‘I thought it was the dumbest decision that I ever made’ — Nick Saban rants about his worst coaching move that came against the Tennessee Vols
One of the Vols’ most painful losses this century was fueled by a mistake that the legendary coach made in the first half.
Nick Saban’s inclusion into the College Gameday crew the last two years has added a lot of interesting insight and expertise into the finer aspects of the game, whether you’re a fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide or otherwise. Saban provides obviously as keen of an insight as there is or has ever been in the history of the sport.
However, Saban is also an entertaining and interesting storyteller, and he told a story about what he considers to be his worst decision in his coaching tenure – but it turned out flipping the game in his favor and against the Tennessee Vols in one of the most painful contests in recent UT football history – the 2001 SEC Championship game.
Nick Saban said on College Gameday that his worst coaching decision came in the 2001 SEC Championship game against Tennessee
“We were playing in the SEC Championship game against Tennessee back in 2001, and we go for it on fourth-and-one on our own twenty-nine-yard line and get stuffed by John Henderson and don’t make it,” Saban said. “We were behind seventeen to three. We won the game thirty-one to twenty. I thought it was the dumbest decision that I ever made, but players came up to me in the locker room after the game and said ‘coach, when you went for it on fourth down, we thought you thought we could win, and we played our ass off after that.’
“So, you’ve got to be aggressive, man. You’ve got to throw caution to the wind and do the things that believe and trust in your players.”
To clarify, Saban is talking about the second quarter of the game, where Tennessee led 14-7. LSU had a fourth-and-one at their own 23-yard line and Saban called for a QB sneak with his big QB Rohan Davey. However, the center exchange was bobbled, and John Henderson was able to wrestle him down for no gain.
The Vols, however, couldn’t make the Tigers pay with a gut shot, instead having to settle for a field goal. Meanwhile, Saban’s words appeared to ring true about his team having his back, as LSU played inspired football, outscoring Tennessee 21-3 in the second half to deny the Vols an SEC title and a likely trip to the national championship game against the Miami Hurricanes.
Saban’s point about being aggressive is true though. You have to play to win rather than not to lose. And sometimes when you fail, it can still have a positive effect, as the Vols found out the hard way.