We’ve all had those “what if” moments in life—the ones which could completely change the course of events, and the GOAT of college football coaching, Nick Sabanm is no exception. Known for building Alabama into a modern-day dynasty, there’s no doubt that he’s one of the most successful coaches in college football history. Conference championships, national championships, Heisman winners, first-round picks in the NFL, Saban has probably seen it all. Now, having given up his coaching hat, we get a glimpse of the former Bama coach in his media avtar. Recently, he made a surprising admission that’s got everyone talking.

In an appearance on The Pivot podcast, he said that leaving LSU for the Miami Dolphins was “the biggest mistake” of his career. When did it happen? Much before Saban’s Bama days. After winning a national championship with the Tigers, Saban couldn’t ignore the brighter lights of the bigger league. However, it didn’t go as he had planned. Two years in Miami, a record of 15-17, and Saban realized that he had made an error. What’s the error? Well, it’s hard for a young head coach to control things in the NFL, and during his time at the Dolphins, Saban didn’t even have a good quarterback, forget a great offense.

Saban’s comments reignited the conversation about how his decision affected the future of  LSU. Matt Moscona, who hosts the Locked On LSU podcast, put it this way: “He is singularly responsible for birthing what LSU football is, but he also singularly held LSU back from even greater heights, which is sort of the irony. He built the thing and then suppressed the thing he built.” It’s a pretty strong statement, suggesting that Saban both created and somehow limited LSU’s potential.

To understand this, Matt provided some context from his own experience. He was a student at LSU during Saban’s time there, from 2000 to 2004, which included the 2003 national championship season. He went on to describe how, before Saban, winning a national title felt like an impossible dream.

He said, “So when Nick got LSU there in 2001 and they won it, it was euphoric. And then 2 years later, to win a national championship was it’s just hard to explain to someone who has watched LSU win it in ‘07, play for it again in ‘11, win it in 2019 in such dominating fashion, and now that be the expectation every year.“ This highlights Nick’s influence in changing the mindset of the program.

Nick Saban’s Lasting Impact

Nick Saban’s statements give us even more to think about. He said, “When I left LSU, that was probably professionally the biggest mistake that I ever made.” Saban explained that he preferred coaching in college because of the opportunity to develop players on a personal level, even though he enjoyed the NFL. He also shared a story about his agent, Jimmy Sexton, asking him what kind of legacy he wanted: Vince Lombardi or Bear Bryant. Saban immediately said Bear Bryant, and Sexton responded by questioning his decision to go to Miami. 

Putting this together with the discussions, it makes everyone wonder what would have happened if Saban had stayed. Matt even brought up Paul Dietzel, who left LSU after winning a national championship in 1958, drawing a comparison while acknowledging the different outcomes.

He concluded by saying, “You can hate the fact that you lost to him all those years, and that sucked.” For many, Nick Saban’s decision to leave LSU for Miami will always be one of the biggest “what ifs” in the history of college football.