Name: Nick Saban
Title: Head Coach
College: Kent State
NFL: Eighth Season
Dolphins: Second Season

Nick Saban, one of the most successful collegiate head coaches over the last decade, didn’t take long to stamp his imprimatur on the Miami Dolphins in 2005. In his initial year as Miami’s head coach and his first at the helm of an NFL team, he instilled a sense of pride, character, determination and intensity throughout the Dolphin organization and engineered one of the greatest turnarounds in franchise history.

Taking over a squad that finished 4-12 the previous season, Saban led the 2005 Dolphins to a 9-7 record. The Dolphins’ five-game improvement was the second highest increase in any of the club’s non-strike seasons, surpassed only by the seven-game improvement by the 1970 squad. In addition, Miami’s nine victories last year more than doubled the Dolphins’ win total from the previous season, becoming only the second team in franchise history to accomplish that feat, again joining the 1970 edition. The five-game improvement also was tied for the third largest turnaround in the NFL last season.

Throughout the year, Saban stressed the importance of developing a team that improved during the course of the season, and the Dolphins certainly responded. They won their last six games, the longest winning streak by any team in the NFL at the end of the 2005 season. It was their best finish since 1985, when they won their last seven games, and their six-game winning streak was the longest by a Dolphin team since they won six games in a row to start the 1992 campaign. In addition, the team also went 5-0 in December/January, the first time in club history they won five regular season games in those months.

Saban also emphasized the importance of divisional games and the Dolphins responded by winning their final three games against AFC East opponents, their longest divisional winning streak since they won their final three AFC East games in 1996.

Under Saban, the team produced big plays on both sides of the ball. With 49 sacks, the Dolphin defense tied the club’s single season record, while the offense tied for the NFL lead in pass plays of 50 yards or longer and posted the team’s best touchdown to interception ratio in the last eight years.

Saban’s turnaround of the Dolphins is consistent with his record of success everywhere he has coached. In his 26 years at the college level, he has been a part of 23 winning teams. Overall in his 12 years as a head coach in the NCAA and the NFL, he never had a losing season, including all 11 years in college as well as his initial season in the pro ranks with the Dolphins.

Saban’s contributions to the 2005 Dolphins extended beyond his coaching duties. He oversaw a roster makeover that added 31 new players by the end of the season. Included among them was one of the best draft classes in team history, bringing in a crop of rookies who made immediate contributions to the team. That group was highlighted by Rookie of the Year candidate Ronnie Brown along with two other starters, Channing Crowder and Travis Daniels, as the Dolphins were the only team in the NFL to have three rookies start 12 or more games last year.

Saban also was responsible for the addition of a number of veterans who made valuable contributions to the team in 2005 and assembled a coaching staff that was acknowledged to be one of the very best in the league.

He continued his aggressive improvement of the Dolphin roster heading into the 2006 campaign, trading for Pro Bowl quarterback Daunte Culpepper and adding other talented players through free agency and the college draft.

Saban joined the Dolphins on December 25, 2004 when he agreed in principle to take over as head coach and officially signed a five-year contract through 2009 on December 27, 2004, becoming the sixth head coach in Dolphin history. While the 2005 season marked his first campaign as an NFL head coach, he was no stranger to the pro ranks, having served as an assistant with both the Houston Oilers (1988-89) and the Cleveland Browns (1991-94), where he developed a reputation as one of the best defensive coaches in the game.

Saban joined the Dolphins after spending the previous five years (2000-04) guiding the fortunes of the Louisiana State University Tigers. Taking over a program that suffered through seven losing seasons in the 1990s, Saban led the school to a composite record of 48-16, which included a 13-1 mark in 2003 when LSU claimed the national championship. Saban’s 48 wins over those five years represented the third-most victories among any Division I-A collegiate head coach during that time.

LSU posted at least eight wins in each of his five seasons and won a pair of SEC titles as well as their national championship, which was just the second for the Tigers and the first since 1958.

Saban’s leadership of the Tigers focused on the entire program, one that put his players in position to have success, both on the field and in the classroom. It’s no surprise that 28 of his LSU players have been selected in the NFL draft, including seven in 2004 and 2006 and two of the top 43 picks in 2005. Off the field, Saban’s players achieved the same level of excellence, as 25 members of his 2003 national championship team earned a spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. More than 50 players who played under Saban at LSU earned their degree to go along with their SEC and national championship rings.

Saban’s final team at LSU in 2004 went 9-3 despite the loss of 13 players from the previous season who went on to occupy spots on NFL rosters. Offensively, the Tigers produced the best running game in the SEC, averaging 200.7 yards per game. Defensively, they ranked third in the nation in the regular season in both total defense (249.9 yards per game) and pass defense (145.4), and gave up just 15.9 points per game. The defense surrendered only 12 points in the second half of those last six regular season games to earn LSU a berth in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando against Iowa. It was the Tigers’ fourth consecutive January bowl game, a first for the school.

In 2003, LSU produced a school-record 13-1 mark, winning its second SEC championship as well as the school’s second-ever national title. Saban was named the Associated Press National Coach of the Year as well as being the recipient of the Bear Bryant Award and the Eddie Robinson Award. He joined Paul Dietzel as the only two coaches in LSU history to have multiple ten-win seasons, and along with Dietzel and Bernie Moore are the only LSU coaches to win two SEC championships.

The 2003 Tigers won their national title with a defense that ranked first in the nation in points per game (11.0) and total defense (252.0 yards per game), while holding 13 of 14 opponents to fewer than 20 points. The offense scored a school-record 475 points, an average of 33.9 points per game. The Tigers ran the table the final six weeks of the regular season, winning those six games by an average score of 35-10. The team earned its way to the BCS Championship Game with an impressive 34-13 win over Georgia in the SEC title game. Saban’s Tigers capped the season with a dominating defensive effort against Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, holding the Sooners to only 154 yards of total offense in their 21-14 victory that gave LSU the national championship.

In 2002, Saban used a tenacious defense and a steady offense to lead the Tigers to an 8-5 overall mark and a berth in the Cotton Bowl against Texas, marking the school’s first back-to-back appearances in New Year’s Day bowl games since the 1960s. LSU scored a school-record 30 or more points in six straight games, and despite facing a multitude of injuries, only a last-minute comeback by Arkansas kept the Tigers from winning their second consecutive SEC Western Division title and participating in the league’s championship game.

In 2001, Saban led the Tigers to a 10-3 record and the school’s first outright SEC title since 1986. They earned that title with a 31-20 win over second-ranked Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game, outscoring the high-powered Vols’ offense, 21-3, in the second half. The Tigers closed out their season with a 47-34 defeat of Big Ten Champion Illinois in the Sugar Bowl. It was the school’s first New Year’s Day bowl victory since 1968. During the 2001 season, LSU had one of the most prolific offenses in the country, averaging a school-record 451.5 yards per game.

Saban laid the groundwork for success in 2000, his first season in Baton Rouge. With the Tigers coming off back-to-back losing seasons, he turned the program around by guiding the team to an 8-4 mark and a 28-14 win over 15th-ranked Georgia Tech in the Peach Bowl. Among those wins were home victories over Tennessee, Mississippi State and Alabama as well as a road win over Ole Miss, rekindling the proud tradition of LSU football.

Prior to arriving in Baton Rouge, Saban served as head coach at Michigan State from 1995-99. It marked his second stint at the East Lansing school, as he also spent 1983-87 as the Spartans’ defensive coordinator/secondary coach. After playing in just one bowl game in the previous four years, Michigan State made four postseason appearances in Saban’s five years at the helm.

In 1999, Saban led his final Spartan team to a No. 7 ranking in the country as they finished in a tie for second in the Big Ten. They defeated Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State all in the same year for the first time since 1965 and recorded six wins at home for the first time since the 1912 season. The Spartans’ performance that year landed them a spot in the Citrus Bowl.

Before joining the Spartans, Saban spent four seasons (1991-94) as defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns under Bill Belichick. The Browns went from allowing the most points (462) in the NFL prior to Saban’s arrival to allowing the fewest points (204) in the league in 1994, the sixth-fewest points surrendered in NFL history at the time. In each of Saban’s four years guiding the Browns’ defense, they never permitted an average of more than 19.2 points per game. He built a reputation as one of the finest defensive coaches in the league and also was heavily involved in the team’s player personnel and scouting process.

Saban’s first head coaching position came at the University of Toledo in 1990, as he guided the Rockets to a record of 9-2 that year, finishing as co-champions of the Mid-American Conference. The Rockets ranked among the NCAA leaders in both total defense (12th at 284.8 yards) and scoring defense (16th at 16.2 points), and missed posting an undefeated record by a mere five points.

Saban joined Toledo after serving as secondary coach with the Houston Oilers for two seasons under Jerry Glanville (1988-89), his first NFL coaching position. He quickly made an impact on the Oilers’ defense, as under his tutelage the team’s secondary tied for fourth in the AFC in 1988 with 21 interceptions and tied for second in the conference in 1989 with 22 thefts.

In his first stint at Michigan State, serving as secondary coach and defensive coordinator under George Perles from 1983 through 1987, Saban played an integral part in helping the Spartans to three postseason bowl appearances, including a Big Ten championship in 1987 and a 20-17 victory over Southern California in the 1988 Rose Bowl. Michigan State led the nation in rushing defense in 1987, allowing only 61.2 yards per game, and ranked second in scoring defense, permitting just 12.4 points.

His college coaching credits also include stops at the U.S. Naval Academy (1982), Ohio State (1980-81), West Virginia (1978-79), Syracuse (1977), and Kent State (1975-76). While coaching the secondary at Ohio State under Earle Bruce, he helped produce four NFL draft choices.

Saban began his coaching career in 1973 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Kent State. A defensive back for the Golden Flashes from 1970-72, Saban played in the 1972 Tangerine Bowl against Tampa. He also earned two letters as a shortstop on the Kent State baseball team.

Born on October 31, 1951 in Fairmont, West Virginia, Saban earned his bachelor’s degree in business from Kent State in 1973 and his master’s in sports administration in 1975. Saban co-authored “Tiger Turnaround” in 2001, a book documenting his first two years in Baton Rouge. He followed that by co-authoring “How Good Do You Want to Be” in 2005, which offers real-life principles on how to succeed at work and at home.

Saban also is active in community programs. At LSU, he spearheaded the fundraising for the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes, which included donating $50,000 himself to that cause. The center, the best of its kind in college athletics, features a 1,000-seat auditorium with more than 100 computers in a 54,000 square foot facility that gives all of LSU’s student-athletes the best chance to have success in the classroom. In addition, Saban supported a number of charitable and civic projects in Louisiana, the largest being the Children’s Miracle Network where he and his wife Terry raised more than $100,000 a year for kids. At Michigan State, the Sabans started the “Nick’s Kids” Foundation, which they continued in South Florida after he joined the Dolphins.

Saban and his wife, the former Terry Constable of Fairmont, West Virginia, have two children, Nicholas and Kristen.