Nick Saban is considered arguably the greatest college football coach of all time, and he retired from the University of Alabama a year ago with seven national championships to his name.
But while he is seemingly synonymous with the NCAA, Miami Dolphins fans will remember that he tried his hand at being an NFL head coach when he was at the helm of the Fins in 2005 and 2006. He said that going to Miami was a big mistake, but that it had nothing to do with Miami.
“When I left LSU (Louisiana State University), that was probably professionally the biggest mistake that I ever made, not because we didn’t have success in Miami,” Saban said. “‘Cause I enjoyed coaching in Miami. But I found out in that experience that I like coaching in college better because you could develop players personally, academically, athletically and all that a little more than pro ball.”
With Saban at the controls for those two seasons, Miami went 15-17, and they were deep in the wilderness. Legendary quarterback Dan Marino was long gone, and while their defense was solid, they couldn’t move the chains offensively enough to be competitive. After the 2006 season, Saban took a big offer to become Alabama’s head coach.
It was at LSU where Saban truly started to build his legacy as a winner. He guided the Tigers to the 2003 national championship with a 21-14 win over Oklahoma in that season’s Sugar Bowl, and they finished the season with a 13-1 record, which set a new single-season record for wins.
He also recalled a conversation he had with his agent Jimmy Sexton, who asked him a big question shortly before he left LSU.
“Jimmy Sexton stood on the balcony when I was getting ready to leave LSU and make a decision about whether I went to Miami or stayed at LSU,” Saban said. “He said, ‘What do you want your legacy to be as a coach? Do you want to be Vince Lombardi or Bear Bryant?’
“Without hesitation, I said, ‘Bear Bryant.’ … I went anyway.”
Bryant, of course, is someone else who was arguably the greatest head coach in the history of NCAA football. He was known as the face of Alabama football from 1958 to 1982 and won six national championships during his time there. Lombardi was the head coach of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers from 1959 to 1967 and guided them to five league championships, including victories in the first two Super Bowls.
Coaching in the NFL may mean having a higher stature than that of a great college coach, but coaching in college means being the face of an entire program and getting to mold young men into winners both on and off the field.
It is a very enticing thing for leaders who truly care about the development and well-being of people and not only winning football games.
