Nick Saban was arrested for attacking  Kalen DeBoer

Nick Saban, the former head coach of Alabama, was detained.

Like everyone else in the game of college football, the coaches that came and went under Nick Saban are similar to one another. Many of them currently oversee their own programs. Since Saban declared on January 10 that he was leaving coaching after winning seven national titles—six at Alabama and one at LSU—people have been taking time to comprehend his retirement.

Kirby Smart, the coach at Georgia, made a joke about wanting to fly all the coaches who had worked under Nick Saban to his new house in Jupiter Island, Florida, bring a video team, and just spend time telling stories about the illustrious career of Saban.

In an effort to present the renowned leader from the perspective of those who know him the best, ESPN spoke with 11 members of the Saban coaching tree.

Along with sharing their most poignant, humorous, and memorable moments, Saban’s proteges—Mark Dantonio from their time at Michigan State, Jimbo Fisher from their time at LSU and Smart, Mario Cristobal, Lane Kiffin, Dan Lanning, Steve Sarkisian, Mike Locksley, and more—dissect what made him one of the greatest coaches of all time.

From assisting Sarkisian in picking up the pieces of his life to switching out Jalen Hurts with Tua Tagovailoa at halftime of the 2017 national championship game, Saban made a bold move. We find out what Kiffin did to set off an epic “ass-chewing” concerning Fisher’s “West Virginia hillbilly” connections to his former boss/enemy, Smart, and Smart’s difficult first interview. We learn about Saban’s tender side as well as some detailed tales of his pickup basketball matches.

Over the years, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has made jokes about having had his fair share of “ass-chewings” from Saban when he was at Alabama. However, nothing compares to what he went through in the fall of 2016.

During a “good-on-good” exercise, which matched the starting offensive players against the starting defensive players, Kiffin couldn’t help himself, despite other coaches cautioning him against going too far in trying to make Saban’s defense seem awful. In order to help Alabama’s system become more modern, he was brought on in 2014 as head coach Saban’s offensive coordinator.

“I’m from the camp of Pete Carroll. “I wasn’t programmed that way to let the defense win,” Kiffin, the offensive coordinator for Saban for three stormy but productive seasons, said.

Before practice, Kiffin had various offensive staff coaches show various play types, or what one of those assistants recently called “cool plays.” It was obvious to those in the offensive staff meeting that Saban would not be happy.

“We had a great offensive day; we ran several reverses, completed a double pass, and scored a ton of touchdowns. He said that my only goal was to win the drill, fool the defense, and not benefit the team,” Kiffin remarked. “I thought, ‘Isn’t it the goal of offense in good-on-good situations to try to move the ball?'”

“He was enraged.”

Coach Nick Saban’s tree

Coaches under Saban’s direction who were contacted for this article:

Michigan State, Mark Dantonio (1995–1999)
Jimbo Fisher: 2000–04 at LSU
Kirby Smart: Alabama (2007–15), LSU (2004), Miami Dolphins (2006)
Billy Napier: United States (2011, 2013–16).
Mario Cristobal: 2013–16 in Alabama
Lane Kiffin: 2014–16, Alabama
Dan Lanning: 2015; Alabama
Steve Sarkisian: United States (2016, 2019–20)
Brent Key: 2016–18, Alabama
Mike Locksley: 2016–18, Alabama
Charles Huff: 2019–20 Alabama

Kiffin switched things up for the following practice, his ears ringing from being chewed out the day before.

“I ran the most basic, generic, under-center offensive I could, kind of like their old-school offense they used under Joe Pendry, stubborn old Lane,” Kiffin remarked. “We were slain by the defense. I would have the quarterback behind center on a third-and-eight play.”

After the game, in the staff meeting, Saban was even more irate and demanded an explanation from Kiffin about why he was running the ball and going under center on third-and-long.

Kiffin responded, “I’m simply running what I thought you would want me to run against the defense.” “Once more, it was just me being a prick.”

Saban then ordered everyone out of the room except Kiffin, who was aware of what was about to happen.

“I have to sit there as he stands over me and screams at me while I’m in my chair. I assumed he would engage in physical combat with me,” chuckled Kiffin. “Well, I have had a number of ass-chewings, but that one was the biggest and was hidden from view. However, I earned it.”

But Saban had one more shot, which still makes Kiffin and that staff’s offensive coaches laugh. Saban likened Kiffin to the spoilt, troublemaking rabbit P.J. Funnybunny from children’s books.

Kiffin claimed, “He yelled at me, saying I was the rabbit, and we were like, ‘What the hell is that?'” Coach has never told a bedtime story to a young child quite like that.”

When Smart interviewed with Saban for a position as a defensive backs coach at LSU in 2004, it was an experience he will never forget. At the time, Smart was a graduate assistant at Florida State, and he had the endorsement of his old friend Will Muschamp, who was then Saban’s defensive coordinator at LSU.

“I walk in for the interview; I’m a young, modest guy, and there are a lot of rumors floating about that say you have to get permission from Miss Terry [Saban’s wife] if she invites you over for dinner. Furthermore, you wouldn’t be hired if you didn’t receive the go-ahead.”

Lance Thompson was going to take a job as the defensive coordinator at UCF, leaving LSU. Thompson, who worked under Saban twice, reportedly said to Smart in passing that “working with Nick is like dog years.” Every year seems like seven.”

After dinner on Super Bowl Sunday, Smart dropped by the Saban house and they all sat around chatting.