Coach Nick Saban Added to MODEX 2024 Roster
We’re adding a touch of crimson to MODEX 2024, hosting legendary Football Coach Nick Saban as a keynote. You can join his conversation titled “Tales of Leadership from the Gridiron” on March 13 at 9 AM at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Saban, who recently retired as the head coach of Alabama, is the only coach to win seven national titles in the poll era of college football. Part of the foundation of Saban’s success is his insistence on setting high standards. As Saban told 60 Minutes, his father modeled this value when he coached his Pop Warner team in West Virginia. At the end of every practice, Saban would have to sprint up a hill in the dark and bring a leaf to his father, so he could prove that he made it to the trees at the very top.
In addition to inheriting his father’s high standards, Saban also developed a fear of blue and black cars. When he started working at his father’s service station at age 11, Saban soon learned that he was expected to wash and rewash cars until they were streak-free.
Former Patriots Coach Bill Belichick is another person who had a major impact on Saban’s career. The two met when Saban worked with Belichick’s father on the Navy football staff. When Bill Belichick was named as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, he installed Saban as his defensive coordinator.
According to Belichick, “Nick was the first coach I hired, and the best coach I hired.”
Many parallels have been drawn between these two tenacious coaches. Sports Illustrated wrote: “Both became known for their unbreakable resolve and general lack of enthusiasm during press conferences.”
Despite a close friendship with Belichick, Saban eventually struck out on his own. He left the Browns after the 1994 season to take the head coaching job at Michigan State. With the exception of a brief stint with the Miami Dolphins, Saban would stick to college football stadiums after the Browns, leading LSU and Alabama after Michigan State. In his 28 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Saban compiled an impressive 297-71-1 record.
Ultimately, it was Saban’s reverence for high standards that pushed him to announce his retirement from Alabama this past January. He told ESPN that the mental grind had become tough to maintain at his age, and he no longer felt capable of committing the way he had in past seasons. “There is nothing more I respect than great competitors,” he said.
During his March 13 keynote at MODEX, Saban will share the philosophy that led to his storied career. To listen to Saban and four other lively keynotes, join us at MODEX at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta on March 11-14. Register now to attend for free.
