By Chris Macaluso
LSUsports.net
On Nov. 30, 1999, a tired and weary Nick Saban stood behind a podium in the LSU Athletic Administration Building ready to begin a new chapter in his football career. Saban rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, stepped forward and introduced himself to the nation as the new head coach of the Fighting Tigers.
Since then Saban has been characterized, glorified, praised, guessed and second-guessed by fans and media alike. But lost in all the hype behind the contract that made him the third highest paid coach in the country and the expectations that have made him more icon than human, is Saban the man, who says he is no different than anyone else who rolls out of bed in the morning.
“I want people to view me as a normal person, a regular guy who does the same things that they do,” Saban said. “But I don’t think a lot of people see me that way.”
What a lot of people do see, Saban said, is a hard nosed no nonsense man who is difficult to get to know. But, he said the assumptions don’t bother him. According to Saban, it is up to him to let people in and show them who he is, what and who he loves and what he’s expecting to accomplish as the 31st head football coach at LSU.
Saban has been around football since his father helped start and coached in a Pop Warner League in his quaint hometown of Fairmont W.Va. in the 1950’s. Since then, the younger Saban has been a player on both the high school and college level and a coach on the college and pro level, most recently as the head of a very successful rebuilding process at Michigan State.
But Saban said there are many important aspects of his life people don’t see and he’s often someone other than the stern-faced, whistle wielding football general seen in the papers or on TV.
“I think that with publicly you get depicted as something other than you really are,” Saban said. “But I don’t think that’s unfair. I expect it to be that way. People say ‘you’re serious, business-like’ whatever. I am to a point, but I’m also very fun loving easy going, joking around having fun. Yet people don’t see that. But then again maybe I didn’t let them see it. It’s my responsibility to let them see the real me.”
According to him, the “real” Saban is a man who likes to spend time with his two adopted children, 13 year-old Nicholas and nine-year-old Kristen, and his wife of nearly 29 years, Terry. Saban said he tries to spend as much time as possible with his family by going to the movies or taking a vacation every summer for a week or two boating and fishing in upstate Michigan.
“I spend time with the kids,” Saban said. “I take them water skiing and we go out on the pontoon boat and have lunch and swim off of it. Just relax. The same stuff as the guy who goes right up the road here to False River. We’re no different.”
Saban said he is constantly challenged to be a good father, especially considering he spends as many as 16 hours a day at work during the football season. Because of the long hours, he said he tries to incorporate some of his time at work into time spent with his son. Nicholas is often at practice with his father and worked as an equipment manager this past summer during football camp.
“(Nicholas) came here every morning with me at seven o’clock and he left at 10 o’clock at night and he worked,” Saban said. “I wanted him to have responsibility and do it. I enjoy him being involved and around but I also wanted him there to help him grow in terms of maturity and responsibility.”
Saban said he is focused on the football season right now but during the off-season he hopes to be able to spend more time with his son exploring the outdoors in Louisiana.
“I used to fish a lot when I was a kid in West Virginia and my son likes to fish a lot,” Saban said. “I look forward to taking him fishing some day when it’s out of season and we have time to do it. I’ve also been invited to go duck hunting which I’d like to do along with my son. But I’ve also been told some stories about people getting stuck in the mud. I’m not sure I want to find out about that.”
Saban said he has many goals to accomplish as head coach, especially making sure he improves not only the play on the field but the quality of life for the men who play for him. He also said he wants to bring a winning tradition back to the loyal fans of LSU. But if those never come to pass,
Saban said he would still be proud as long as his wife and kids are happy.
“I think it’s very challenging to be a good parent,” he said. “I think it’s even more challenging when you’re not home a lot. I feel a tremendous responsibility and obligation to be there with my family. Sometimes I fear that our team won’t be prepared to play the game well. But more than anything I don’t want to fear that my children will ever say ‘I didn’t have a good dad.'”