Nick Saban reflects on decision to join Miami Dolphins, 'I had a bad case of the dumbass'

Former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban continues to bring up the only real failure in his career: the Miami Dolphins. Despite winning almost 88 percent of his 235 games and six national championships in Tuscaloosa, his two-year stint with the Dolphins was disastrous.  Saban was asked about his decision to join the Dolphins […]

Ian Valentino — National College Football Writer
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Former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban continues to bring up the only real failure in his career: the Miami Dolphins. Despite winning almost 88 percent of his 235 games and six national championships in Tuscaloosa, his two-year stint with the Dolphins was disastrous. 

Saban was asked about his decision to join the Dolphins on ESPN's Pat McAfee Show on Friday, and he responded with a blunt response, saying: "I just had a bad case of the dumbass.”

Saban had previously talked about his blunder in choosing quarterback Daunte Culpepper over Drew Brees upon his arrival, which played into his decision not to stay with Miami. But he also passed on Aaron Rodgers in the NFL Draft, instead taking left tackle Jake Long No. 2 overall. 

Saban added that several factors must go into taking an NFL head coaching job. 

"If you take a Head Coaching job in the NFL, you better look at the roster, the salary cap, and the Quarterback situation…You have to take all those things into consideration because if you don't you can end up in a no win situation."

Saban has relitigated his time in Miami several times but has been inconsistent with his recollections. 

In 2013, he said "In the two years that I was here I had a very, very difficult time thinking that I could impact the organization in the way that I wanted to or in the way that I was able to in college, and it was very difficult for me. Because there is a lot of parity in the NFL. There's a lot of rules in the NFL."

This year, he blamed his departure on missing on Brees.

"I think if we would've signed Drew Brees, I probably would've been happy at Miami." Of course, the Dolphins instead opted to trade for Daunte Culpepper, who was coming off a knee injury that tanked his career. Brees was coming off a major shoulder injury and was red-flagged by the Dolphins' medical team as a bigger risk.

In 2021, he said the following.

Look when the Miami Dolphins were going to sign Drew Brees, Drew was coming to Miami when I was the coach there. He was going to be the quarterback. That’s all we needed. We just went 9-7 and all we needed was a quarterback to be a playoff team. We were going to sign Drew Brees as a free agent. Dr. (James) Andrews operated on him and I went to Birmingham to see Dr. Andrews, and he said it’ll be fine. Our doctors failed him on the physical. (Drew) was there to sign with us. I actually made a deal with his agent that he wouldn’t tell anybody for 72 hours he failed his physical until New Orleans signed him. That’s how he ended up in New Orleans.

So, I decided right then when that happened that we don’t have a quarterback in the NFL, we’re not going to win. I’m getting out of here. I’m not staying here. I’m not going to be responsible for this. That doctor didn’t know his (rear end) from a handful of sand. Drew Brees plays 15 more years, wins a Super Bowl, goes to nine Pro Bowls. And we didn’t take him in Miami, where he wanted to go. Some things you can’t control. When we left there nobody understood why. Well that was why. There’s always a reason.

Saban is surely being honest, even if his story has slightly changed. Missing on Brees and Rodgers ultimately defined his NFL tenure, but the dysfunction of the Dolphins is also believable. 

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