Nick Saban says Mark Dantonio is better than he ever was at Michigan State
By Nick Cole
Published:
Much has been made about Nick Saban squaring off against one of his former schools in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
But what Saban said about Michigan State on Sunday night might seem surprising on the surface.
According to MLive.com, Saban admitted that he was not as good of a coach for the Spartans as Mark Dantonio is now.
Here is the exact quote:
“I think Mark has exceeded the expectations of all of us in terms of what he’s done at Michigan State, and certainly done a better job than I ever did there, I can tell you that.”
At first thought, it’s hard to believe a guy with four national championships and a statue of himself outside of Bryant-Denny Stadium would be in a position to say such a thing.
But further review of his tenure at Michigan State, which ran from 1995-99 until he left to take the LSU job, proves that to be accurate.
Saban’s record during his time in East Lansing was 34-24-1, and he won more than seven games just once in five seasons. He went 0-3 in bowl games, missing his chance to coach in the Citrus Bowl to leave for Baton Rouge in 1999.
Meanwhile, Dantonio’s record at Michigan State is 87-32, with the Spartans winning 11 games or more in five of the last six seasons.
Saban continued:
“I think he’s done a phenomenal job there and I think as well as anybody could be expected to win the Big Ten championships that he’s won, and to have the kind of consistency and performance they’ve had over the last few years is pretty phenomenal, but not surprising to me.”
One thing is certain: The clash between the two coaches will be must-see TV at the end of this month.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
