Your first impression of Coach Saban?

TommyMac · Jun 16, 2013

When he was first hired by LSU my first thought was that he was a pretty good hire, but it would take him a while to get LSU competitive in the SEC and nationally.

I based that mainly on recruiting. I figured that since he was entering a section of the country that was new to him, it would take him a few years to establish relationships and trust with the HS coaches of the area.

Boy, was I wrong? He hit the ground running right away as he started rebuilding LSU through recruiting. That really got my attention, but I reasoned that "So, he can recruit, but there's a lot more to it than just that."

I thought he was doing a great job, but still kept a wait and see attitude. The NC win over Oklahoma was the turning point for me, I love defense and the way they shut down OU's offense convinced me that he was special and I was pretty danged happy when he left to try the NFL. I didn't want him in Baton Rouge, especially at a time that things were so uncertain in Tuscaloosa.

I was among those that didn't think we had a realistic chance to get him, thank goodness I was wrong again. Also thanks to Rita and the dogged determination of Coach Mal. (With a lot of help from Ms. Terry.)

So my first impression of him was that he was a great recruiter, I just didn't realize at the time just how great he was and I'm still being amazed by how great he is. I know Alabama, with our facilities and tradition is a pretty easy sell, but jeez, what's he's doing is simply amazing.

CullmanTide · Jun 16, 2013

When first hired at LSU the media was already speaking negatively of him. They alluded to the fact nobody on his Michigan St. staff chose to follow him to Baton Rouge. That he was too difficult to work for, blah blah blah. Being demanding is part of the reason he is so successful and he proved himself quickly at LSU. I, like you was very happy to see him leave and go to the NFL because I thought he was the best coach in college football. When Shula was fired he was the first coach I thought of and actually thought we had a shot at him. Luckily for us Mal was able to bring him home to Tuscaloosa and the rest is history.

JBama_in_PCOLA · Jun 16, 2013

My first impression was that he was a great coach. I wished he was our head coach. I guess I got my wish.

tidefan39817 · Jun 16, 2013

I lived in Kansas while he was at MSU so I got to watch a lot of games he coached. I didn't like it one bit that LSU hired him. With his coaching style and the resources that LSU would allow him to have I knew it spelled trouble for us at the time.

RJ YellowHammer · Jun 16, 2013

CullmanTide said:
When Shula was fired he was the first coach I thought of and actually thought we had a shot at him. Luckily for us Mal was able to bring him home to Tuscaloosa and the rest is history.

I didn't really follow Coach Saban that closely before he found his way to Red Stick, but I was impressed with his LSU teams.

I remember keeping track of the Dolphins, hoping they would keep losing, before Shula was officially fired. IIRC, the Phins reeled off around 4 wins in a row to close out the year, and I wasn't expecting CNS to leave Miami. Glad it worked out though.

selmaborntidefan · Jun 16, 2013

I thought he was a joke and another in the long line of LSU mediocrities, another Hallman or DiNardo. I met Bayoutider two weeks before the 2001 season, and he told me the fans in Lake Chuck thought Saban was a great. We both laughed out loud at that. Then, Saban beat Tennessee in the 2001 SECCG. I have to admit to being a little impressed because they won after trailing by ten with his QB hurt. But remember - DiNardo beat Florida in 1997 and flamed out from there. So when CNS went 7-6 in 2002 - and remember how lucky they got against KY - I figured he'd get fired after 2003.

But when they beat Oklahoma - a team just six earlier considers the greatest ever - I was in complete awe. Had some trouble in 2004 and when he left I figured he'd be ok in the pros.

When his name came up in the search, he was the one guy I wanted. I have hated every hire we made since CPB retired. Stallings won me over in 1992, but I hated all the others. I didn't say anything, loyalty is important, but I thought they were all buffoons. Any poster on this board could coach at Alabama and win ten games his or her third year. So those don't even count.

I hope he stays another decade and blows away Coach Bryant's records for titles. We already have the two greatest ever - but I misjudged him in 1999.

(Sigh of resignation - what if Bowden had succeeded Perkins or Curry and retired in 2006 and we got CNS?)

crimsonaudio · Jun 16, 2013

First time I really paid much attention to CNS was when LSU completely dismantled us in 2003. They physically dominated us unlike any team I recall before or since.

deliveryman35 · Jun 16, 2013

I remember getting my first look at him and being very well impressed when he beat us in Baton Rouge back in 2000 and broke the one streak that we still had going back to the Bryant yrs--30yrs without a loss in Tiger Stadium. I know we didn't field a very good team that season but somehow nonetheless he was able to end that mystique that we seemed to own whenever we played down there.

I'm glad we got him when we did, just wish it had been sooner. Like the Bear, I really think Nick was born to coach at Bama.

Probius · Jun 16, 2013

When Coach Saban was first hired I was completely convinced that we were going to win a NC, and nothing that happened during the '07 season dampened my enthusiasm one bit.

שלומ

mikes12 · Jun 16, 2013

I remember sometime before the start of the 2000 season, coach DuBose was in Chattanooga for a dinner and speaking engagement. One of the questions asked him about the new coach at LSU, Nick Saban. I remember him praising Saban as a great coach, saying something to the effect of him being a relentless worker and recruiter, and that he (Saban) was going to make his (DuBose) job a lot harder. At the time I dismissed it at coachspeak, but looking back it was telling.

J4Bama · Jun 16, 2013

I despised him when he was at LSU. As Mal Moore said at this years national championship celebration " I sure am glad he's on our side"

RollinTider1335 · Jun 16, 2013

Focused. Doesn't care abut the sideshows which I love.

GrayTide · Jun 16, 2013

While I had heard of him, being at Toledo for 1 year and Michigan State (34-24-1) did not impress me. I also thought going to LSU and the SEC was going to be shock to him and he would be another in the long line of mediocre LSU hires. When they killed us in Tuscaloosa in 2001 I thought oh crap. Then we go to Baton Rouge the next year and wipe the floor with them. So while I thought he was a better coach than I had originally thought, I still wasn't overly impressed. While he had some very good teams at LSU, as relates to us, he beat up on some not very good or well coach teams.

After his success at LSU I figured he was headed to the pros to finish his career. My opinion was that he was an NFL coach with an NFL approach to the game. When his name surfaced for the Alabama job that was not yet open, I did not put any stock in any of the rumors. Until the day he flew into Tuscaloosa I did not think we had a chance with him. It appears I was wrong al along.

selmaborntidefan · Jun 16, 2013

I didn't think we could get him. Remember, we got used for raises by other guys who were not coming here. I figured we were doomed to another nobody.

JBama_in_PCOLA · Jun 16, 2013

What he said^^^!! Like Rich Rod! It is a wonder what Coach Mal did. CNS needed to sit down somewhere and let his seed grow. It's a sequoia now.

jabcmb · Jun 16, 2013

I was surprised this guy from "up north" took the LSU job, and brought zero assistants to boot. Didn't expect much at all. Then he shut down the talent exodus from Louisiana, and by the second year he had my respect. Have to admit, I didn't think he was capable of this type of success, though.

BigBama76 · Jun 16, 2013

I didn't know that much about him and didn't pay that much attention to him when he was at LSU. Peripherally I did have an idea he was a good coach and thought he would improve things at Alabama over what we'd had. However, I had no idea he could accomplish what he has in the time frame he's done it.

All the sports experts thought he could help us become competitive at the elite level but they all thought it would take him 4-5 years. Despite what he did at LSU I think he and Alabama have been a marriage made in heaven so to speak and I doubt there are more than 1 or 2 other schools he could have accomplished what he has at Bama. I think he possibly feels that way as well.

selmaborntidefan · Jun 16, 2013

Any of you thought 3 in 4 years? you're either lying, escaped from a mental institution, or I'd like a sip of whatever you were drinking at the time.

TIDE-HSV · Jun 16, 2013

I was unaware of him until he left MSU for LSU. At the time, my nephew, his FIL and my BIL were golfing together weekly. When he left, the MSU fans, including the FIL were devastated. Bob, the FIL, had a cute, self-deprecating sense of humor and he made a lot of remarks about how they couldn't hold on to a winner, even when they found one. (He was, BTW, plant manager of several GM plants, plus being about 6'6" tall.) I remember thinking, about Saban, who is this guy anyway. When he had no assistants following him to LSU at all. I remember thinking that that wasn't good at all. I was astounded at his success at LSU. Now, I'm even more astounded...

Florida Tom · Jun 17, 2013

I just thought he was an ok coach. You have to remember when he left the Dolphins, I was traveling to Miami a lot & you just would not believe the stuff on the radio. I have not heard such hatred ever in my life, which was hard for me to understand since he had a losing record there.

I really think he is much much more than a good coach now but you have to give the entire university, fans & his assistants a lot of credit.

Alabama was just a very good fit for Saban to be himself, not sure it would work everywhere, but I'm sure glad it's a perfect fit here.

Your first impression of Coach Saban?

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

TideFans Legend

All-American

Hall of Fame

TideFans Legend

Administrator

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

All-American

All-American

All-SEC

Hall of Fame

TideFans Legend

TideFans Legend

All-American

Suspended

TideFans Legend

Senior Administrator

All-American

TideFans.shop - NEW Stuff!