on January 1, 2007,^[2] following the Dolphins season ending loss to the Indianapolis Colts, eventual champions of Super Bowl XLI.

Alabama

Nick Saban announced on January 3, 2007 that he accepted an offer to become Alabama's 27th head coach, following a meeting with Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga.^[3]

On January 4, 2007, Nick Saban was officially introduced as the head football coach of The University of Alabama at a press conference on the Alabama campus.

Criticisms and defenses

Saban's decision to return to college football was met with a great deal of criticism from both the NFL and college football realms. Saban was referred to as a "liar," by ESPN's Pat Forde^[4] and "shameless" by the Chicago Sun-Times.^[5] Anti-Saban websites appeared practically overnight, created by fans of teams that Saban had formerly coached.^[6]. Much of the criticism, particularly with the anti-Saban websites, has come from LSU fans, who now have to compete against their former coach in the SEC West, as well as from the fans of the Tide's arch rivals, Auburn University, and the Miami Dolphins.

And yet, Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga, who presumably would have every reason to be aggreived, has refused to publicly criticize Saban over the move.^[7]

On January 4, 2007, Saban met with members of the Miami media following his introductory press conference at the University of Alabama. During an off-the-record portion of this meeting, Saban used the term "coonass" while relaying a story told to him by a member of the LSU board of trustees. It is unclear whether the term was used by the LSU official, then quoted by Saban, or Saban used the term in an effort to put the story in proper context. The term coonass is regarded as a badge of ethnic pride by some members of the cajun community, however it is considered an epithet by others. Therefore, Saban soon explained, "The term in question is not language that I use or condone, and I can understand how some would take offense."^[8]

Yearly coaching results

College career

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Bowl Game
1990	Toledo	9-2	7-1	None
1995	Michigan State	6-5-1	4-3-1	Independence
1996	Michigan State	6-6	5-3	Sun
1997	Michigan State	7-5	4-4	Aloha
1998	Michigan State	6-6	4-4	None
1999	Michigan State	9-2	6-2	Citrus*
2000	LSU	8-4	5-3	Peach
2001	LSU	10-3	6-3**	Sugar
2002	LSU	8-5	5-3	Cotton
2003	LSU	13-1	8-1**	Sugar***
2004	LSU	9-3	6-2	Capital One
2007	Alabama	0-0	0-0
TOTALS		91-42-1	60-29-1
* Saban resigned on November 30, 1999, Citrus Bowl coached by Bobby Williams ** Includes win in SEC Championship Game *** BCS National Champions

National Football League

Year	Team	Overall	Finish	Playoffs
2005	Miami Dolphins	9-7	2nd AFC East	None
2006	Miami Dolphins	6-10	4th AFC East	None
TOTALS		15-17

Quotes

• "What happened yesterday is history. What happens tomorrow is a mystery. What we do today makes a difference - the precious present moment."^[9]

• "I have a tremendous amount of respect for tradition. I have a tremendous amount of respect for all the people who created that tradition, all the players, the coaches, whether it's Coach Bryant, all the people who worked hard to create that and that have created a legacy for the University of Alabama. That's important and needs to be respected, it needs to be recognized. At the same time we need to look forward in terms of what we're going to accomplish here, because even though that says that all those things have been accomplished here and can be accomplished here, we need to go through what we need to do to accomplish them now and in the future in terms of the kind of football players we're able to recruit here, the kind of things we do to show a commitment to having a standard of excellence that's going to help people be champions."^[10]

• "Don James was my college coach at Kent State. I guess he had as much of as impact on me as anyone in terms of organization, quality of work, being the best you can be. He's the person that got me in coaching."^[11]

• On his plan for the Tide: "What kind of football team do we want to have here? We want to be a big, physical, aggressive football team that is relentless in the competitive spirit we go out and play with week in and week out. What I would like for every football team to do that we play is to sit there and say, ‘I hate playing against these guys. I hate playing them. Their effort, their toughness, relentless resiliency, go out every play and focus, play the next day, compete for 60 minutes in the game, I can't handle that.’ That's the kind of football team we want."^[12]

Trivia

• Saban's second season with Miami in 2006 gave Saban his first losing record as a head coach.

• Saban's career record as a collegiate head coach is 91-42-1.

• Saban is currently the highest paid college football coach in the country, just as he was at LSU.

• Saban's paternal grandparents, Stanko Šaban and Anna Mihalić, are of Croatian descent.

• Lou Saban, Nick's cousin, is a former two year All-Big Ten Indiana University star football player and head coach of the NFL Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots.

References

External links

• RollTide.com: Official University of Alabama Crimson Tide athletics site
• RollTide.com: Transcript of Saban's Remarks at Introductory Press Conference
• College Football Data Warehouse: Nick Saban Collegiate Coaching Data
• "How Good Do You Want to Be?", by Nick Saban
• Nick Saban Quotes

Preceded by Dan Simrell	University of Toledo Head Football Coach 1990	Succeeded by Gary Pinkel
Preceded by George Perles	Michigan State University Head Football Coach 1995–1999	Succeeded by Bobby Williams
Preceded by Gerry DiNardo/Hal Hunter (interim)	Louisiana State University Head Football Coach 2000–2004	Succeeded by Les Miles
Preceded by Jim Tressel	Paul "Bear" Bryant Award 2003	Succeeded by Tommy Tuberville
Preceded by Jim Bates	Miami Dolphins Head Coach 2005-2006	Succeeded by Cam Cameron
Preceded by Mike Shula/Joe Kines (interim)	University of Alabama Head Football Coach 2007-	Succeeded by Current

Current Head Football Coaches of the Southeastern Conference
Rich Brooks (Kentucky) | Sylvester Croom (Mississippi State) | Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee) | Bobby Johnson (Vanderbilt) | Urban Meyer (Florida) | Les Miles (LSU) | Houston Nutt (Arkansas) | Ed Orgeron (Ole Miss) | Mark Richt (Georgia) | Nick Saban (Alabama) | Steve Spurrier (South Carolina) | Tommy Tuberville (Auburn) |

Miami Dolphins Head Coaches
Wilson • Shula • Johnson • Wannstedt • Bates • Saban • Cameron