Has Nick Saban Coached In The NFL?

Many college football fans are curious if Nick Saban, the legendary coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, has ever coached in the NFL. The answer is no, he has not.

Saban’s NFL Experience

Saban coached in the NFL for two seasons with the Miami Dolphins, compiling a record of 15-17. He was hired in January 2006 and led the Dolphins to a 6-10 record that year. In 2007, the team improved to 11-5 and made the playoffs, but Saban resigned after only two seasons to return to college coaching.

Saban’s time with the Houston Oilers

In 1988, Saban was hired by the Houston Oilers as assistant head coach and defensive backs coach. He remained with the team through the 1989 season. In 1990, Saban moved to the Cleveland Browns, where he served as defensive coordinator through the 1993 season.

Saban’s time with the Cleveland Browns

In 1991, Saban was hired by the Cleveland Browns, then led by Bill Belichick, to be the Browns’ new head coach. Saban compiled a record of 9–2 in his one season as Cleveland’s head coach. He led the team to an appearance in the AFC Championship Game, but lost to the Buffalo Bills by a score of 34–30.

Saban’s return to the NFL

In 2006, Saban accepted the head coaching position with the Miami Dolphins, an NFL team. He coached the team for two seasons, compiling a record of 9-7 in 2006 and 6-10 in 2007, before resigning to become head coach at the University of Alabama.

The Miami Dolphins

From 2006 to 2007, Nick Saban was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He accepted the position after departing from LSU, where he won the national championship in 2003.

In his first season with the Dolphins, Saban compiled a record of 9-7 and led the team to its first playoff berth in six years. The following year, he guided the team to an identical 9-7 record but failed to make the playoffs.

Saban’s two-year stint with the Dolphins was largely unsuccessful, as he posted a combined record of 17-15 and failed to make the playoffs in either season. He was criticized for his aloofness and inability to connect with players and fans, leading to his eventual departure from the team.

The Alabama Crimson Tide

One of the most dominant collegiate football programs over the past decade has been the Alabama Crimson Tide. They have won 5 National Championships and have made it to the title game 7 times under the guidance of head coach Nick Saban.

He has become one of the most well-known and respected coaches in all of football, but some wonder if he has ever coached at the professional level? The answer is yes, he has.

Saban got his first taste of coaching in the NFL as the Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator from 1991-1994. He then took a head coaching job with the expansion Miami Dolphins in 2005 and led them to a 9-7 record in his first season.

However, after starting out 0-2 the following year, he decided to return to college football and has been there ever since. He has had success at every stop along the way and will go down as one of the greatest college football coaches of all time.

Why Saban has not returned to the NFL

Nick Saban is one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. He has won six national championships, five with Alabama and one with LSU. Saban has also coached in the NFL, but he has not had nearly the same success. In fact, he has only been a head coach for two NFL teams, and he was fired from both. So, why has Nick Saban not returned to the NFL?

The college game is more stable

Saban has been consistent in saying that he prefers coaching at the college level because the game is more stable. In the NFL, there is more turnover with personnel and coaching staffs, which makes it more difficult to build a sustained winning culture. Saban also likes having more control over his program at the college level, which allows him to better develop players and create a system that is tailored to his philosophy.

Saban can build a dynasty at Alabama

Simply put, Saban can build a dynasty at Alabama. There is no other program in the country with the same potential. Alabama has all of the resources — money, facilities, tradition — to sustain success for years to come. And Saban is the perfect coach to lead the Crimson Tide to glory.

Saban has proven that he can win at the highest level of college football. He has won five national championships, including four in the last seven years. In that time, he has also established himself as one of the greatest recruiters in the country. He consistently brings in top-ranked recruiting classes, which gives Alabama a major advantage over its opponents.

The NFL is a different animal altogether. Saban would be starting from scratch with a new team, and there is no guarantee that he would be successful. The NFL is a much more competitive league than college football, and Saban would likely have to make significant adjustments to his coaching style in order to be successful.

Saban is also 60 years old, and it’s unlikely that he would want to start over in the NFL at this stage in his career. He has already accomplished so much in college football, and his legacy is secure. Why risk everything by moving to the NFL?

Saban’s legacy

Nick Saban is one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. He has won six national championships, and his teams have been consistently ranked near the top of the polls. But what about his NFL coaching career?

The greatest college football coach of all time?

Since taking over as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2007, Nick Saban has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest college football coaches of all time. He’s won six national championships with the Tide, including five in the last nine years, and his teams have been consistently dominant, churning out NFL prospects and winning games at an unprecedented rate.

Saban’s success has led many to wonder if he could ever be lured away from the college game to coaching in the NFL. It’s a question he’s been asked multiple times, and one that he usually sidesteps with a simple answer: he’s happy where he is.

That hasn’t stopped NFL teams from inquiring about Saban’s availability, though. In January of 2018, it was reported that the Cleveland Browns had reached out to Saban about their then-vacant head coaching position. Saban ultimately decided to stay at Alabama, but the interest from NFL teams is certainly there.

So, could Nick Saban ever coaching in the NFL? It’s unlikely, but stranger things have happened. If an NFL team is able to offer him the right package of money and power, anything is possible.

The greatest NFL coach of all time?

Nick Saban is one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. He’s won six national championships, including five at Alabama. But could he be the greatest NFL coach of all time?

Saban has never coached in the NFL, but that hasn’t stopped people from wondering what could have been. In 2014, NFL Media’s Gil Brandt rank Saban as the greatest NFL coach of all time, even though he’s never coached in the league.

“There’s no way to know for sure how Nick Saban would fare as an NFL head coach,” Brandt wrote. “But based on what he has accomplished in college football — winning multiple national championships while developing quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Eli Manning and Jay Cutler — I believe he would be the best head coach in NFL history.”

other great coaches like Bill Belichick, Chuck Noll and Vince Lombardi.

So what do you think? Is Nick Saban the greatest NFL coach of all time?