“It was a huge mistake to leave college football,” retired head coach Nick Saban laments every time he talks about leaving LSU, after just five seasons. Tempted to take up a coaching role in the big leagues with the Miami Dolphins back then, in hindsight, the veteran always looks back to his tenure with profound regret: “I left because I wanted to be a pro coach, or thought I wanted to be a pro coach. We loved LSU. We worked hard to build the program. If there was one thing professionally that I would do over again, it would’ve been not to leave LSU.” Especially after the lengths he went to change the team’s fortunes, assisted by his wife Terry Saban. But before we get to Terry’s role…

During his tenure with the LSU Tigers from 2000 to 2004, Saban led the team to its golden years—a 48-16 overall record, a 28-12 mark in SEC play, two conference championships, a 3-2 bowl record and the 2003 BCS championship. Additionally, the Tigers also achieved their most wins in a season in 2000 (8-4) since 1997 (where they had nine overall wins), and beat Georgia Tech in the Peach Bowl that year. When Saban lead the Tigers to a national championship in 2003, it was the team’s first since 1958.

And to think that none of this would’ve been possible if it hadn’t been for Nick Saban’s wife. Back in 1999, when Saban was busy coaching Michigan State, LSU extended an offer to the veteran. But it was easier said than done. As per the coach, “When they were interested, I had so much pressure on me, I couldn’t really go for an interview…So Miss Terry went.” However, if you listen to ESPN’s Steve Coughlin story, it wasn’t this simple. On the SVPod podcast with Shane Van Pelt, on November 9, ESPN’s Steve Coughlin made a hilarious revelation…

“He [Nick Saban] was locked in his house in Michigan State. He couldn’t leave. He sent Miss Terry down here,” the podcaster revealed. But why had the HC locked himself? Is it because he was scared of Michigan fans who did NOT want their HC to leave? Well, that’s a question only Saban himself will be able to answer. But for now, let’s see how his wife stood up to the task in her husband’s absence. As per Coughlin, “He sent it out like, ‘You [Terry] got to go check. I’m I’m interested in this place’. And he sends a checklist with her and they don’t have anything but she sort of gets the hint to him, that they got a lot of NFL bodies in the wait room.”

The legendary coach also talked about the incident in 2021, during his weekly radio show: 

“She [Terry] said, ‘They don’t have very good facilities…They don’t have an academic center. There’s a lot of things they don’t have that I think they need.’ But she said, ‘I went in the weight room and they’ve got a lot of damn good looking players’.” In simple words, LSU couldn’t tick off any of the boxes, but what they did tick off was talent. Now couple that with the steep rise in money, and Saban was definitely convinced.

For the unversed: LSU put in an initial $2.3 million (for the first year) contract for Saban and Terry Saban had to come over to check everything at the Tigers. When the final contract was signed, Saban was hired for 5 years at $1.25 million every year.

And well, the rest is history. Saban jumped ship and LSU had the best five years in their entire history. It’s kind of wild that we have reached a point where now we are watching two teams, Saban had coached to greatness, fight it off on that turf. The LSU vs Bama showdown was beautiful. It was a downpour on that turf, and still, nothing could stop the Crimson Tide from running all over the Tigers. That night, a record was broken, and a record was kept.

See, LSU HC Brian Kelly had a record of never losing a game held during the night on their home turf, and Bama has had a 10-year record of never losing a game coming off of bye-week. Well, this one was a disaster for Kelly as Kalen DeBoer and Co. took home a massive 42-13 win and kept the Bama legacy alive. And we have to check what made this win a massive comeback for the Tide.

Alabama Crimson Tide is finally rolling

Coming off of that blowout win against Mizzou at 34-0, DeBoer and Co. had already proved that they still have what it takes to keep up the Bama name high on the charts. However, fans still had doubts. While DeBoer did manage to clear out the “fire HC” target from his head, this LSU game would be the elimination game for the team. So, they couldn’t risk anything.

From the start, Bama was nothing but explosive. These guys wreaked havoc on Baton Rouge by bringing in 420 total yards. Their rushing offense was all over LSU. With 311 yards under their belt, LSU and their mere 104 had nothing on DeBoer and Co.

And we gotta talk about the star of the show. The season has not been kind to QB Jalen Milroe. He started amazingly. with the win against Wisconsin and USF, Milroe showed pure talent. Even against the Dawgs, this dude managed to push the Tide to 21-0 in the FIRST QUARTER. But then starts to fall off. With the loss to Vandy, a VERY close game against South Carolina, and another loss to Vols, everyone was out with their pitchforks, wanting to strip Milroe from his elite QB position.

But this LSU game was the perfect comeback story. This guy did not hesitate to run. Dude managed to snag 4 rushing touchdowns for Bama and completed 12 out of 18 solid passes during the game. And the Tide defensive line? They were beautiful. God knows what magic DC Kane Wommack has done to that D-line cause they were RELENTLESS. Even with Bama having a massive lead, they still were locked in on that football and barely let Garrett Nussmeier make plays.