Report: Nick Saban advised Michigan State coaching search

Nick Saban’s second college job and first power conference head coaching position came at Michigan State, and it’s clear he still feels rather strongly about the university.

According to Tony Paul of the Detroit News, Saban actively reached out to Michigan State athletic director Bill Beekman and offered his assistance in the school’s coaching search. Saban reportedly told Beekman that he was “very interested in Michigan State having the right person,” and the Spartans eagerly accepted the Alabama coach’s offer to help.

It’s not a coincidence that the Spartans ultimately hired a former Saban assistant in Mel Tucker. Tucker was a graduate assistant under Saban at Michigan State, and served as an assistant head coach to Saban at Alabama in 2015. Saban was privately a major proponent of Tucker’s candidacy, and the Alabama coach cited Tucker’s ability to recruit the south, as well as his experience at both the NFL and college level, as major selling points to Michigan State leadership.

Saban has been known to go the extra mile when it comes to certain things in the coaching profession. Apparently, that even includes actively helping his former employers find new coaches.