Nick Saban identifies which national championships meant the most to him

Nick Saban will be missed by many on the sidelines of Tuscaloosa following his retirement in January. But the legendary head coach has stayed in the mix of the college football landscape as an involved member of the media. Most recently making an appearance on the inaugural episode of The Triple Option podcast hosted by Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram, and Rob Stone.

On the episode, Ingram asked his former head coach coach if one of his seven national championship victories sticks out from the rest. Narrowing it down to two national titles that hold a very special place in his heart.

“I think the first one, obviously was at LSU, in 2003 and then the 2009 first championship here at Alabama,” Saban revealed. “And the reason those two first probably are the ones that resonate the most for me is what I mentioned before, is all those guys came to the program when the program really wasn’t successful.”

Saban had such a strong run of dominance throughout his career that his early origins at programs are often overlooked. Leading LSU to a national championship in his fourth season with the program and Alabama to same the heights in just year three with the Crimson Tide. Making those championships more significant in his eyes due to the lack of preexisting championship success.

“Once a program is successful, sometimes players come because of what you can do for them, not really what they can do for the university or build a program or whatever,” Saban explained. “And it’s okay that happens, but it’s a lot more meaningful when all these players came to try to prove something, work their butt off to make it happen, and you’re a part of it, and you grow together as a team.”

“I think those two, because they were the first at each place, were the most special,” he admitted. “They’re all great though, because that’s the one thing about being a part of a team. Is when you get a team to reach the pinnacle of success, there’s a lot of self-gratification in that for not only myself but the entire group of people who contributed to it.”

The members of the 2003 LSU National Championship team and the 2009 Alabama National Championship teams all bought into and believed in Saban before he was a multi-time national title winner and widely regarded as the best head coach in college football history. Which Saban clearly won’t forget despite his coaching career coming to a close.