In a head coaching career that has spanned over three decades across four different teams, Alabama’s Nick Saban has claimed seven national championships, won 286 games and coached 44 All-American athletes. At age 71, the future Hall of Famer’s resume is second to none. With yet another loaded roster in front of him this year, Saban will look to build on his legacy as one of the most impressive college football head coaches.
Saban began his coaching journey 50 years ago at his alma mater Kent State as a graduate assistant. He would continue to move up the coaching ranks with stops at Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy and Michigan State. After a brief stint with the Houston Oilers, Saban got his first crack as a head coach at Toledo in 1990. He would turn that into a defensive coordinator gig with Bill Belichick’s Cleveland Browns before returning to the college ranks in 1995 to lead the Michigan State Spartans.
At Michigan State, Saban turned a program plagued with NCAA sanctions and losing seasons into a capable winner. He would use this success to land at LSU, where he would coach the 2003 Tigers to their first national college football championship since 1958. Following the 2004 season, Saban tried his hand in the NFL as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, and after two mediocre seasons and no playoff appearances, Alabama came calling. Although he initially stated he wouldn’t be their coach, Saban accepted the Crimson Tide’s offer on January 3, 2007.
Saban captured his first national championship with Alabama in 2009 as the Crimson Tide beat Texas 37-21. This would be the beginning of an almost complete monopoly on the sport for years to come. Saban would rattle off five more national championships in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020.
With two new coordinators, only nine returning starters and a new starting quarterback in Jalen Milroe, Saban will have to work his magic once again this season to win another national championship. Despite the lack of experience, Saban isn’t worried about any potential dropoff from prior years.
“I think we have a pretty good mindset on our team,” Saban said at SEC Media Days in July. “Our team seems to be pretty hungry this year and motivated.”
The absurdity of Saban’s success throughout his career is truly mind-boggling for fans; in his 17 years at Alabama, he has a winning percentage of 0.878. Saban has only lost at Bryant-Denny Stadium eight total times in that span, with three of those losses coming in his first year.
In his entire career, Saban has a record of 28–2 against his former assistants. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, who was an analyst and offensive coordinator at Alabama, is 0–1 against his former mentor after a heartbreaking 20-19 loss last year in Austin. He’ll look to turn the tide Saturday in what could be a potential career-altering win for him and his program.
