How Nick Saban had to change the way he coached players through the years

Nick Saban spent about half a century in coaching before retiring in January at 72.

The most well-known was his time coaching Alabama football and the 17 seasons, through which he won six national championships. But he also had stops at LSU (where he won his first national championship), Michigan State, Toledo and the Miami Dolphins, among other assistant jobs going back to the early 1970s.

Naturally, the way he needed to coach changed over the course of that time. On Friday, Saban joined the Pat McAfee show for his weekly appearance and detailed how he had to change his coaching in the way he approached players.

“I changed a lot through the years because the players actually changed in terms of what their commitment was, what their purpose was in terms of why were they going to college? What were they trying to accomplish. You had to kind of adapt your program and the way you approached them,” Saban said.

Here’s the most specific way:

“You had to make things … when I first started coaching, if you told a guy to do something, he would run through the wall for you because you said to do it,” Saban said. “It‘s not like that anymore. You‘ve kind of got to show these guys where it’s going to benefit them.”

Saban added that he had to show players how what he was telling them would create value for them individually and how being part of a team would benefit them long-term.