He is the needle of college football, but Nick Saban becomes the dominant force with his wife next to him.
Terry Saban is probably the lone person who enjoys Alabama football as much if not more than Coach Saban.
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He has been the Crimson Tide’s head coach for 17 years, but the 71-year-old answers to Miss Terry after each game.
We had not seen angry Saban come out on the sideline in a couple of years, but something different happened last week. The seven-time national champion was chewing out players, coaches, and referees. Alabama did not perform well in the first half versus Mississippi State, and a Saban we know and love finally surfaced. After a 40-17 victory over the Bulldogs, reporters for Alabama got the inspiration behind Saban’s explosive sideline rants. His more competitive half thought it was time to unleash angry Saban, and it worked. Tide fans had jokes on social media about how Miss Terry saved the Alabama dynasty by bringing mad Saban back out. He explained after the matchup and on Monday about how Miss Terry got him and the team coached up.
“Miss Terry told me if we are not playing well to get on their butt,” Saban said after the MSU game. “So, I just did what I was told.”
Saban followed up on Monday about how Miss Terry missed the game against the Bulldogs. It was the first matchup she has missed since joining him in Tuscaloosa (Ala.) in 2007 to be a part of the Alabama football family.
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When he got home from Starkville (Miss.), his most significant supporter was ready to coach him up.
“She waited up for me to get home, so that was a good thing,” Saban said. “I think this is the first game she has missed or did not go to since we’ve been here. She said she can see what’s happening a lot better on TV, so I got coached up quite a bit.”
Miss Terry is the only one who can pull certain attributes from Coach Saban.
She can pull the calm coach out of him when he’s dealing with the media or players who need calm coaching. She also pulls out the angry Saban when he needs to be fired up, motivate his players, and be passionate about it. Miss Terry showed last week that angry Saban is still a good thing. The team needs Saban mad sometimes to keep aspects in perspective. Alabama had an angry Saban against the Bulldogs and it produced a balanced offense, multiple sacks on defense, and several turnovers for the Tide’s defense.
Hopefully, we will see Miss Terry against Texas A&M at Kyle Field.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
