Nick Saban reflects on his struggles in NFL: 'Just had a bad case of the dumbass'

Nick Saban has watched Dan Campbell’s success in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, and it’s forced him to reflect on his time at the professional level.

The legendary college football leader spent two seasons in the league, at the helm of the Miami Dolphins. All in all, he went 15-17 over two seasons with the franchise, and he reflected on why it didn’t work out during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday.

“Having interviewed for a few NFL head coaching jobs in the past, I know you guys think that Chicago’s a beautiful city and all that, but if you take a job, and you don’t have the roster — you gotta look at the roster, you gotta look at the salary cap, you gotta look at the quarterback situation, which the bears have a good one. But, I’m saying, you have to take all those things into consideration, because if you don’t, you can end up in a no-win situation,” Saban told McAfee.

“I took the Miami Dolphins job. We were $17 million over the cap, which was a lot back in those days. This was 20 years ago. We had the oldest team in the league. They’re 4-12. Got no quarterback. And I’m thinking, ‘I’m gonna make it right.’ Well, you know, we had a winning season the first year, but we couldn’t get it turned around. But there were so many obstacles, and no draft picks because they gave them all away for Ricky Williams.

“So, if you don’t do your research in taking an NFL job is my point, regardless of how pretty the city is. … (The weather in Miami) was fantastic. …  I just had a bad case of the dumb-ass. … Wayne Huizenga was a great owner, and I thought this was a really good organization, and I thought we could get it fixed. We got it moving in the right direction. Not being able to overcome the quarterback thing was the issue.”

While Saban’s first season on the job was positive — the Dolphins went 9-7 but missed the playoffs, 2006 saw Miami go 6-10, and that’s when he took the opportunity to return to the college game. Tuscaloosa was the site, and the rest is history.

Moving forward, Nick Saban doesn’t want to see other coaches make the same mistake he did in the NFL, and follow Dan Campbell’s example more often. It’s worked out for the Detroit Lions and their coach, and who knows what could’ve been with Saban in the NFL if circumstances were different.