A stunning moment happened Wednesday afternoon at around 4 PM. News came out that the greatest coach in college football history was retiring at 72-years-old. Nick Saban, the man who never stopped coaching, recruiting, or climbing that virtual mountain, finally said he had enough.
Saban leaves the coaching profession after winning seven national championships, six at Alabama and one at LSU.
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His relationship with LSU fans is unique to say the least. After leading the Tigers to a sought-after national championship in 2003, Saban left a couple of years later, only to return to the SEC in 2007 to coach LSU’s biggest rival, Alabama.
After a rough first season in Tuscaloosa, Saban quickly built Alabama into a powerhouse. From an LSU perspective he went from hero to villain.
His Alabama teams were 12-5 against the Tigers and only suffered two losses to LSU since 2011.
The losses to the Crimson Tide were painful for LSU fans. He was the guy that put LSU back on the college football map at the beginning of this century, but now he was breaking their hearts and causing frustration.
Many LSU fans will say January 10th is a great day to be a Tiger, because their biggest nemesis has finally decided to retire.
It’s also a time to be thankful. Thankful that he’s retiring, but also thankful for what Saban did at LSU.
He took over a program that was just meandering along. A couple of good seasons here and there, but most of the time struggling to find any kind of sustained success.
Winning a championship seemed like a pipe dream after getting clobbered by Steve Spurrier and the Florida Gators nearly every year in the 1990s.
Saban took the LSU job sight unseen in November 1999. He read a report that showed Louisiana was fourth in the country in players per capita in the NFL. After battling with Michigan for recruits, he liked the idea of no longer having in-state competition for the best players.
One of his first big-time recruits to come to LSU was wide receiver Michael Clayton. Clayton was a star at Christian Life High School in Baton Rouge. Florida State was just one of several out of state schools recruiting Clayton.
Clayton admits it was not cool to go to LSU when he was at high school.
But that changed after meeting Saban.
“I didn’t have a lot of Caucasian people in my house, coach Saban shows up with a blue blazer, a yellow undershirt, a gold chain with some penny loafers with no socks and I said this is the coolest white boy I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Clayton.
Clayton committed to LSU and shortly afterwards Saban put up a fence around Louisiana, keeping the best players in-state.
Saban was cultivating talent and started the process of building a championship program. He constantly hammered home the themes of one play at a time, dominating your opponent for that play and moving on to the next one.
Saban also taught the LSU fan base how to win. He said if the players compete for 60 minutes, the fans need to be in the game for 60 minutes. And if a negative play happens, move on to the next one.
The fans followed his teachings. In the 2003 game against Georgia, the fanbase put it into action.
The Bulldogs came into Tiger Stadium on that September day ranked 7th in the country and winners of their last nine on the road. ESPN College Gameday was in town, it was an afternoon CBS game.
LSU was up 10-3 in the fourth quarter and driving when Tigers quarterback Matt Mauck fumbled the ball leading to a turnover. On the next play, Georgia quarterback David Greene connected with Tyson Browning on a 93-yard touchdown pass.
After the extra point, the game was tied with 4.25 remaining. Previous LSU teams would have folded, the fan base would have stayed quiet. But not that day,
LSU fans started chanting “LSU, LSU, LSU” and I bet Saban cracked a little bit of a smile. (Maybe not.)
Devery Henderson returned the ensuing kickoff 48 yards and six plays later, Mauck connected with Skyler Green on an iconic 34-yard touchdown pass to give LSU a monumental victory over the Bulldogs.
Clayton remembers the team’s mindset that game.
“He presented the game of football in a way that made you believe you can win every game, and I think that’s definitely what Alabama experienced over the 17 years and that’s definitely what I experienced in my three years under his leadership,” said Clayton.
The belief that LSU should win every game carried on after Saban. It explains why Tiger fans are upset after losses to Florida State, Ole Miss and Alabama, because Saban said this is LSU and winning is expected.
So yes, be thankful Saban is no longer coaching anymore, making it easier on everyone in the SEC, but also be thankful for how he set the standard at LSU.