Saban, Nick

Saban, Nick (Nicholas Lou Saban, Jr.) sāˈbən [key], 1951–, American football coach, b. Fairmont, W.Va., grad. Kent State Univ., 1973. After playing defensive back in football in college, he held a series of assistant, largely defensive college coaching positions until he became head coach at the Univ. of Toledo (1990–91). After serving as defensive coordinator for the National Football League's Cleveland Browns (1991–95), he became head coach at Michigan State Univ. (1995–2000), Louisiana State Univ. (2000–2005), the NFL's Miami Dolphins (2005–7), and the Univ. of Alabama (2007–). Considered one of the great college football coaches, Saban has won seven national championships (2003 with Louisiana State; 2009, 2011–12, 2015, 2017, 2020 with Alabama).

See biography by M. Burke (2015).

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