Ha Ha Clinton-Dix the latest to proclaim Nick Saban greatest coach of all time
By Keith Farner
Published:
There’s not much in question about Nick Saban’s impact in college football in his career. But one of his best players recently weighed in the Alabama coach’s legacy.
The Crimson Tide had six selections in the top 50 of the 2017 NFL Draft, which increased the program’s overall total since 2009 to 65 players, including 22 in the first round, the most in the country in that time period.
Fourth-year Green Bay Packers All-Pro safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who won two national titles playing at Alabama, recently offered his opinion about Saban to the Montgomery Advertiser.
“What is Nick Saban’s legacy? He’ll go down as one of the greatest coaches of all time, I believe,” Clinton-Dix said. “He’s a G.O.A.T (greatest of all time). Nick loves developing young, talented kids into all-around great adults, first of all. Buying in to the process is one of his biggest things. And one of the most important things for him was becoming a young man — leaving home with mom and actually owning up and being accountable.”
Clinton-Dix said Saban’s NFL background and experience with defensive backs resonated with the safety who played for Saban from 2011 to 2014.
“He’s in all of the meetings and doesn’t miss a practice,” Clinton-Dix said. “He coaches hands on, so he really knows what goes on in the back end.”
Saban, meanwhile, explained what motivates him to keep going even after he’s had so much success. Saban’s won four national championships in 10 seasons, along with three straight SEC championships and five overall.
“It’s like climbing a mountain,” Saban said. “Very few people get to the top, but those who get to the top seldom stay on top. You’ve always got to keep climbing. When you’re climbing, you never look down, you never look back. You accumulate knowledge as you go so you can be successful in climbing. If you don’t do that, you completely lose perspective of the challenges that you’re faced with.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
