Nick Saban leaves Miami for Alabama job.

smlutz · Jan 3, 2007

Well, he actually did it.

Nick Saban has accepted an offer from Alabama to coach the Crimson Tide and left the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday, two weeks after declaring "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach."

Sayeth Saban
A chronology of comments about Nick Saban taking the head coaching job at Alabama:

Nov. 27:
Saban: "When I was in college it was always about coming to the pros. This is the challenge I wanted. I had a good college job. Why would I have left that if I was going to be interested in other college jobs?

"I took this as a challenge. We certainly haven't seen this through and gotten where we want to go and finished the job here, so why would I be interested in something else?"

Dec. 5:
Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga (after giving Saban a vote of confidence): "I am completely sold on Nick Saban. I would admit we made a mistake if we did make a mistake, but I firmly believe in Nick Saban."

Dec. 7:
Saban: "I'm flattered that they may have been interested in me, but it never really progressed, because we just never let it progress."

Dec. 21:
Saban: "I guess I have to say it. I'm not going to be the Alabama coach" ... "I don't control what people say. I don't control what people put on dot-com or anything else. So I'm just telling you there's no significance, in my opinion, about this, about me, about any interest that I have in anything other than being the coach here.

Dec. 27:
Saban: "I'm just making a rule to never comment on something like that again because every time you comment on it, it just makes for another story. So I'm not going to comment on it five years from now, and I'm not going to comment on it next week."
Saban told team owner Wayne Huizenga of his intentions in a face-to-face meeting and then informed all of his coaches by speakerphone that he was leaving to accept the Alabama position, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports.

As of late Wednesday morning, Saban was not yet headed to Tuscaloosa for a formal introduction.

"All indications are that he's coming, but I know they're not in the air yet," an Alabama athletic department official told ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach.

Alabama made its formal offer to Saban on Monday after rumors swirled for weeks that the Crimson Tide were pursuing the former LSU coach. The offer, believed to run from eight to 10 years, is worth $35 million to $40 million, and includes many variables, Mortensen reported Monday.

Saban had issued repeated denials that he was interested in coaching at Alabama, one of the most high-profile and high-pressure college coaching jobs in the country. He leaves the Dolphins with three years left on a deal worth approximately $4.5 million a year.

Alabama began looking for a coach after firing Mike Shula on Nov. 27. The Tide finished the season 6-7, losing to Oklahoma State in the Independence Bowl.

On Tuesday, Saban asked for and recevied more time from Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga to make a decision.

Huizenga remained optimistic Tuesday that Saban would return to Miami, and gave him until 10 a.m. Wednesday to make a decision.

"I'm hoping he's leaning on staying," Huizenga was quoted as saying in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "I like Nick a lot and hope he's going to stay. I'm not upset. You just have to play this thing through."

Huizenga has said he received repeated assurances from Saban late in the season that he would return in 2007. And Saban issued frequent public denials of interest in moving to Tuscaloosa, such as on Dec. 21, when he said: "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach."

ESPN.com college football writer Mark Schlabach and NFL senior writer Len Pasquarelli contributed to this story.

tromadz · Jan 3, 2007

what an *******.

gbpackers0065 · Jan 3, 2007

i knew it all along..........especially since they upped the offer

Nick Saban leaves Miami for Alabama job.

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Nick Saban leaves Miami for Alabama job.

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