Nick Saban! It's actually a good read and I'd recommend it to everybody, not just kp. It's a GQ article. Nick Saban
I just read the above quote, not the entire article. I agree that his philosophy is simple and straightforward. It actually reminds me of Bobby Knight's philosophy in terms of discipline and relentless preparation. Heck, it's not rocket science. IMO, it takes a special kind of coach to instill and build on this kind of philosophy, especially with today's young men. Saban certainly has established himself as a special kind of coach. His foresight in having the locker room ready during the lightning delay is amazing.
I thought the Tide program and it's fans were all a bunch of zealous nuts for offering Saban what they did to lure him away from the Dolphins. Now they all look brilliant.
You know the hardest thing to accept for me, is his methodical, emotionless pursuit of perfection. I think Coach Bryant is some senses was similar except that he cloaked it in southern charm. Coach Stallings was not quite as much a perfectionist but he too used a down home type of personality to woo the fans. Saban doesn't care about the fans. He doesn't care about the President of the University, he especially doesn't care about the press. He cares about winning but he truly believes that winning is a result of sticking to the process. The process is what is important. If everyone just respects the process, the result will be success. Interesting guy.
That article speaks volumes about the way Saban lives life and coaches. I bet it was a bitch growing up in his house. I still harbor ill feeling as an old Dolphins fan in the way he left the team, especially as he chewed a reporters ass for questioning the rumors of him leaving for Alabama and then hopped on the charter 30 minutes later. He is probably not somebody I would enjoy sharing a beer with. But he may go down as one of the greatest college football coaches of all time..
I reread the article again and have to say that I keep hearing the word focused over and over when it comes to Saban. Everyone "outside" his circle is almost an alien in his tunnel vision world and he has no comprehension of what they are doing and why...He just goes from one task to another with the same intensity but seems to not be able to appreciate any of them.
Substitute "Knight" for "Saban" and you have a 100% accurate description of the General. The resemblance is uncanny. The difference is that Saban does not have - or at least doesn't show - the uncontrollable temper that ultimately was Knight's downfall.
Obviously, you've never seen him answer the 'depth chart' question. (KP is laughing reading this) The thing about Saban, and coaches of this ilk, is that they can only truly blossom under the right circumstances. In order to have that level of control of everything requires one to operate out of a very specific type of base. Alabama is one such place. He could 'work' and have success in any number of places. We've seen it. At the same time, it's not the level of success we've seen at Alabama. When the laws the physics catch up, and they will, the real measure of the man is how he handles that.