Nick Saban reveals ‘first coaching lesson’ he received from his high school coach
By Luke Greco
Published:
Nick Saban spoke with the media ahead of the Nick Saban Legacy Award presentation and revealed the ‘first coaching lesson’ he ever received.
Saban said that lesson came from his high school coach back when he was just a sophomore quarterback. Here’s how the story goes, per Saban:
My first coaching lesson, I learned from my high school coach. I was a sophomore in high school playing quarterback, and we were playing at Mason Town Valley. You had to walk through the graveyard to get to the playing field. We had to win this game to get to the playoffs. And we got behind 18-0. We came back in the second half and had it at 18-12. We got the ball to go with two minutes left. And I called the plays. I was 15 years old.”
“We go down, and it’s 4th and 12 at the 25-yard line, and he calls our last time out. And I was relieved because the last guy in our town turned the lights out. Everybody went to the game. So the whole community is there, and I’m thinking, ‘I gotta call this play now? On 4th and 12 to win the game?’ And he calls me over to the sidelines…He said, ‘Young Nicky, what do you think?’ I said, ‘I think you should call this play, that’s what I think.’ He said, ‘Well, you’ve got the fastest guy in the state playing left halfback and a three-time all state guy playing split end. I don’t care what play you call, one of the two of them need to get the ball.'”
“So I called 26 crossfire pass, which is play action on 4th and 12. Not very smart, right? Faked it to the fastest guy, threw it to the other guy for a touchdown, and we won 19-18. So after the game, he said, ‘When you’re in a critical situation in a game, don’t think of plays, think of players.’ So that was my first coaching lesson, even though God knows I didn’t have any aspirations of being a coach at that time.
That early experience clearly stuck with Nick Saban, who would go on to become the most accomplished coach in college football history. Plays like an onside kickoff with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter of a tied National Championship game don’t happen unless you think of your players.
Saban has emphasized putting his players in positions to succeed. It is part of the reason Alabama became a dynasty under his leadership, producing six national championships and a steady pipeline of NFL talent.
Saban will begin his second season with ESPN’s College GameDay next weekend in Columbus for Texas vs. Ohio State.
