Nick Saban

Nick Saban in 1971 as a defensive back at Kent State.

(Kent State photo)

Part I of a five-part series looking back at the history of Nick Saban through the first draft of his story.

Like most multi-part projects, this one started small. After stumbling upon a website that catalogs decades of newspaper pages, the dig began.

With more than 156 million pages available to research, why not look into the history of Nick Saban? A week later, a history of Alabama's football coach was mapped out. A week later, a history of Alabama's football coach was mapped out.

From the humble beginnings in the West Virginia coal towns to the pinnacle of the college football coaching world, the pages of newspapers large and small told the story one nugget at a time.

It started with a brief mention in the Oct. 7, 1967 Charleston Daily Mail about a young quarterback sparking a victory for Class AA power Monongah High School.

Found on Newspapers.com

Over the next few days, we'll lay out the scrapbook of Saban clippings. It'll paint the picture of a lightly recruited three-sport all-state athlete who slowly climbed the ladder to become arguably his generations' most successful football coach. It'll offer the first-draft perspective -- the one-time minutia that was actually the building blocks of something much larger.

We start with a chronology of Saban's words over the years. It didn't take long to carve out a distinctive voice that unsurprisingly hasn't changed much. Saban was all business from the beginning.

For Part II, we'll go through the clippings of Saban the high school athlete who went on to play a key role in the Kent State secondary.

And now, Saban in his own words.

"Oh I've had a few offers. But I haven't had any real good ones, not yet anyway."

Saban on his recruitment coming out of high school. (Beckley Post-Herald, July 20, 1969).

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"This was just a great team effort. Everybody's together. We have some great athletes and great guys who work day in and day out to improve. Most teams would have given up after last week (13-12 loss to Western Michigan). But we got mad and came back to win Last week was one of my lower spots. Today was one of my brighter ones."

Saban after making 12 tackles in Kent State's 14-10 at Bowling Green. He forced a fumble in the fourth quarter to preserve the win (Akron Beacon Journal, Oct. 15, 1972).

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"I get a lump in my throat every time I think how much I'd like to be out there. But I'm supposed to get the cast off in a couple weeks and they'd better put a chain on me. Because I'll be ready for the Tangerine Bowl."

Saban after breaking his leg late in the 1972 season (Akron Beacon Journal, Nov. 19, 1972).

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"I've always wanted to coach here. We have great potential and state pride going for us at WVU. We have a good chance to win and compete for the good players here at WVU. I'm glad to be associated with the team and this staff at WVU."

Saban after being hired to West Virginia staff (UPI, Jan. 26, 1978).

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"I really feel like anything I say is not going to help Ohio State, Earle Bruce or Nick Saban. I can hold my head high. I did as good of a job as I can do. And the kids were great. They really tried hard. ... I can walk tall. I'm not ashamed."

Saban after being fired as defensive backs coach at Ohio State by Earle Bruce (UPI, Jan. 8, 1982).

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"We need support from the people in the community to do that and I hope we can move forward in a positive direction and not dwell in the past. The university, this program is bigger than any one person and it's bigger than Nick Saban."

Newly hired Toledo head coach Saban when asking for support after popular coach Dan Simrell was fired and replaced by Saban (wire reports, Dec. 23, 1989).

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"I haven't called an offensive play. Preparation is what's important to me. I've heard a lot of things, but one thing I remember is what Chuck Knox told me: 'Proper preparation prevents poor performance.'"

Saban said during his only season as Toledo's head coach (Detroit Free Press, Oct. 5, 1990).

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"I haven't cried for 18 years -- since my dad died -- but I cried all afternoon. It was something I just couldn't pass up."

Saban after announcing he was leaving Toledo after one season for an assistant's job with the Cleveland Browns, (Cincinnati Enquirer wire services, Feb. 14, 1991).

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"I'm not going to tell you which school, but I chose not to go there. I don't know that I want to coach in the Big Ten. I just think I have Midwest ties. All the recruiting I did when I was a college recruiter was in Ohio, in the Midwest whether it was Michigan State, Ohio State, West Virginia or whatever school it was. If you move outside of where you have a reputation as a coach, as a person, as the type of program you'd run, it's much more difficult to establish these kinds of relationships in California or Washington or Arizona or someplace like that."

Saban, then Browns defensive coordinator, responding to speculation he could be up for Ohio State job if it opened (Akron Beacon Journal, Oct. 14, 1992).

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"It's like this: Every now and then you've got to give your kids a spanking, and five minutes later they're OK."

Saban after resolving a disagreement between defensive tackle Michael Dean Perry and Browns head coach Bill Belichick (Akron Beacon Journal, July 24, 1993).

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"I'm not anticipating any additional contact from the administration at Michigan State. It appears that they have made their decision, and I respect that. I thought Michigan State would be a very special situation for me and my family, and I thought my record would speak for itself. But I won't permit myself to get frustrated because I'm confident I'll get my opportunity to become a head coach either at the college or professional level."

Saban hours before the job offer from Michigan State apparently surprised him (Detroit Free Press, Dec. 2, 1994).

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"I wasn't prepared for this to end now (pausing to fight back emotion). It's a sad day for me because I love these guys and I love what this organization has done for me. You develop a bond with your players as a coach that's difficult to break."

Saban immediately following Browns playoff loss that ended his tenure in Cleveland after accepting the Michigan State head coaching job weeks earlier (Detroit Free Press, Jan. 9, 1995)

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"... I have felt a real obligation to be a good father. When I say this, I mean spending time with our kids. For that reason, I do a lot of things that are kid-related. I like to golf and I take Nicholas with me. I like to work outdoors, in the garden, and that's probably my hobby, and when I work out there, I like to have my children with me. When we go to Myrtle Beach, I ride the water slide and I ride the Grand Prix and I ride the small boats and, to be quite honest with you, I like it."

Saban on what he likes to do away from football (Detroit Free Press, Aug. 25, 1995).

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"I'll get here between 6 and 7 every day. I'm a morning person, so I can't stay here past 10 at night. That's what killed me at Cleveland. You know, Bill (Belichick) would burn it at both ends, but I need to get a little bit of sleep."

Saban on his daily schedule (Detroit Free Press, Feb. 19, 1995.)

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"Our players don't want to practice. They haven't wanted to practice or work since I've been here. I'm a practicer and a worker. If somebody gets hurt doing that, I can't help it. Sometimes I hear players say, 'If I practice today, I'm going to get hurt and won't be able to play in the game.' I'm sick of that."

Saban said after Michigan State lost 50-10 to No. 2 Nebraska in his first game as Michigan State's head coach (Indianapolis Star, Sept. 14, 1995).

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"My dad was an SOB, man (laughing). If there was one streak, then it was 'Wash it again.'" Saban joking about his father, Nick Saban Sr., on the level of detail required washing a car at the family's service station back in West Virginia.

Saban in a light-hearted moment of reflection (Detroit Free Press, Dec. 25, 1997).

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"We came in here with the attitude we were the squirts in the neighborhood who had to pick a fight with the bully."

Saban said after his Michigan State team stunned No. 1 Ohio State (AP, Nov. 8, 1998)

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"It's probably not a good time to say this, but when you coach pro ball, it's about ball. I like that."

Saban said this to the Cleveland Plain Dealer amid speculation he'd leave LSU for an NFL job, which he did a year later (Jan. 5, 2004).