Nick Saban reflects on the 15-year anniversary of his hiring

Fifteen years ago, the college football world was changed forever. The Alabama Crimson Tide had just hired Nick Saban to be their next football coach, a return to the college ranks for the former LSU coach after two years in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins.

During his first national championship press conference of the week Monday, Saban was asked to recall the day he arrived in Tuscaloosa. He tried his best to remember everything that occurred but was honest that 15 years was a long time ago.

“I’m 70 years old, so I don’t think I have any form of dementia or anything like that, but I can’t really remember what happened 15 years ago,” Saban said. “I remember coming here, I remember it was great to have the energy, the enthusiasm, the excitement that all the people created. That is what helped us be successful here, the energy and enthusiasm that people showed for the program and the support of the program.

“But other than that, I don’t even remember any emotions that I had 15 years ago. Been a lot of games, lot of third downs since that time. Been a very good experience here, we’ve got a great sort of organization at the University of Alabama from the top down to our administration and how they support athletics, to our athletic directors we’ve had that have always set the table well for us so we can have an opportunity to be successful.”

Before Saban was hired in 2007, Mike Shula had been in charge for four seasons and produced a 26-23 record and just one winning season. The last SEC Championship in Tuscaloosa came in 1999. Things quickly changed with Saban at the helm.

Saban will be making his ninth national championship appearance in those 15 years against Georgia in a week. Since his arrival in Tuscaloosa, Saban has won six national titles at Alabama after acquiring his first at LSU in 2003. Only former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney have been able to beat Saban in national championship games over his career.

From a recruiting perspective, Alabama has had a top-three class in all but one cycle since 2011 under Saban according to the On3 Consensus. More times than not, the Crimson Tide have been at the No. 1 spot, having just as much consistency off the field as they on it.

New Year’s Eve was the latest display of Saban being one of the best head coaches of all time. In a rare occurrence, ESPN sideline reporter Laura Rutledge was even able to get a smile out of him after the playoff win over Cincinnati. And after all that he has accomplished in 15 years, Saban deserves to have a smile or two.