"Miss Terry" on being the queen of the trailer park

[Saniflush]

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303281504579220393805048908

Alabama's football team is steaming toward Saturday's showdown with rival Auburn and a possible third consecutive national championship. The team has lost only two games in the past three seasons.

But here in Tuscaloosa, there is one small pocket of dissatisfaction—and it's an important one. It is located inside the home shared by Terry Saban and her husband of 42 years, Nick, the team's head coach.

The first couple of Alabama football may be standing on top of the world, but it isn't necessarily thrilled by the view. "You come to a crossroads and the expectations get so great, people get spoiled by success and there gets to be a lack of appreciation," Terry Saban said in an interview last week. "We're kind of there now."

On its face, this statement is hard to believe. With a salary of $5.4 million, Nick Saban is, after all, the nation's highest-paid college football coach. But there are some signs of dynastic ennui at Alabama. Empty seats have been an issue at Bryant-Denny Stadium, especially among students. Just last week, the school had to set up a promotion to sell tickets to the Chattanooga game.
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Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide leads his team on the field to face the Chattanooga Mocs on Saturday. Getty Images

Recent media reports have suggested Saban may be interested in coaching at Texas if that job comes available. Some reports said Terry Saban had been house hunting in Austin. Asked if the report was accurate, Terry Saban called them "rumors with absolutely no foundation."

"We're staying," she said. "We're not going anywhere."

Still, for a college coach who has won four national championships, Nick Saban has proved to be unusually restless. Rather than staying at one school, he has changed jobs three times: Bolting his first high-profile job at Michigan State in 1999 for Louisiana State, then leaving LSU for the Miami Dolphins in 2005, then decamping to Alabama in 2007.

In each case, they have made improvements without sinking deep roots. They have pledged their allegiance to the community but fought hard for resources. And if they don't feel appreciated, they make their dissatisfaction known.

According to interviews with colleagues, players and university administrators who have known the Sabans, they are a formidable team that makes decisions in tandem. Terry, who goes by "Miss Terry" (she uses "Ms." in correspondence) is a behind-the-scenes negotiator for her husband's coaching contracts. Nick's assistant copies her on nearly all of Nick's email traffic. She makes clear she is part of the operation, not solely a homemaker. "The only thing we use the dining room table for is recruiting," she said.

Jack Andonie, a member of the LSU board, said that when LSU was negotiating with Saban, there was "no doubt in my mind" that Saban sought his wife's input and that "her input would be significant."

Chris Black, an Alabama wide receiver, said Saban often jokes that Terry makes all of the important decisions. "She kind of wears the pants," Black said.

Nick and Terry Saban met as teenagers at a 4-H science fair in West Virginia and married in 1971. He took his first head coaching job at Toledo in 1989, then resigned the following year to become defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. When he took over at Michigan State, Saban had strong ties to the school: he'd been an assistant there in the 1980s.

According to people who knew Terry Saban then, she was a crucial part of the effort in East Lansing. She learned to play a card game called Bid Whist, which was particularly popular among African-American recruits and their families. She'd play cards with the recruits and chat up the parents. "I never saw Terry cook," said Clarence Underwood, a former athletic director.

In late 1999, after a 9-2 season, Saban felt the school owed him a bonus and was disappointed when it didn't come immediately. After reports surfaced that Saban was talking with LSU, a team of Michigan State administrators led by Joel Ferguson, a trustee, went to Saban's house one Saturday night. Saban denied being in talks with LSU—he said the school had simply reached out to him. But something struck the administrators as odd: Terry wasn't home.

"Joel said, 'Nick where's Terry?'" said Underwood, who was in the group. "He said she was at the store. But then he asked again: "Nick, is Terry in Baton Rouge?' And he said, 'Yes, she's there now.'" The next morning, Saban left for LSU.

Nick Saban declined an interview for this article.

Given his ties to Michigan State, the move wasn't easy for Saban. Pat Ruel, who was Michigan State's offensive line coach at the time, said Saban sent a chartered plane for members of his coaching staff, whom he expected to follow him south. But after a series of difficult late-night discussions, they decided to stay. "It was an embarrassing thing for Nick," Ruel said. Two people at Michigan State at the time said Saban called them in the days after he took the LSU job to explain himself and why he decided to leave. They said he seemed conflicted.

At LSU, Saban's tenure brought swift results. The team improved and won the 2003 national championship. People familiar with the Sabans' time there say that from the start, Saban was a tough negotiator. He demanded maximum resources for the team and never let the school rest assured that he would stay. "It's certainly good for contract negotiations when you are a coach that doesn't have restrictions on his ability to move," said Charlie Weems, who headed the university board when Saban was coach. Weems said he tried to convince Saban not to leave for Miami. "He ruined my Christmas, I spent more time talking to him than my wife," he said.

Weems said Terry had some "real misgivings" about the move to Miami, "but Nick had this bee in his bonnet and he was going to the pros."

The Sabans would only stay in Miami for two seasons. A person who knew Terry at the time said she wasn't happy because she didn't have a role. In an interview, she said the main issue at Miami was that Nick didn't have enough control over selecting the players.

When Alabama began courting Saban, it was Terry who did the advance scouting. She looked at things like the housing situation and the schools (the Sabans have two children) but Terry said it was the football program that sold her. "I told Nick, 'I can't wait until you see the weight room. It's incredible."

At a news conference in 2006, after rumors emerged of a move to Alabama, Nick said emphatically "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach." Less than two weeks later, he took the job.

In Tuscaloosa, Terry has continued her role as a recruiter and the couple's public face. While Nick accompanies her to events—on Friday they appeared at a ceremony to dedicate a home built by their foundation, Nick's Kids—he has a reputation for keeping to himself.

Mort Jordan, president of the local Red Elephant Club, a prominent Alabama booster group, said he's met Nick Saban briefly but the two have never talked. "Coach Saban is all business and business as far as he is concerned is minimizing anything that doesn't have everything to do with the game," Jordan said. "He's kind of a benevolent dictator, but we wouldn't have it any other way."

As for the Texas job, Nick has said publicly that he plans to end his career at Alabama—a view that echoes his wife's comments. Terry said that years ago, rebuilding a football program used to be "even more fun than winning" but that it has lost its appeal as the couple has aged (Nick is 62 and Terry is 61). Now that there's less to prove, she said, "I say to Nick, 'Why are we doing this? It's not to win. You tell your players all the time, it's not about winning it's about the process. This is about shaping the lives of young men.'"

She noted that this is the longest they've stayed anywhere—by two years—and that they feel like members of the community. Their children, Kristen and Nicholas, both graduated from Alabama. "We feel more like it's home, like we are a part of the community and pulling up stakes again would be difficult."

"We are trying to educate ourselves, to change ourselves," Terry said. "We can't change expectations or change lack of appreciation. We have to change our mind-set. We have decided: this is where we are going to end our career."

[The Prowler]

"Shaping the lives of young men"...What, by coddling them and handling all mishaps "in house"  (breaking the law, getting arrested, having coaches and boosters paying players, having professors pass the star players, etc.), but if the player happens to be third string, they'll be cut loose at the first chance...that goes for player injuries too. So, what exactly does that teach the kids?

[Buzz Killington]

"Shaping the lives of young men"...What, by coddling them and handling all mishaps "in house"  (breaking the law, getting arrested, having coaches and boosters paying players, having professors pass the star players, etc.), but if the player happens to be third string, they'll be cut loose at the first chance...that goes for player injuries too. So, what exactly does that teach the kids?

It teaches the third stringers a valuable life lesson...don't suck.

[Townhallsavoy]

It teaches the third stringers a valuable life lesson...don't suck.

And 1st stringers too...you can get away with anything. 

[Buzz Killington]

And 1st stringers too...you can get away with anything.

Pfft!

[Kaos]

When it comes to Saban it's like we live in Korea.  He's a Kim Jong and the media behaves as such.

For some unknown reason they are scared of him and scared of Bellicheck. Won't even ask them legitimate questions.

[AUChizad]

people get spoiled by success and there gets to be a lack of appreciation

Yes, because if one thing's for sure, Bammers just don't appreciate Saban enough.

The statue built like in his second year as their sitting coach isn't cutting it.

The running of the gumps for the chance at touching his greatness, just isn't enough.

There just aren't enough babies named Saban in the state.

Time to start tattooing his likeness on your foreheads, Bama fans. Wouldn't want him ditching you.

[WiregrassTiger]

Well, I guess this settles the Tx question and since she's staying, we will never win another Iron Bowl as long as Ms Terry is in town. That sucks to know.

[RWS]

Yes, because if one thing's for sure, Bammers just don't appreciate Saban enough.

The statue built like in his second year as their sitting coach isn't cutting it.

The running of the gumps for the chance at touching his greatness, just isn't enough.

I don't think that you're looking at it from the same perspective.  It all boils down to the majority of the fanbase being raging morons.  Everything is fine and dandy, until you lose a game.  Just one game.  Then everything implodes.  People should be fired, coordinators forgot how to call plays and they should be fired, nobody did anything right, get rid of the waterboy.  Because you lost one game to a Heisman Trophy winner.  Or, because you lost a hard fought game to a very talented team. 

It's great for your team to win, and win championships, and all of the fanfare that goes with it.  But people in our fanbase have forgotten that it isn't the norm.  It isn't normal to win every game every year.  It should be the exception, not the rule.  They've forgotten about the Shula years and all of the other shit.  They feel entitled to success, and I think that's sort of what she is talking about in the article.  Not so much about appreciating Saban himself, but appreciating the team and everything that has to happen just for people to be able to talk shit on message boards. 

[Saniflush]

I don't think that you're looking at it from the same perspective.  It all boils down to the majority of the fanbase being raging morons.  Everything is fine and dandy, until you lose a game.  Just one game.  Then everything implodes.  People should be fired, coordinators forgot how to call plays and they should be fired, nobody did anything right, get rid of the waterboy.  Because you lost one game to a Heisman Trophy winner.  Or, because you lost a hard fought game to a very talented team. 

It's great for your team to win, and win championships, and all of the fanfare that goes with it.  But people in our fanbase have forgotten that it isn't the norm.  It isn't normal to win every game every year.  It should be the exception, not the rule.  They've forgotten about the Shula years and all of the other shit.  They feel entitled to success, and I think that's sort of what she is talking about in the article.  Not so much about appreciating Saban himself, but appreciating the team and everything that has to happen just for people to be able to talk shit on message boards.

Sorry but since some folks are having interweb issues I figured the slack needed to be taken up.

[Godfather]

Sorry but since some folks are having interweb issues I figured the slack needed to be taken up.

Saaaaay that's a sexy goat you got there.

[dallaswareagle]

Saaaaay that's a sexy goat you got there.

Alex: What is things you only hear on the X?

[The Prowler]

Not sure why Terry Saban is complaining, Nicholas Saban fits right in with the inbred nation....

[dallaswareagle]

Not sure why Terry Saban is complaining, Nicholas Saban fits right in with the inbred nation....

Does everybody who wears #5 suck?

[War Eagle!!!]

Does everybody who wears #5 suck?

rl]

[Snaggletiger]

rl]

That just happened

[dallaswareagle]

rl]

That just happened

Ok, let me rephrase White guys who wear #5?