I'll just put this here, for everyone to refer to:
Saban had not intended to enter the coaching ranks until Don James hired him as a graduate assistant at Kent State, while Saban waited for his wife to graduate.
[14] He later served as an assistant coach in
NCAA Division I-A, at several schools:
Syracuse in 1977,
West Virginia in
1978 and
1979,
Ohio State in
1980 and
1981,
Navy in
1982, and
Michigan State from
1983 to
1987.
[15]
After the 1987 season, Kent State passed over Saban for its vacant head coaching position and hired **** Crum.
[16] Saban was then hired as an assistant for the
Houston Oilers in the
National Football League.
[15]
Toledo[edit]
Saban began his career as a head coach when he was hired by the
University of Toledo on December 22, 1989.
[17] Coming off of 6–5 seasons in both
1988 and
1989, the
Rockets found quick success under Nick Saban in
1990. With a 9–2 season, Toledo was co-champion of the
Mid-American Conference. The two games the Rockets lost that season were by narrow margins: one point to
Central Michigan and four points to
Navy.
[18] While coaching in Toledo, Saban turned down an application from future head coach
Urban Meyer, who was looking for any coaching job on Saban's staff.
[19]
Cleveland Browns[edit]
The following February, Saban resigned as Toledo's head coach after only one season in order to become
defensive coordinator of the
Cleveland Browns under head coach
Bill Belichick.
[20] He remained in that position for four seasons. Saban later said these four years were the "worst of my life".
[21]
Michigan State[edit]
Saban arrived in
East Lansing, Michigan prior to the
1995 season.
Michigan State had not had a winning season since
1990, and the team was sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations that were committed under his predecessor and former mentor,
George Perles.
[22]
Beginning in
1995, Saban moderately improved Michigan State's fortunes, taking the Spartans to bowl games in each of his first three seasons. From 1995 to
1997, Michigan State finished 6–5–1, 6–6, and 7–5. In comparison, MSU had finished 5–6, 6–6, and 5–6 (prior to NCAA forfeits) in 1992–1994.
On November 7,
1998, the Spartans upset the No. 1 ranked
Ohio State 28–24 at
Ohio Stadium. However, even after the upset and an early-season rout of then-highly ranked Notre Dame the Spartans finished 6–6, including three last-minute losses featuring turnovers, defensive lapses, and special-teams misplays, and failed to earn a bowl invitation.
Saban led the
1999 Spartans to a 9–2 season that included wins over
Notre Dame,
Michigan,
Ohio State, and
Penn State. However, the two losses were routs at the hands of
Purdue and
Wisconsin. Following the final regular-season game against Penn State, Saban abruptly resigned to accept the head coaching position with
LSU. Saban's assistant head coach and successor,
Bobby Williams, then coached the Spartans to a
Citrus Bowl victory over
Florida, giving the Spartans an overall record of 10–2 for the 1999 season. It would be the best season in terms of wins for the Spartans since
1965, and it would see the Spartans reach their highest ranking since the
1966 team.
[23] Future NFL head coach
Josh McDaniels served as a graduate assistant on Saban's 1999 coaching staff.
LSU[edit]
In November 1999, LSU named Nick Saban as their 31st head football coach.
[24] In
2000, the Tigers went 8–4 and won the
Peach Bowl. The season was somewhat marred by several lopsided losses, including a 34–17 loss to the
Auburn Tigers, a 13–10 loss to the
UAB Blazers, and a 41–9 loss to the
Florida Gators.
Saban led LSU to a 10–3 record in
2001, including an SEC Championship and a Sugar Bowl victory. After a loss to the
Ole Miss Rebels, the Tigers finished the year with six straight wins, including a win over #2 Tennessee in the
2001 SEC Championship Game, and a 47–34 win over
Illinois in the
2002 Sugar Bowl. It was the first outright
SEC championship for LSU since
1986, and the first time the Tigers had won the Sugar Bowl since
1968.
The
2002 season opened with high expectations, but a 26–8 loss at the hands of
Virginia Tech raised serious questions about their outlook. However, the Tigers would rebound to win their next six straight, but after a mid-season injury to quarterback
Matt Mauck, LSU lost four of its last six games to close the season, including a 21–20 loss at
Arkansas, which knocked the Tigers out of the SEC Championship Game, and forced them to share the SEC West Division title with the Razorbacks. LSU also suffered a 35–20 loss to Texas in the
Cotton Bowl Classic, and finished 8–5.
The
2003 Tigers started the season with five wins, including a 17–10 victory in
Tiger Stadium over the defending SEC champion, and then undefeated,
Georgia Bulldogs. LSU lost the following week to
Florida, 19–7. After the loss to Florida, LSU did not lose again in the regular season and ended its regular season with a win over the
Arkansas Razorbacks to win the
SEC West. After winning the SEC West, the Tigers defeated the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. They were ranked No. 2 in the BCS standings and advanced to play the BCS No. 1
Oklahoma Sooners in the
Sugar Bowl, which was the host of the
BCS Championship Game in 2003. The Tigers won the game 21–14. The win gave LSU the BCS national championship
[25] and a 13–1 finish for the season.
[26]
LSU finished the
2004 season 9–3, after losing to the
Iowa Hawkeyes in the
Capital One Bowl 30–25 on a final play touchdown pass. Other losses that season were on the road at Auburn 10–9, and a loss on the road to Georgia 45–16. At the end of the
2004 season, Saban left LSU to coach the
Miami Dolphins.
There was a lot of mediocrity mixed in there in the early years.