Saban not just a football man, also a football fan
September 10, 2007
Nick Saban is a football coach, and a football fan.
Alabama’s head coach sent notes to several Dolphins players who played for him in Miami before that team opened its NFL season this weekend.
The coach said he didn’t watch Miami’s 16-13 loss to the Washington Redskins. But Saban remains loyal to players who gave great effort while he was in Miami.
“I didn’t have the opportunity to watch the game. I was here all day preparing for our game. But I have a tremendous amount of respect, gratitude — whatever you want to call it — for the hard work that the guys that are still on the team there and on other teams did while I was there,” Saban said. “I just wanted to wish them the best of luck in this season out of respect for them and also wish their families well. That’s the reason I did it. It didn’t come about for any other reason than that, other than I would like to see them do well.”
The Miami Herald reported on the notes sent to players. Former Auburn star Ronnie Brown jokingly put an X through the Alabama logo and scratched out the “University of Alabama” on the stationery.
Saban also shared his thoughts about another football situation — the horrendous start that Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr will try to overcome.
“Lloyd Carr is a good coach, a good friend and a good man,” said Saban, a former Michigan State head coach and Ohio State assistant. “We’re hopeful that — and I have a lot of faith, trust and confidence that their team is going to get turned around and do well. I have a lot of respect for Michigan and you’re talking to a guy that coached at Michigan State — and that’s a tough rivalry — and at Ohio State for two years, where we weren’t even allowed to buy gas in Michigan. So I don’t know
if I’m the right guy to ask that, but it’s a great school, an outstanding program with great tradition.
“Bo Schembechler was always a big part of that tradition, just like Bear Bryant is a big part of the tradition that we have here. Bo was always a good friend to me. I remember his wife, Millie, died I think of cancer and he used to have a fund-raiser for years when I was at Michigan State and he invited me to play, when I was the head coach at Michigan State. There were a
lot of people there, but I was the only one from Michigan State. I always thought that was a class thing that he did and I always enjoyed doing it.
“It’s one of those things where you don’t have to be at odds with the other guy that you have to compete against, that you can’t do things to help people in this profession. I’ll always have a lot of respect for Bo, as a coach and also as a person.”
