Nick Saban gives heartfelt answer on the 'greatest reward' in coaching

As Nick Saban quickly approaches his 72nd birthday, it’s clear he still has plenty of passion for coaching. He got into the profession in 1973 as a graduate assistant at Kent State and, now in year 50, has Alabama atop the SEC West standings heading into the Third Saturday in October.

Saban has won seven national championships, two Walter Camp Coach of the Year awards and five SEC Coach of the Year honors. Both he said those achievements aren’t the greatest rewards in coaching.

Instead, Saban said, the bonds built with the players who come through his program are what he cherishes most.

“I think my greatest reward is the relationships that I have with the players,” Saban said on Hey Coach and The Nick Saban Show Thursday night. “I think all the players that we’ve had here, and how much you appreciate all they did to make the program as successful as it’s been. And all the relationships that you have with coaches who have contributed to it, whether it’s recruiting or how they’ve developed players. My thing that I love most about coaching is the relationships that you have with the players and helping them be more successful in life. Whether it’s personal development, whether it’s academics, the importance of them developing a career off the field.

“Because when you go to college, you’re really preparing yourself for the day you can’t play football. … Because I don’t want to minimize the fact that they want to play in the NFL someday. But that all ends at some point in time. And you don’t necessarily control when that is, so you’ve got to develop a career off the field so that you can have a good quality of life for a long time.”

Nick Saban: ‘It warms my heart’ to see former players return to campus

It’s common to see former Alabama players on the sidelines at Bryant Denny Stadium as they return to campus. To Saban, one of the best parts of coaching is seeing former players come back — most of them from playing in the NFL — to see what the program looks like after they left. In fact, former Alabama star and current New York Jets linebacker CJ Mosley will be in attendance for the game against Tennessee during his bye week. That shows the relationship built between Saban, the players and the program.

Having a strong fan base is also a part of that, and Saban shared a story of his first A-Day game to make that point.

“To see these guys grow and develop as football players, and then see how many guys go on and play in the NFL and have great careers, it’s fantastic,” Saban said. “Like, CJ Mosley is going to be here this weekend. For all those guys to come back every opportunity they get really warms my heart because they had a great experience here. The fans, playing for Alabama was a special experience like it’s a special experience to be the coach here. But those relationships, I don’t think you can replace. You can’t replace them with wins, you can’t replace them with anything.

“And then, the spirit of the fans. I know this was a long time ago and I know a lot has changed since then, but I’ve never had a more gratifying experience than when I walked in the stadium 17 years ago for the spring game, the A-Day game, and over 95,000 people in the stands. That still gives me cold chills to this day, to know that there were that many people who were so committed to wanting to see the University of Alabama have a quality program and something that they can be proud of. And that’s what we work for, to please those people. That means a lot, as well.”