President Donald Trump botched Nick Saban’s name while speaking on a conference call Monday.
Trump spoke in endorsement of former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, whom he has endorsed in a bid for Alabama’s Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Doug Jones.
In praising Tuberville, Trump spoke about “Lou Saban”, which was almost certainly meant to be Nick Saban.
“Really successful coach,” Trump said, speaking of Tuberville, via AL.com. “Beat Alabama, like six in a row, but we won’t even mention that. As he said … because of that, maybe we got ‘em Lou Saban. … And he’s great, Lou Saban, what a great job he’s done.”
Tuberville coached Auburn from 1999-2008. His team went 13-0 in 2004, and he went 7-3 in his career against rival Alabama in the Iron Bowl. Nick Saban lost to Tuberville/Auburn in his first year at Bama but then sent Tuberville packing with a 36-0 shutout win in 2008.
Lou Saban played for Indiana in college and the Cleveland Browns as a pro. He was a longtime football coach who spent time in college and then the AFL/NFL. Lou Saban died in 2009 at 87. Nick Saban remains the head coach at Alabama and is recognized as one of the greatest college football coaches ever.
