Nick Saban piled up 201 wins at Alabama, and eventually, the victories lost their thrill. Now an ESPN analyst, the former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach explained the shift during an appearance on "This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von." He said the program's success built such lofty expectations that he felt more relief after avoiding a loss than joy after a win. "We won so many games, the expectation got so high," Saban said.
"Do you really enjoy winning? Or are you just relieved you didn't lose?" Over 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, he brought home six national titles and posted double-digit wins in 16 of them, including each of his last 16. Mike Shula's rough tenure had left the program drifting toward irrelevance before Saban arrived, and he left it as the sport's measuring stick.
For most of his run, the Crimson Tide were the team everyone else chased. In a separate interview with SiriusXM's Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo, Saban revisited one of the biggest regrets of his Alabama tenure, the 2013 Iron Bowl. With one second showing, Saban sent kicker Adam Griffith out for a 57-yard field goal.
Auburn's Chris Davis returned the miss for the winning score, the play now known as the Kick Six. Once Auburn dropped a returner deep, Saban had doubts, but his players kept insisting Griffith could hit it. "So I listened to the players and let him kick it," Saban said.
"I told our players they got to cover, but they didn't cover right or very well." That defeat kept Alabama out of the SEC title game in Atlanta. Auburn went on to capture the league crown before reaching the last BCS National Championship Game. The Kick Six was a rare exception to a long Alabama rule.
Saban lost so seldom that relief became the default response to a win. Whatever it did to his enjoyment, the approach paid off in 201 victories and six national titles.
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