Study Coaches - Saban*

*Abstracted from ESPN's "Saban" Docuseries

"Don't win a championship; be a champion." Saban is, "Driven to make ordinary people do extraordinary things." He believes that, "It takes what it takes...and you make yourself do it."

The Process 

Saban is polarizing; "I know you all think I'm crazy." 

• Commitment
• Effort 
• Discipline
• Motivation 
• Pride

"The shepherd has come to lead the flock..." 

Saban was Coaching the Dolphins. Miss Terry (his wife) said, "You are better in college..." The interest goes beyond imagination. 95,000 people attended the Alabama Spring Game 2007. 

It Is Never Easy

"What people didn't realize were the underlying issues..." - Saban (infrastructure rebuild)

"Are you always that intense?" Saban says, "I'm the same every day." 

Saban expressed major concern over "lack of character" and "lack of discipline;" It took 26 tries to run "10 perfect 10s" (ten yard sprints). 

"I don't think they knew what it needed to be good." 

"This is the standard; buy in or to opt out." What it takes, "What do you have to do to get where you want to go?" 

"It's about playing one play at a time...just play the next play."

"Difficult to get people to focus on the process..."

A Shift in Focus

"At Michigan State I was a transactional leader..." (outcome based)

"You want your team to play to its full potential...if...not...why is that?"

Don't make criticism personal...Saban fought to overcome his bias against sports psychology. "It's only gonna be terrible if you think about the score." He learned to embrace psychology. 

Each play lasts about six seconds. Dr. Rosen (Sports Psychology at Michigan State) said, "Give them six seconds of hell." 

Before the OSU game, he changed his attitude..."Don't be distracted by the scoreboard." MSU trailed Ohio State 24-3 and rallied to win 28-24...one play at a time. 

"You don't focus on what you want to accomplish...focus on what you have to do; the process is focusing on the task at hand..." 

Create Expectations

"Do you have the discipline to execute the right thing, the right time, the right way, all the time?"

"Being demanding is not necessarily being negative." 

"What's the standard you want to be...I'm holding you to it." 

"No blinking lights..." (No distractions)

Summary:

Do we know what it takes to be good?

Are we willing to meet that standard? 

Are we willing to do what it takes every day?  

 Lagniappe. At every level, can we get players to sacrifice? 

Every teammate should be able to answer 3 questions: 1. What does this team need from me? 2. Can my teammates count on me? 3. Am I making my teammates better? Great teams are built by players who stop asking, “What’s in it for me?” and start asking, “How can I help us win?”

— Greg Berge (@GregBerge) October 16, 2026