Link: College football head coach: the most dangerous job in sports

[PaulD]

LINK

"Two national championship coaches sat together at a luncheon last week. One dispensed advice. The other listened.​

"Andy Talley led Villanova to an FCS title this past season, but his tips had nothing to do with coverages or hot routes. Talley, the Wildcats' coach for the past 25 years, saw in Alabama's Nick Saban a bit of his old self, so Talley told Saban a tale of a coach so obsessed with winning that he took everything else for granted. Until one excruciating day in 2002. ..."​

The article says that he and Coach Saban discussed Talley's heart attack and things Saban should do to prevent having one. (Having had a mild one myself in 2008, these stories get my attention.)​

"Even Saban, who comes off as one of the sport's true grinders, sets limits. Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who worked for Saban from 2001-05, said his boss kept strict hours during the season. Saban would arrive at work every morning at 7:29, and he would leave every night at 10:31. While a 15-hour, 2-minute workday may sound brutal, some coaches work even longer hours. 'It doesn't matter if you're in the middle of a sentence, talking and getting ready for the national championship, he's walking out at 10:31,' Muschamp said. 'He has a set parameter for what he wants to do in his schedule. When he gets off that schedule, he's not a whole lot of fun to be around.'"​

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"Saban couldn't help but marvel. 'That has put things into perspective for me,' Saban said. 'I think we all have to, sometimes, remember who we are. Who we are is so much more important than what we did. ... That's what we'll all get judged by someday.'

"When Talley left that luncheon, he said goodbye to Saban with two brief pieces of advice every FBS coach should heed. 'Stay well,' Talley said. 'And take care of yourself.'"​

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I get the impression that Coach Saban is disciplined enough to make himself relax. I hope so; I'd like to see him healthy and at Alabama for several more years (and championships:smile.
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[BLAKE55]

Andy Staples has quickly become one of my favorite writers. This is another great article for Staples.

 

[GulfCoastTider]

Good read from Staples.

I can't find the post I was looking for, but SavannahDare weighed in brilliantly on this subject when Urban Meyer had his anxiety issues following the SEC Championship Game.

She talked about how Saban is able to discipline and compartmentalize his life and maintain his sanity, and compared it to Meyer's apparent inability to do that.

 

[Hal Bennett]

That is such a good take on college football and on life in general.

It also reveals how Nick Saban may have a better grasp on how to live his life than Paul William Bryant had. I say that as a Bear Bryant aficianado. I was one of those who cried more than once when he died. Like you, I would have given anything to have played for him.

I remember reading an article from not long before Coach Bryant's death. We all know that this took place about a month after he retired. As I recall, he was about 71 years old. In this article Bryant was asked about his health problems, and he said something like, "It's all the booze and the cigarettes."

Just in case you think I am irreverent regarding Coach Bryant, over the years I have tried to underline every instance I could find that indicated that he was a religious man. I am certain that he was a very religious man. I also think that he had very little idea about how to take care of himself.

The same was true of Babe Ruth -- and even Mickey Mantle. If Mickey Mantle had taken care of himself like Henry Aaron took care of himself. . . .Well, you get the point. I doubt if Mantle ever rode an exercise bike. He worried about his health as much as anyone ever did, yet he did very little about keeping it.

It seems to me that in this day and age we might keep two things in mind about Nick Saban. One is that we are supposed to be a top-notch place to coach college football. The other is that as such a place, we should keep in mind that our head coach has a right to a good, healthy life.

 

[crimsonbleeder]

...The other is that as such a place, we should keep in mind that our head coach has a right to a good, healthy life.

As do we all...as do we all...

But we each have our own RESPONSIBILITY to make our lives healthy. We are not entitled to it.