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Nick Saban reveals whether he enjoyed coaching in NFL

Brian Jones Profile Picby:Brian Jones•01/22/25•

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NIck Saban (1)
Oct. 30, 2005; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Miami Dolphins head coach Nick Saban cheers on his dolphins after kicking a field goal against the New Orleans Saints in the first half of action at Tiger Stadium. This game marked Saban's return to Louisiana State University where he led the Tigers to a national championship. This was the Saints first game in Louisiana at Louisiana State University since Hurricane Katrina. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-US PRESSWIRE © 2005 John David Mercer

Nick Saban was only a head coach in the NFL for two seasons, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t enjoy his time coaching the Miami Dolphins. While appearing on The Pivot Podcast, Saban was asked if he enjoyed his time in the NFL.

“Yeah, I enjoyed it,” Saban told Pivot co-host and former Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder. “I actually felt like it’s hard to win in the NFL. That last season, we go 6-10. First year, we go 9-7, imporved from 4-12 and Gus Fereotte was the quarterback. We tried to keep Gus, but he knew we were trying to bring somebody else in. He thought he should be the starter, so he went someplace else.

“I didn’t think we could win if we didn’t have a quarterback. We were third in defense that last year when we were 6-10. …But you cannot win in the NFL if you don’t have a quarterback. It’s hard to win the NFL running the ball and playing defense because you got to make explosive plays.”

Nick Saban continued: “I thought we had a much better team the second year than we did the first. We couldn’t win because Dante [Culpepper] went on IR after three games because of his knee. Joey Harrington played and we were like 6-6, and then ge got hurt. Then we played Cleo Lemon. Cleo was a good guy and all that, but hard to win.”

The Dolphins hired Nick Saban as their head coach in 2005 after winning two SEC championships and one national title at LSU. In his first season in Miami, Saban notched a 9-7 record and a second place finish in the AFC East. The following year, the Dolphins finished 6-10, and Saban moved on to be the head coach at Alabama once the 2006 season ended.

As Saban mentioned, the Dolphins didn’t have consistent quarterback play when he was the head coach. Miami was close to signing Drew Brees in 2006, but the future Hall of Fame QB failed a physical. That led to the Dolphins trading for Culpepper, and Brees signed with the New Orleans Saints.