Nick Saban reveals how Kirby Smart robbed Alabama of having Dan Lanning on staff

Nick Saban has quite the coaching tree to work with and several branches to pick from. Even so, that has come back to bite him before as he described one situation that included two of the other top coaches currently in college football.

Saban spoke about his hiring process during his weekly appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Thursday. He said he took an old philosophy from his time with the Cleveland Browns where he wants to give opportunities to young coaches. He can then be prepared to invite them back once they grow down the line.

“I think one of the things that I learned from Bill Belichick was he always had an astonishing group of young guys that were in the building,” Saban explained. “That’s what I’ve always tried to do is have a bunch of young people, evaluate them, see them go get other jobs. And then know that you would hire them back because you know who they are.”

That led to quite the miss a few years back, though. According to Saban, his original plan was to hire Dan Lanning, the current coach of the Oregon Ducks, for an open spot on his defensive staff. Lanning was fresh off a two-year stint on Memphis’ staff following a one-year run as a graduate assistant in Tuscaloosa in 2015. However, Saban never got the chance because Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, another one of his former staff members, hired Lanning as Georgia’s outside linebackers coach in 2018.

“One of the disadvantages of having all these guys going out and getting jobs everywhere is they hire the guys before I get a chance to. Like Dan Lanning,” recalled Saban. “Dan Lanning was here as a GA, he went to Memphis or someplace and got a job. I was ready to hire him and, two days before I was going to hire him, Kirby hired him. So it kind of messes up your game plan a little bit when you’ve got all these guys out there.

“They kind of know who the guys that you’ve had in the organization are the good ones. And they end up snatching them up before you get a chance to,” Saban added.

It’s always interesting to follow a coach’s path to where they are today, especially when talking about high-profile names like Saban, Smart, and Lanning. That’s why it’s as wild as it is to hear how Smart beat Saban to the punch on one of the bigger coaching names in the country today.

Saban reveals what he likes, disappoints him about coaching in college

Nick Saban has done it at the highest level of the sport for a long, long time. What is Saban’s favorite part of coaching, though?

That’s a question that he answered directly on Thursday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.

“I really think coaching is teaching. Teaching is ability to inspire learning,” Saban said. “The thing I like most about coaching is relationships with the players. Trying to teach them to help them be a better version of themselves, whether it’s personally, academically or, obviously, in coaching, there’s athletically on the field in terms of what you can do to help them get better.”

That’s not to say Saban doesn’t also sometimes run into challenges.

“I think one of the most disappointing things is when you have a guy that has ability. You want him to sort of improve and take advantage of that ability that he has and the talent that God has given him. And he doesn’t want it as bad as you want it,” Saban said. “That’s one of the most frustrating things, I think. But I just enjoy teaching. I really do.”