Pleasing a perfectionist is a near impossible task. All men are creatures of habit and expect things to go a certain way, and they believe a certain level of hard work and dedication is necessary to become successful.
This man has had more success in the last ten years than some people experience in a lifetime. He is no stranger to big moments, and he does his best work when the stage is the biggest and the lights are the brightest.
He is a leader of men and the commander everyone wants leading their troops into battle. His fans and followers worship him and see him as the second coming of a certain “Bear,” but his players know him only by one name: Coach.
Nick Saban became the first head coach in history to win three BCS National Championships, with a dominant win over the LSU Tigers on Monday. Saban won his first championship in 2003, when he brought those same Tigers their first title since 1958. The second came in 2009, when the Crimson Tide went 14-0 in his third season as head coach. But for Saban, he said this year’s championship is the best.
“To be honest with you, this team was a special team,” Saban said. “Not that 2009 was any different. I am certainly honored and privileged to be with a group that made the kind of commitment that you look for from a competitive character standpoint and intangibles that you always strive to try to get as a coach.”
Saban is now 60 years old but has shown no signs of stopping. When asked if he still had the fire and passion for the game, Saban responded with a stern, “What do you think? Our guy jumps off sides with three minutes to go in the game, and you still coach the game like it’s the first game of the season – what do you think?”
With that fire and passion comes the ability to laugh and enjoy the good times. One of the more crystallizing moments during the postgame was Saban embracing the Gatorade bath. In 2009, Saban appeared not to enjoy the bath. This year, he jokingly said the players delivered better.
“I enjoyed the Gatorade bath two years ago, but I was almost knocked out by it,” Saban said. “The players improved on their ability to deliver, and I improved on my ability to accept, and everybody was happy, except [Tom] Rinaldi. He didn’t want any of it, but he got some of it. I told him to send me his cleaning bill.”
Ten years ago, this win would have been about Saban, the coach. This year, it is about Saban and how he has grown as a man.
“The more knowledge and experience that we have gotten through the years, it has become more about the other people and less about me,” Saban said. “That has improved our ability to be effective. Affecting young people and getting them to move in the right direction to do the right things is important to being successful.”
