One expects a coach with as much experience as Nick Saban to occasionally reflect on his or her career hiatus. For Saban, his coaching position at LSU is the one position he wishes he had never left.
The LSU Tigers were coached by Saban from 2000 to 2004. LSU recruited him from Michigan State.
He oversaw a total program turnaround in the five seasons he was in charge in Louisiana. In addition to winning two SEC titles, he guided the Tigers to their first national championship since 1958.
He chose to depart at the height of the applause, precisely when it was at its greatest. At the time, Saban believed that going into the NFL would be the right course for his career.
He thus became leadership of the Miami Dolphins. However, it wasn’t the update he believed he need. Having finished with a 15–17 record in two years, he made the decision to return to college.
Nick Saban left LSU when?
After coaching the LSU Tigers for four years, Nick Saban departed the team in 2004. After winning the 2003 BCS National Championship with LSU, he signed on to play for the Miami Dolphins during the 2005 NFL season.
In his two seasons as an NFL coach, Nick Saban had a 15–17 record with the Miami Dolphins. Shortly after, he received an opportunity to coach the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Why he left LSU is explained by Nick Saban
Thinking back on his departure from LSU Several years ago, in an interview with USA Today, Saban stated:
In 2007, Saban took a detour through college football, but it did not take him back to LSU. Rather, he became the coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, a decision for which Tigers supporters have detested him ever since. His presence at Alabama instantly heightened the already intense rivalry between the two universities.
The Louisiana Hall of Fame Committee voted to induct Saban in 2019 despite the animosity of the supporters. The supporters raged, raved, and complained. But in June 2020, Saban was granted his rightful place in the hall.
Nick Saban will probably leave Alabama to retire. But LSU supporters have vivid fantasies about his eventual comeback. Maybe that’s the only way they’ll be able to forgive him.