Alabama Football: The little-known Nick Saban is different from the well-known

Alabama Football: The lesser-known parts of Nick Saban don’t match broad perceptions.

Alabama football, Head Coach, Nick Saban might be the least-understood, well-known figure in college sports. No legitimate list of college football’s greatest coaches fails to include Saban. Nick is at or near the top of every list of current and all-time greatest college football coaches. He is also on every top ten list of the most disliked coaches.

Alabama football fans revere him. Saban has earned every ounce of the admiration and respect bestowed on him. Defining how well-liked Saban, the person is, cannot be conclusive. Across the landscape of college football, Saban is probably more hated than loved. A big part of why is the success Saban’s programs have achieved over competitors. Opposing fans invariably express ill will for coaches whose teams repeatedly best their favored team.

But there is more to some rancor aimed at Saban. A couple of years ago, a sister publication, Saturday Blitz expounded on college football’s most hated coaches. Check out a snippet on Nick Saban below.

"His proclamations against everything from satellite camps to hurry-up offenses have come off as little more than an angry man yelling at clouds. Saban’s insistence on choking others’ advantages while seeking every advantage for himself has come off as disingenuous."

Being labeled disingenuous can be a by-product of unvarnished honesty. Nick Saban is direct, rarely tempering his strongest opinions. He is sometimes blunt. Maybe occasionally Nick engages in verbal jousting with a tad too much zest. More importantly, he says what he means. Matters of substance are carefully measured. From that perspective, Nick Saban is arguably the most honest coach in football.

Miss Terry is credited with being a great sounding board for Nick. She has reportedly told him, there can be discrepancies in how he views himself and how others see him. He is human and like all of us, makes mistakes. But Alabama football fans are quick to forgive mistakes, while the rest of college football is unforgiving.

What is often missed about Saban is his strong Catholic faith. His mother describes his youth in the Catholic Church.

"Mary Saban described Nick as a very devout child. “He used to be an altar boy. Anytime he noticed the priests needing assistance, he always offered to help during the Mass."

The former altar boy is still zealous. In 2016, when the Saban Catholic Student Center at St. Francis University Parish was dedicated, Nick shared a lifelong message.

"Staying on that straight and narrow path is the key to discipline and morality"

Three years ago, we defined Nick Saban’s process is designed to maximize clarity in settings at risk for confusion and chaos. For Saban, the ‘Process’ is a path that must be followed by faith and discipline.

The link above contends, after Nick Saban has retired from coaching Alabama football, he would make a perfect Czar for college football.