The Alabama Crimson Tide enjoyed a legendary 17-year dynasty under Nick Saban. He won 87.7 percent of his 235 games with the Tide, winning 16 bowl games and six national championships. There’s a good chance we never see such dominance again.
But it almost didn’t happen. Saban, talking to ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, revealed the decision that led him to betray the Miami Dolphins.
Saban spent two seasons with the Miami Dolphins, logging a 15-17 record before going back to the collegiate ranks. A few weeks after adamantly saying, “I guess I have to say it: I’m not going to be the Alabama coach,” he accepted a deal with the Tide. Dolphins fans are still not over it to this day.
The former LSU and Michigan State head coach gave Herbstreit what might’ve kept him in Miami long-term.
“I think if we would’ve signed Drew Brees, I probably would’ve been happy at Miami.” Of course, the Dolphins instead opted to trade for Daunte Culpepper, who was coming off a knee injury that tanked his career. Brees was coming off a major shoulder injury and was red-flagged by the Dolphins’ medical team as a bigger risk.
Saban has never flatly said he would’ve stayed in Miami with Brees but has instead offered several reasons why it was a difficult challenge for him to coach there. He did offer this explanation in 2021:
Look when the Miami Dolphins were going to sign Drew Brees, Drew was coming to Miami when I was the coach there. He was going to be the quarterback. That’s all we needed. We just went 9-7 and all we needed was a quarterback to be a playoff team. We were going to sign Drew Brees as a free agent. Dr. (James) Andrews operated on him and I went to Birmingham to see Dr. Andrews, and he said it’ll be fine. Our doctors failed him on the physical. (Drew) was there to sign with us. I actually made a deal with his agent that he wouldn’t tell anybody for 72 hours he failed his physical until New Orleans signed him. That’s how he ended up in New Orleans.
So, I decided right then when that happened that we don’t have a quarterback in the NFL, we’re not going to win. I’m getting out of here. I’m not staying here. I’m not going to be responsible for this. That doctor didn’t know his (rear end) from a handful of sand. Drew Brees plays 15 more years, wins a Super Bowl, goes to nine Pro Bowls. And we didn’t take him in Miami, where he wanted to go. Some things you can’t control. When we left there nobody understood why. Well that was why. There’s always a reason.
In 2013, he said “In the two years that I was here I had a very, very difficult time thinking that I could impact the organization in the way that I wanted to or in the way that I was able to in college, and it was very difficult for me. Because there is a lot of parity in the NFL. There’s a lot of rules in the NFL.”
Ultimately, the move worked out for Nick. Miami is still looking for a playoff win and has struggled mightily throughout the last few decades, but the hard feelings will likely never fade since Saban lied to the fans’ faces.
