In his decades as a college football head coach, Nick Saban won an unprecedented seven national championships between LSU and Alabama. But which of those seven championships meant the most to him?
Appearing on The Triple Option with Urban Meyer, Rob Stone and his former running back Mark Ingram, Saban was asked which of his national title wins stick out from the rest.
Saban wasn’t able to pick only one and instead called it a tie between his 2003 national title with the Tigers and his 2009 title with the Crimson Tide. Saban explained that winning his first titles at both programs meant a lot because it was the culmination of turning them around after years of struggling.
“I think the first one, obviously was at LSU, in 2003 and then the 2009 first championship here at Alabama,” Saban revealed. “And the reason those two first probably are the ones that resonate the most for me is what I mentioned before, is all those guys came to the program when the program really wasn’t successful.”
“Once a program is successful, sometimes players come because of what you can do for them, not really what they can do for the university or build a program or whatever. And it’s okay that happens, but it’s a lot more meaningful when all these players came to try to prove something, work their butt off to make it happen, and you’re a part of it, and you grow together as a team.”
“I think those two, because they were the first at each place, were the most special. They’re all great though, because that’s the one thing about being a part of a team. Is when you get a team to reach the pinnacle of success, there’s a lot of self-gratification in that for not only myself but the entire group of people who contributed to it.”
Even after Saban left LSU, the program continued to be good under Les Miles and won a national title in 2007. And after Saban’s first title, five more followed.
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