A New Book Describes Nick Saban's Immediate Reaction to 9/11, and it Was as 'Football Guy' as it Gets

Jamie Squire. Getty Images.

Simply put, being a football coach isn't for everybody. 

Sure, you can sit there in the stands and criticize your guy for some decision he makes that you would've done differently. You purchased that right. Not just with your ticket money, but also with the blood of patriots who fought tyranny so that you could be a free American. A son or daughter of Liberty, and a big, fat know-it-all who thinks you're smarter than the man in charge. 

But as you do, there's one obvious truth you have to grapple with: You are not a football coach. Because you don't have what it takes. To get that far in this life takes more than just self-confidence that you know best whether to throw a challenge flag, go for it on 4th down, or dial up a blitz. It requires brains. Determination. Will. Leadership. Preparation. And above all else, total dedication. To claw your way to the top of that food chain requires nothing less than sacrificing every thing else in your life. Because to truly be great in that profession means not having a life. Coaching IS your life. Your entire existence. Mind. Body. And soul, if you have one. (It's not a job requirement.) It takes you to be … A Football Guy.

And there is no better example of that than Nick Saban. And no story better illustrates how much of A Football Guy he is than his reaction to the worst attack on sovereign US territory since Pearl Harbor:

NY Post -  Nick Saban was so focused on football that he plowed straight through work during the infamous Sept. 11 attacks, according to a new book. 

In “The Price: What It Takes to Win in College Football’s Era of Chaos,” written by Armen Keteyian and John Talty and available to buy on Aug. 27, the scene was described where Saban was in his first season coaching LSU and preparing for a game the upcoming Saturday against SEC rival Auburn. 

When a secretary informed the coaching staff that the first plane had hit the World Trade Center, there was reportedly some confusion but they continued their preparation.

I'll interject here to set the scene using the Andy Card-George W. Bush meme:

PAUL J. RICHARDS. Getty Images.

The story continues:

When the second plane made it clear that there was an ongoing terrorist attack, Saban still did not break stride. 

“Boys, there are some screwed-up people in the world,” he said, according to the book. “Now, what are we going to do when we’re in Cover Two against these routes?”

LSU practiced as scheduled, and Saban never addressed the terror attack with the team, as some of the Tigers players reportedly had “no idea what was happening across the country.”

Saban later apologized for having his “head in the sand” to a newspaper as the attacks were unfolding. 

To anyone who respects the demands placed upon A Football Guy, no apology was necessary. To those who don't none will suffice. 

It's not like Nick Saban didn't care about the plight of the victims in lower Manhattan, DC or Shanksville, PA, their loved ones and the first responders who would spend the days and weeks ahead digging through the rubble. But he's a man of singular focus. And a delegator who believes in controlling the things you can, accepting the things you cannot, and praying for the wisdom to know the difference. 

In this example, he could control how he could attack Auburn splitting their safeties. Finding Post routes that exploit their MOFO coverages. And Smash concepts to put the flat defender in a vertical stretch and put the safety in the seam in conflict. Like it was his job. Which it most definitely was. 

As fate would have it, LSU didn't play Auburn that week because those "screwed-up people" screwed up the schedule. But by golly, when he did play them on December 1st, his Tigers dropped 27 on their Tigers, with 243 passing yards in a blowout win. So that laser focus in early September was not in vain. Those coaching points stuck. And they worked. Which is just one more reason he's the best that there's ever been at the college level. And while the rest of us are just nobodies who take our eyes off the prize every time there's a cataclysmic event that changes the course of history. Proving once again, Football Guys are just built different.