Nick Saban explains why he’s stayed at Alabama for 15 seasons
By Keith Farner
Published:
When Nick Saban arrived at Alabama, by that point in his career he had not stayed at any job longer than 5 seasons. But now he’s going to be at Alabama for at least 15 seasons and recently signed a contract extension.
Saban, 69, sat down and discussed the job and his success with Alan Blinder of The New York Times. Saban shared that being a coordinator and head coach in college and the NFL, but he later realized that college suited him better.
“I kind of had it in mind after a little while there that if I ever got the opportunity to go back to a college, where you thought you had a chance to be successful, that might be a better path. Miss Terry [Saban’s wife] likes college better,” Saban said. “She’s more involved in the community and with our foundation and all those things. So anyway, once we went to the N.F.L. and you thought this was the goal but then you found out that maybe you’re best suited for something else — like, college. So when we had the opportunity to come back here, there was never another job, there was never another place that we were looking to go to. We look at every year here like it’s a challenge, it’s a new job.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.