Saban Biography "Saban: The Making of a Coach" Thread

Al A Bama

Hall of Fame
Jun 24, 2011
6,658
934
132
Thanks Coach and RTR91. I will wait for the AUTHORIZED version of your autobiography to come out if I can last that long. If I can't live that long, then I will not be wasting any money on an UNauthorized version!

Guys waste your money on something else, please. Let that book sit on the shelf of Barnes and Noble, Amazon, etc.
 

PaulD

All-SEC
Dec 29, 2006
1,996
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near Perry, Georgia, United States
I found it to be a pretty balanced book. It paints Coach Saban neither as a saint nor as Satan, but as a focused and driven football coach. Not exactly a shock there. In the biography world, "unauthorized" means that the subject didn't have some kind of contract with the author. There's enough material from friends of Coach Saban with attribution that I have to figure that if he had really wanted to stop the book (and he knew about it), he could have told his friends not to talk. I enjoyed it and didn't come away with a particularly different view of him than I had before.
 

Nolan

Hall of Fame
Jul 4, 2006
5,591
679
137
Oahu
Yea, Saban has never profited off of any players or universities for personal gain. The irony that Saban is mad about someone making chump change off of writing a book about him is unfathomable..


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I'm not coming to his defense. His opinions outside of football don't really register with me. The unfathomable irony you allude to, however, is a matter of you drawing a comparison of the book's profit and what CNS makes. These are separate issues as I see it. If his comments bothered you, then okay, I get it.
 

4Q Basket Case

FB|BB Moderator
Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
9,568
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I bought the book, but haven't read it yet. Nothing I've heard, though, would indicate any kind of hatchet job.

Anybody have any idea what set Saban off?
 

Chukker Veteran

Hall of Fame
Feb 6, 2001
10,594
5,067
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Saban, by blackballing the book...discouraging anyone from buying it... may well make it very popular with the barners.
 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
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Prattville
RollBamaRoll has a nice Q&A with Burke about the book. Link

At the end of last Thursday's press conference Coach Saban, unbidden, launched into a mini-tirade against unauthorized biographies in general and the idea of an unauthorized biography of him specifically. Although he never mentioned the offending tome by name, it was clear that he was reacting to the publication of Saban: The Making of a Coach by Monte Burke.

Having read the book I can see why he might be upset, but only because when we hear things about ourselves we tend to focus on the negative. Burke didn't write a hagiography. Nor did he write a hit piece.

What emerged from his research is the story of a complex, extraordinarily driven man as seen through the eyes of those who have known and worked with him. That there is not unanimity of opinion amongst those he interviewed should surprise no one. It would be eyebrow-raising if there were.

The book is enjoyable, informative, and Burke writes well. It's a page-turning read I recommend for any fan, not just of the Crimson Tide, but of college football. (Full disclosure: while the author and I do not know each other beyond passing, my wife and I do count his brother as one of our oldest and most valued friends. That friendship has no bearing on my opinion of the book.)

Monte was kind enough to take time to answer a few questions for us:
 

TiderMan

All-SEC
Feb 5, 2005
1,360
113
87
55
Moody, AL.
I just finished reading the book. I thought it was very good and told a pretty complete story of Coach Saban's life and career. I found it most interesting when it discussed each time he made a coaching move to another school or team. It showed the anguish and turmoil that he faced in making these decisions. Most of his career, he was more interested in building something from the ground up and then moving on than staying somewhere and maintaining a program. Up until the Bama job, he had never stayed anywhere more than 5 consecutive years. He has had some opportunities to leave while at Bama but for one reason or another he has stayed and I think that says a lot about the Bama job. When he first came here, most people thought he would be here 2-3 years and 5 years at most and now he is going into his 9th season. If he leaves tomorrow, I would understand, wish him well, and thank him for a great run. If he stays another 9 (we can hope), I will sit back and enjoy the ride and watch the championships pile up.
 

Bama1985

1st Team
Jan 18, 2006
794
126
62
61
Calhoun County
I have almost finished reading it. It is hard to put this book down--very well researched and written. Most of the book is direct quotes from the people closest to Coach Saban. Very good life lessons can be taken from this book. I now understand how the "process" was developed. I have actually implemented of some of the science of the process into my company's business development plan.
 

Alasippi

Suspended
Aug 31, 2007
12,875
2
57
Ocean Springs, MS
Coach Saban should receive royalties or a licensing fee for the photo. It's that simple. They have his image on the cover. That image sells books and makes this guy a ton of money. The same author could have gone on Facebook, or run a national TV ad and said.."Hey, I wrote a book about Nick Saban", and he would have sold NOTHING. Without using Coach Saban's image, he would have a NO seller, rather than a BEST seller. I'm in the ad business. Trust me, this guy is going to end up paying big time.
And all the talk about coaches making money off of players, and this and that...
It doesn't have one thing to do with this situation. Coach Saban will end up suing and winning.
sip
 
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RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
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0
Prattville
Coach Saban should receive royalties or a licensing fee for the photo. It's that simple. They have his image on the cover. That image sells books and makes this guy a ton of money. The same author could have gone on Facebook, or run a national TV ad and said.."Hey, I wrote a book about Nick Saban", and he would have sold NOTHING. Without using Coach Saban's image, he would have a NO seller, rather than a BEST seller. I'm in the ad business. Trust me, this guy is going to end up paying big time.
And all the talk about coaches making money off of players, and this and that...
It doesn't have one thing to do with this situation. Coach Saban will end up suing and winning.
sip
Don't think CNS would get anything from the picture. The photographer is the owner of the picture, not CNS.


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