Nick Saban has fantastic quote about his failed NFL stint
Oct 21, 2023; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban does his traditional walk around at Bryant-Denny Stadium before a game against the Tennessee Volunteers. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports
Nick Saban had a very funny way of issuing a warning about the pitfalls of NFL head coaching jobs.
The former Alabama coach reflected on his own decision to leave LSU for the Miami Dolphins prior to the 2005 season when discussing the Chicago Bears opening. Saban made the point that some jobs are set up for failure, and that he was a “dumba–” for taking the Miami job.
“If you take a job when you don’t have a roster — you got to look at the roster, you got to look at the salary cap, you got to look at the quarterback situation, which the Bears have a good one. I’m saying you have to take all those things into consideration, because if you don’t, you could end up in a no-win situation,” Saban said. “I took the Miami Dolphins job. We were $17 million over the cap, which was a lot back in those days. We had the oldest team in the league. They’re 4-12, got no quarterback. And I’m thinking, ‘I’m going to make it right.’ Well, we had a winning season first year, but we couldn’t get it turned around. There were so many obstacles, and no draft picks because they gave them all away for Ricky Williams.
“I knew it [was a bad situation]. I just had a bad case of the dumba–, that’s all.”
"If you take a Head Coaching job in the NFL you better look at the roster, the salary cap & the Quarterback situation..
You have to take all those things into consideration because if you don't you can end up in a no win situation" ~ Coach Saban #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/XsKKkIG1wX
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 6, 2024
It marks a pretty candid admission from Saban and something of a warning for other coaches. Of course, many will think they will be capable of fixing the Bears’ problems, especially since they do have a quarterback in place. The Dolphins did not have one under Saban, which was arguably their biggest failing, though Saban has always maintained that was not necessarily his fault.
Saban went 15-17 in two NFL seasons before returning to college with Alabama. There have certainly been worse NFL tenures, but relative to the rest of his career, it was definitely a failure by Saban’s standards.