Nick Saban is arguably the greatest college football coach of all time, having won six national championships with Alabama and one while he was at LSU.
Saban, who finished his career with 292 wins, does not seem to carry a long list of regrets over the course of his career. He left coaching on his own terms last year following an incredibly successful era with the Crimson Tide.Â
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
ESPN analyst Nick Saban before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Jan. 9, 2025. (Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)
He did, however, admit in a recent interview there was at least one thing he wished he could have back – jumping from LSU to coach the Miami Dolphins. Saban famously left the Tigers after winning a national championship to coach the Dolphins for two seasons. He then claimed he would not take the Alabama job but eventually did so anyway.
He said on “The Pivot” leaving LSU for the NFL was his “biggest mistake.”
“I think sometimes you have to learn about yourself,” he told LSU alumnus Ryan Clark, ex-Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder and former NFL star running back Fred Taylor. “And you might think things … When I left LSU, that was probably ‘professionally’ the biggest mistake that I ever made,” he admitted.
Nick Saban is introduced as the new Miami Dolphins head coach at the Dolphins practice facility in Davie, Florida, on Jan. 4, 2005. (Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports )
“Not because we didn’t have success in Miami. I enjoyed coaching in Miami. I found out in that experience that I like coaching college better, because you can develop players personally, academically, athletically and all that a little more than pro ball, even though I loved the status of coaching in pro football and the kind of guys you coach, and you’re coaching in the best league against the best players, I loved all that.”
Saban added that his agent, Jimmy Sexton, talked to him about leaving LSU. Saban said Sexton posed the question, “Do you want to be Bear Bryant or Vince Lombardi in terms of his legacy?” Saban said he answered he wanted to be more like Bryant but chose to go the NFL route anyway.
Head coach Nick Saban smiles as Chad Lavalais, #93, and Stephen Peterman, #72, kiss the ADT National Championship Trophy after winning the 2004 Nokia Sugar Bowl, defeating Oklahoma 21-14, in New Orleans on Jan. 4, 2004. (Douglas Collier-USA TODAY NETWORK)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Saban will mostly be remembered for his run at Alabama, but his stint in the NFL may be the only blemish on his resume any football fan could point to.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
