This is the University of Alabama
Athletic Department web site description of Brother:
A man of vision who has a proven record of
championship success, head coach Nick Saban has returned the University of
Alabama to the top of the college football landscape with his commitment to
building the total program. After the victory over Clemson in the 2016 College
Football Playoff National Championship Game, Saban joined Paul "Bear"
Bryant as the only two coaches to win five national titles in the modern era.
In nine seasons in
Tuscaloosa, Saban's uncompromising dedication to excellence in every phase of
the program has resulted four national championships over the last seven years.
A six-time National Coach of the Year, Saban has achieved resounding success as
a head coach and has earned a reputation as an outstanding tactician, leader,
organizer and motivator. Those qualities have sparked impressive turnarounds at
every stop of his career. Saban's consistent approach and disciplined
leadership are the reasons his teams are known for exhibiting grit,
determination and resilience, often overcoming adversity to achieve victory.
Saban's 2015 team
secured the Crimson Tide's fourth national championship in the last seven
years. They became the first team to win back-to-back Southeastern Conference
Championships in 17 years (Tennessee, 1997-98) and are the only program to earn
an invitation to each of the first two College Football Playoffs. Saban led his
team to victories in the final 12 games of the season that included wins at No.
8 Georgia, at No. 9 Texas A&M, vs. No. 4 LSU, at No. 17 Mississippi State,
against No. 18 Florida in the SEC Championship Game, No. 3 Michigan State in
the Goodyear Cotton Bowl and No. 1 Clemson in the College Football Playoff
National Championship Game. The senior class won a school-record 50 games
(50-6) over the last four years with three SEC Championships and two national
titles.
The Crimson Tide
featured Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry, who also captured the Maxwell
Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year and Doak Walker Award. Ryan Kelly won the
Rimington Trophy as the nation's top center. Linebacker Reggie Ragland was a
finalist for the Butkus Award, Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award while
A'Shawn Robinson was a finalist for Outland Trophy. The offensive line was also
awarded the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation's toughest offensive
line. All four of the Tide's finalists garnered first team All-America honors,
while Eddie Jackson was a second team selection.
Henry set school
records for rushing (2,219 yards), rushing touchdowns (28), rushing attempts
(395) and all-purpose yardage (2,310). A trademark of Saban-coached teams, the
Tide ranked among the nation's best on both sides of the ball, checking in at
No. 1 in the country in rushing defense, No. 3 in total defense, No. 3 in
scoring defense and eighth in pass efficiency defense while averaging 199.9
rushing yards and 227.1 passing yards per game on offense. Special teams were
also impressive in 2015 with Cyrus Jones setting the SEC record with four punt
returns for touchdowns and place-kicker Adam Griffith connecting on 23 of his
final 28 field goals. Saban's on-side kick call in the national championship
game also proved key, propelling the Crimson Tide to the program's 16th
national title. In the classroom, the numbers were just as astounding as UA had
a nation-leading 29 graduates on the roster for the bowl game and three players
with their master's degree in hand.
Saban has compiled
a 191-60-1 (.760) record as a college head coach and has gone 98-12 (.891) in
the past eight seasons in Tuscaloosa, which includes a 56-8 (.875) mark in
regular season conference play. In 2015, the Tide reached the 10-win milestone
for the eighth consecutive season and won 11 or more games for the fifth
straight year, which extended the conference record. With wins in the CFP
National Championship Game and the SEC Championship Game this season, Saban is
now 11-1 all time in conference or national championship games. When Alabama
moved to the top spot in the AP poll at the end of the season, it marked the
eighth straight year with at least one week at No. 1, which breaks the all-time
record established by Miami (1986-92). Alabama extended its streak of
consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25 to 130 weeks, the longest in school history.
He is the first
coach to win back-to-back BCS national championships and has won five titles in
his last 11 years of coaching college football. Saban is one of three college
coaches in the poll era (since 1936) to win three national championships in
four years, joining Frank Leahy of Notre Dame (1946-47, 1949) and Tom Osborne
of Nebraska (1994-95, 1997). He is also just the second (Leahy) to win four
titles in seven years. He is the second coach in the poll era to win five
national championships (Paul "Bear" Bryant).
Saban, the 2014
Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year, led the Crimson Tide to the top seed in
the first College Football Playoff at the 2015 Allstate Sugar Bowl, Alabama's
24th SEC Championship and a 12-2 record. Alabama won its final eight games to
earn a spot in the playoff, including a closing gauntlet that included wins at
No. 14 LSU, over No. 1 Mississippi State, against No. 15 Auburn and versus No.
14 Missouri in the SEC Championship. The 2014 senior class finished with a 48-6
record over four years and went to four straight New Year's Six Bowls,
including national championships in 2011 and 2012. The Crimson Tide featured
Heisman Trophy finalist and UA's first-ever Biletnikoff Award winner Amari
Cooper and Nagurski Trophy and Thorpe Award finalist Landon Collins. Along with
Cooper and Collins, Ray Guy Award finalist punter JK Scott, linebacker Trey
DePriest and offensive guard Arie Kounadjio garnered first team All-America
honors. SEC Championship Game MVP Blake Sims set school records for total
offense (3,837 yards) and passing yards (3,487), while Cooper established UA
marks in every receiving category. The Tide ranked among the nation's best on
both sides of the ball, checking in at No. 6 in the country in scoring defense
and 15th overall in scoring offense. In the classroom, Alabama had 22 graduates
on the roster for the bowl game (tied for the most in the nation) and seven
players with their master's degree in hand (first in the nation).
Saban led the 2013
Alabama team to the Allstate Sugar Bowl, making a sixth straight New Year's bowl
appearance and the third straight in a BCS bowl. That senior class posted a
remarkable record of 60-7 over their last five years with four bowl wins and
three national titles. Their record in the classroom was just as impressive as
28 Crimson Tide graduates took the field for the bowl matchup with Oklahoma.
Senior quarterback AJ McCarron was named a first team All-American, won the
Maxwell and Unitas Awards, and finished as the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy
voting while directing one of the most productive offenses in school history.
On the other side of the ball, senior linebacker C.J. Mosley took home
Alabama's third Butkus Trophy and earned All-America honors for the second
straight year as he led a defense that entered the bowl game ranked second nationally
in fewest points allowed. Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and offensive tackle Cyrus
Kouandjio joined McCarron and Mosley as first team All-Americans.
Alabama remained
at the forefront of the college football world in 2012 with an explosive
offense and a retooled defense that maintained its place as one of the most
dominant units in the nation. The Crimson Tide won the program's 23rd SEC
championship (the most in league history) with a victory over Georgia that
propelled Alabama into the 2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game, where
they soundly defeated Notre Dame by a score of 42-14 to earn the school's 15th
national title. For his efforts following the season, Saban was named the Bobby
Bowden National Coach of the Year, his third such honor in his previous four
years. Under Saban's guidance, Alabama boasted a 978 APR score that ranked 11th
nationally in 2012 and second in the SEC. The Crimson Tide also had a 75
percent graduation rate, which was among the best in the nation.
The Alabama
defense led the nation in rush defense (76.4 ypg), total defense (250.0 ypg),
and scoring defense (10.9 ppg) in 2012. The Tide offense ranked 12th nationally
in scoring at 38.7 points per game, 16th nationally in rushing at 227.5 yards
per game and set a school record with 542 points scored in 2012.
The Crimson Tide
featured four first team All-Americans in 2012, including two along the
offensive line in center Barrett Jones and left guard Chance Warmack. A pair of
defensive standouts also earned All-America honors in cornerback Dee Milliner
and Mosley. Jones captured the Rimington Trophy, presented to the nation's best
center, and the prestigious Campbell Award, as the student-athlete who best
combined performance on the field, success in the classroom and service away
from the field. The 2012 senior class set school and SEC records for wins,
while garnering a 49-5 record since 2009, a mark that tied Nebraska's NCAA
record 49 wins from 1994-97. It also broke the Cornhuskers' record (60 wins
from 1993-97) for the most major college football victories in a five-year
period with 61 (2008-12).
The 2011 squad
produced one of the most dominant defenses in the history of college football
and captured Alabama's 14th national championship with a 21-0 victory over LSU
in the BCS National Championship Game. The Tide defense led the nation in all
major categories, becoming the second team since national statistics have been
compiled, and the first since 1986 (Oklahoma), to accomplish that feat. UA
allowed only 8.2 points per game, 183.6 total yards, 72.2 rushing yards, 111.5
passing yards and an 83.7 pass efficiency defense. Alabama finished with a 12-1
record.
Saban's 2011
senior class won 48 games over the span of four seasons (2008-11). Seven
members of the 2011 Crimson Tide (including five on defense) were recognized as
first team All-Americans by major media outlets, while Jones took home
Alabama's third Outland Trophy and Heisman Trophy finalist Trent Richardson
received the Tide's first Doak Walker Award. The team was recognized with the
Disney Spirit Award, which was presented to snapper Carson Tinker, for the
team's response in the community following a tornado that devastated Tuscaloosa
on April 27, 2011. Jones also received the ARA Sportsmanship Award and the
Wuerffel Trophy. Saban's efforts earned him the Bobby Bowden National Coach of
the Year Award. The Tide also had extensive success in the classroom with 38
SEC Academic Honor Roll selections (a league record) and produced one Academic
All-American in Jones.
Despite a young
roster that listed only eight scholarship seniors, the 2010 Alabama team
finished with its third consecutive 10-win season following a dominant 49-7 win
over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. Five players were named first team
All-SEC by either the AP or the league coaches, while six more earned second
team All-SEC honors. Most impressively, two players (quarterback Greg McElroy
and Jones) were named first team CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-Americans, which
marked two consecutive years in which Alabama boasted two of the three
CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-Americans in the SEC. McElroy, the ESPN Academic
All-American of the Year, was named a National Football Foundation
National-Scholar-Athlete as a finalist for the Campbell Trophy.
The 2009 season at
Alabama turned out to be one of the most memorable in program history, as the
Tide compiled a perfect 14-0 mark and won the 2009 BCS National Championship by
defeating Texas, 37-21, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Alabama earned a
spot in the title game with a resounding 32-13 win over defending national
champion Florida in the SEC Championship Game, as the Tide moved to No. 1 in
both major polls. The SEC championship was the program's 22nd.
On Dec. 12, 2009,
more history was made for both Alabama and Saban when running back Mark Ingram
became the first Heisman Trophy winner for both. Saban's 2009 squad also was
prominent when it came to other honors, as Rolando McClain received the Butkus
Award as the nation's top linebacker and six players earned first-team AP
All-America status — a college football record.
After the perfect
2009 season concluded, Saban was presented with the first Bobby Bowden National
Coach of the Year Award. In addition to the on-field success, the 2009 Tide
active roster featured a nation's-best 13 players who had already graduated.
That number increased to 22 players with degrees for the bowl game.
Saban's first
Alabama team finished 7-6 in 2007, but the 2008 season saw a vastly improved
squad take the field. Saban's influence had taken hold in Tuscaloosa and –
behind a small and united senior class along with a talented group of newcomers
– the Tide returned to national prominence. Alabama developed a reputation as
the most physical football team in the country and methodically dominated the
competition. Saban produced the largest win increase from year one to year two
in school history, as the Tide went from a seven-win team in 2007 to 12 wins in
2008.
Alabama swept
through the 2008 regular season schedule with a 12-0 record, moving to No. 1 in
all of the polls and capturing the SEC Western Division Championship before
falling late to Florida in a hard-fought SEC Championship Game. The team's
efforts earned them a trip to the Allstate Sugar Bowl for the 13th time in
school history. Saban was named the 2008 Home Depot Coach of the Year at the
ESPN Awards Show and won several other national coach-of-the-year honors
including the FWAA/Eddie Robinson, Associated Press, Sporting News, Walter Camp
Football Foundation and Liberty Mutual.
Lessons learned
from the 2007 season – which was capped with a win over Colorado in the
Independence Bowl – no doubt carried into spring and summer preparations for
the 2008 run. The win also continued an impressive streak for Saban as he has
yet to have a losing season as a college head coach. Of the six losses in 2007,
none was by more than seven points. In addition to an improvement in the win
column from the year prior, the 2008 signing class was rated by many analysts
as the best in the country.
Off the field, the
focus on academics by Saban and his staff made an immediate impact, as the 2007
team put together one of the finest academic fall semesters in school history.
The freshman class set a solid foundation for their future at Alabama as they led
the way with an impressive combined grade-point average of 3.10 in the fall.
Before arriving in
Tuscaloosa, Saban's most recent college head coaching stint was a five-season
run at LSU that produced a record of 48-16 (.750), one national championship (2003),
two Southeastern Conference championships, three SEC Western Division
championships, and a 3-2 record in bowl games with two Sugar Bowl victories and
a Peach Bowl win. LSU constructed a 28-12 (.700) record against SEC opponents
under Saban's guidance. He was named the 2003 National Coach of the Year by the
Associated Press and earned both the Paul W. "Bear" Bryant National
Coach of the Year Award and the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award by the
Football Writers Association of America. Saban was named SEC Coach of the Year
twice (by The Birmingham News in 2001 and by the Associated Press in 2003)
while at LSU.
Saban took over
the Alabama program after serving two seasons at the helm of the Miami
Dolphins. Saban's teams showed marked improvement over the unit he inherited.
Taking over a team that finished 4-12 in 2004, Saban led the 2005 Dolphins to a
9-7 record, the third-biggest turnaround in the NFL that season and the
second-highest victory turnaround for a Dolphins team in any non-strike season.
Most impressively, the Dolphins finished 2005 on a six-game winning streak to
end the year, the longest streak in the NFL that season.
Prior to his stint
at Miami, Saban's impact on the LSU program transcended the success on the
field. His commitment to building the total program, placing education first
and instilling discipline with responsibility on and off the field transformed
the Tigers into a force on the national stage. LSU produced 84 Academic All-SEC
honorees in Saban's five seasons, including 25 members of the 2003 national
championship squad. LSU's graduation rate for football players improved
dramatically under his watch and two players – offensive tackle Rodney Reed
(2002 and 2003) and offensive lineman Rudy Niswanger (2004) – earned first team
Academic All-America honors. Linebacker Bradie James earned a postgraduate
scholarship from the National Football Foundation (2003).
Saban also
spearheaded a $15 million fundraising effort to construct a new academic center
for student-athletes at LSU, and he and his players were active in community
involvement in the Baton Rouge area, taking part in community service projects,
visiting schools to mentor children, and taking time to visit local hospitals
on a regular basis. More than 50 of Saban's LSU players earned their college
degrees, in addition to 28 who were selected in the NFL draft (including seven
in both 2004 and 2006).
Named head coach
at LSU on Nov. 30, 1999, Saban led an immediate turnaround of a program that
had suffered through seven losing seasons during the 1990s. His 48 victories
over five seasons ranked third among Division I-A head coaches during that
time. Saban, Paul Dietzel and current LSU head coach Les Miles are the only
coaches in the program's history to post multiple 10-win seasons. Saban,
Dietzel and Bernie Moore are the only head coaches in Tiger history to win two
SEC championships.
Saban's 2000
Tigers rebounded from two straight losing seasons to post an 8-4 record, capped
by a 31-20 win over No. 15 Georgia Tech in the Peach Bowl. Victories over
Tennessee and Mississippi State highlighted that season, along with a key road
win at Ole Miss.
The 2001 Tigers
improved to 10-3 overall and won the program's first outright SEC title since
1986 with a 31-20 win over second-ranked Tennessee in the SEC Championship
Game. An impressive second half against the Volunteers was a trademark of
Saban's coaching acumen, as the Tigers outscored the Vols 21-3 in the final
half to erase a 17-10 deficit. LSU won the game despite the absence of starting
quarterback Rohan Davey and running back LaBrandon Toefield.
Sparked by one of
the most prolific offenses in the nation, a unit that averaged 451.5 yards per
game, the Tigers capped the 2001 season with a 47-34 defeat of Big Ten champion
Illinois in the Sugar Bowl, LSU's first victory in a New Year's Day bowl game
since 1968.
Stifling defense
was the trademark of the 2002 Tigers. LSU posted an 8-5 record and a second
consecutive New Year's Day bowl appearance. The Tigers, who faced Texas in the
Cotton Bowl, held opponents to under 275 yards per game through the season's
first six games and scored a school-record 30 or more points in six straight
games. LSU just missed winning a second consecutive SEC West title, as a
last-minute comeback by Arkansas in the regular-season finale prevented LSU
from another appearance in the SEC Championship Game. That LSU team overcame
the midseason loss of starting quarterback Matt Mauck, free safety Damien James
and Toefield in successive weeks to make a run at an SEC Western Division
title.
Saban's philosophy
of "out of yourself and into the team" paid huge dividends in 2003.
The Tigers produced a 13-1 record, won their second SEC championship and earned
the school's second national championship with a squad that was among the
nation's most dominant on both sides of the line of scrimmage. The LSU offense
scored a school-record 475 points (33.9 per game) while holding 13 of 14
opponents to fewer than 20 points. LSU's defense ranked first nationally in
points allowed per game (11.0) and total defense (252.0 yards per game). After
a 7-1 start, LSU ended the season with six dominating victories by an average
margin of 35-10. An impressive 34-13 victory over Georgia in the 2003 SEC title
game paved LSU's way to an appearance in the BCS Championship Game against
top-ranked Oklahoma. The Tigers produced a dominant defensive effort against the
Sooners in the Sugar Bowl, limiting the Sooners to 154 yards of total offense
in a 21-14 victory.
Saban's final LSU
team in 2004 overcame the loss of 13 players from the 2003 squad who went on to
NFL rosters, posting a 9-3 record while producing the SEC's best rushing
offense (200.7 yards per game). The Tiger defense ranked third nationally
during the regular season in total defense (249.9 yards per game) and passing
defense (145.4 yards per game), allowing only 15.9 points per contest.
Over its final six
games, the 2004 LSU defense allowed only 12 points in the second half on the
way to a berth in the Capital One Bowl against Iowa – LSU's fourth consecutive
January bowl berth (a first for the Tiger program).
Saban served as
head coach at Michigan State from 1995-99, his second stint at the East Lansing
school as he also spent 1983-87 as the Spartans' defensive
coordinator/secondary coach. After playing in only one bowl game in the
previous four years, Michigan State made four postseason appearances in Saban's
five years at the helm. Saban led MSU to a 34-24-1 (.585) record.
In 1999, Saban led
his final Spartans team to a No. 7 national ranking, finishing in a tie for
second place in the Big Ten. The Spartans defeated Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio
State and Penn State in the same year for the first time since 1965 and
recorded six wins at home for the first time since the 1912 season. The
Spartans' performance that year landed them a spot in the Citrus Bowl. Michigan
State led the Big Ten in rushing defense (77.0 ypg) and total defense (299.0
ypg) while ranking fifth nationally in rushing defense and 11th in total
defense. The MSU offense averaged 31.0 points per game.
Saban was the
first coach in school history to put the Spartans in postseason bowl games in
each of his first three seasons – as he led Michigan State to the Independence
Bowl in 1995, the Sun Bowl in 1996 and the Aloha Bowl in 1997.
Before Michigan
State, Saban spent four seasons (1991-94) as defensive coordinator with the
Cleveland Browns under head coach Bill Belichick. The Browns went from allowing
the most points (462) in the NFL prior to Saban's arrival to allowing the
fewest points (204) in the league in 1994, the sixth-fewest points surrendered
in NFL history at the time. In each of Saban's four years guiding the Browns
defense, they never permitted an average of more than 19.2 points per game. He
built a reputation as one of the finest defensive coaches in the league and
also was heavily involved in the team's player personnel and scouting process.
Saban's first head
coaching position came at the University of Toledo in 1990, as he guided the
Rockets to a record of 9-2 that year, finishing as co-champions of the
Mid-American Conference. The Rockets ranked among the NCAA leaders in both total
defense (12th at 284.8 yards) and scoring defense (16th at 16.2 points) and
missed posting an undefeated record by a mere five points.
Saban joined
Toledo after serving as secondary coach with the Houston Oilers for two seasons
under Jerry Glanville (1988-89), his first NFL coaching position. He quickly
made an impact on the Oilers defense, as the team's secondary tied for fourth
in the AFC in 1988 with 21 interceptions and then tied for second in the
conference in 1989 with 22 picks.
In his first stint
at Michigan State, Saban served as secondary coach and defensive coordinator
under George Perles from 1983-87. Saban played an integral part in helping the
Spartans make three postseason bowl appearances, including a Big Ten
championship in 1987 and a 20-17 victory over Southern California in the 1988
Rose Bowl. Michigan State led the nation in rushing defense in 1987, allowing
only 61.2 yards per game, and ranked second in scoring defense, permitting only
12.4 points per game.
A native of Fairmont, W. Va., Saban
is a 1973 graduate of Kent State University where he earned a bachelor's degree
in business. He earned a master's degree in sports administration from Kent
State in 1975. Born Oct. 31, 1951, Saban and his wife, the former Terry
Constable, have two children, Nicholas and Kristen. They have been married for
44 years and are enjoying the company of their granddaughter, Amélie, a
daughter-in-law Kelsé and son-in-law Adam Setas.
No mention of Monongah High or Carolina. Huh?
Saban co-authored
"Tiger Turnaround" in 2001, documenting his first two years as head
coach at LSU. He then co-authored "How Good Do You Want to Be?" in
2005, a book that offers real-life principles for success at work and at home.
In addition to
their work as fundraisers for LSU's Student-Athlete Academic Center, the Sabans
supported several charitable and civic projects in Louisiana. The largest of
those efforts was with the Children's Miracle Network, for which Terry and Nick
Saban raised more than $100,000 per year.
At Michigan State, the Sabans started
the Nick's Kids Foundation, which they have continued in Tuscaloosa, a vibrant
example of their continuing concern for disadvantaged children. Since Nick and
Terry arrived in Tuscaloosa, nearly $6 million has been distributed to
students, teachers and children's causes at over 150 charities through the
Nick's Kids Foundation. The Sabans also have played a big role in tornado
relief efforts in Tuscaloosa and the surrounding areas. Immediately following
the devastating storm on April 27, 2011, Nick and Terry visited shelters where
they paid for and served meals to those in need. Through Nick's Kids, the
Sabans joined with Project Team Up and Habitat for Humanity in helping to
rebuild 15 homes lost in the tornado. After the Crimson Tide's 16th national
championship in 2015, the Sabans began work on the 16th Habitat for Humanity
home. With support and donations from the Sabans, St. Francis Catholic Church
will be breaking ground on the Saban Catholic Student Center. In receiving the
2008 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, Saban was awarded a $50,000 gift
at the A-Day Game. He designated the gift for Nick's Kids, as well as an
additional $20,000 gift for The University of Alabama scholarship fund. In June
of 2008, the Sabans announced a $1 million gift to benefit Alabama's first-generation
scholarship program. The gift has a special meaning to the Sabans, as both Nick
and Terry were first-generation graduates.
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