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Saban: I didn't lie about Alabama job
By JASON LIESER
Cox News Service
Friday, January 05, 2007
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Former Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban said Thursday he did not lie when he denied interest last month in coaching the University of Alabama football team.
"I really do regret that I was pinned into the corner," Saban told South Florida reporters Thursday morning after he was introduced as the Crimson Tide's new coach, two weeks after publicly saying, "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach."
"I believe I did it the best way I could do it," he said. "I tried to protect the team by not making it a distraction for the team, and my integrity for doing that is being questioned.
"In my eyes, when I said that, it wasn't a lie. The circumstances changed and I made a different decision. That's not lying."
Thursday he said he is disappointed to be portrayed across the country as a liar.
"I'm a little bit of a victim," he said. "I get asked questions that I really shouldn't answer. You should have the opportunity to weigh those options and I didn't have the opportunity to do that."
Saban said he chose to refute rumors rather than say "no comment," because "then that becomes a big story, and everybody on the team reads it and they're out there saying, 'Well, I don't know if coach is getting ready for this game or not?' "
Given those circumstances, Saban said it's unfair for people to brand him as a liar.
"If everybody looked at it from my perspective, they would not say that," he said. "I'm disappointed that I'm being victimized a little bit here. That's really not the person I am.
"If you look at 35 years of work that I've done in this profession and my marriage and everything else, that's not who I am. That's not what I've done. I've never been a guy to lie, cheat and steal anywhere. Never. Ever. But now all of a sudden, I am."
Saban said his agent, Jimmy Sexton, told him of Alabama's interest as early as Week 13, and Saban was angered that Sexton's suggestion came during the Dolphins' season.
"He knows that I will not talk — during the season," Saban said of Sexton. "When he called me the first time — I said, 'I'm not interested. It's the season. I'm not interested. I'm not interested.' So they hired somebody else."
Alabama Athletic Director Mal Moore thought he had a deal with West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez on Dec. 7, but Rodriguez announced he was staying in Morgantown the next day.
When Rodriguez balked, Saban re-emerged at the center of the rumors.
But according to Saban — who claims to work 16 hours a day, seven days a week — he never entertained the idea of becoming Alabama's coach before Monday evening.
"Not until after the Indianapolis game did Jimmy tell me there was an opportunity here — and the possibility of me being the coach here did exist," Saban said. "My awareness of this, any focus that I had on this, was not until the end of the season."
Sexton said Saban initially refused to meet with Moore, even when Moore arrived in South Florida on Monday.
Saban and Sexton confirmed that Moore targeted Louisville's Bobby Petrino, who was in South Florida to coach his team in the Orange Bowl, as his backup choice if Saban opted to stay with the Dolphins.
"I had to talk him into talking to Mal Moore Monday evening," Sexton said. "I'm like, 'Look, Nick, they have another college guy they want to talk to who's down there but they've really waited for you to talk to them.'
"Nick said, 'Let me talk to (my wife) Terry about it and I'll see. I will not meet with the guy. I will talk to him on the phone, out of courtesy.' "
The conversation took place around 6 p.m. Monday and led to a job offer, but Saban said he didn't decide to accept it until Wednesday morning. He met with Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga several times from Monday to Wednesday, but Huizenga could not persuade Saban to stay.
"I didn't sleep all night, nor did Terry," Saban said. "I talked to Wayne early in the morning about it again, which was another confusing moment.
"Then when he came over to the house is kind of when (I decided)."
Saban hinted that Huizenga offered him a contract extension in their meeting Wednesday morning.
Saban, his wife, their daughter and Moore boarded a private jet at Opa-locka Airport on Wednesday afternoon and landed at the Tuscaloosa, Ala., airport about 5 p.m. EST.
Saban dismissed speculation that he changed jobs because his family was unhappy with the South Florida lifestyle. He said the real issue was college vs. the NFL, and pointed to the ovation his wife and daughter received at Thursday's news conference as a prime example of why he prefers the college game.
"I've got a family, I've got a wife and people that need to be happy," Saban said. "It affects everyone. Just in what you witnessed today, how certain people in my family are involved ... you've never seen that down there, right? Right.
"These people are not like pro fans. This is their school. It's their pride and joy — it ain't like Dolphin Stadium, I can tell you that."
Jason Lieser writes for The Palm Beach Post.
Saban: I didn't lie about Alabama Job
