So why has former Missouri coach Gary Pinkel and Nick Saban been so successful?
“I think it probably goes back to his roots, our roots,” Saban said during the coaches' final news conference before the 2014 SEC Championship game. “I think the way we both run our programs to a large degree is the way Coach James did it when we were players. It was a lot about developing people, a lot about helping people be successful, a lot about emphasizing the importance of graduating from school, developing a career off the field, a lot about being all you could be in everything that you did, including being a good player. Always used the lessons of athletics to the lessons of life, how that could help you be successful.
“So Coach James was very, very successful wherever he coached. I think you get a certain kind of person in the program that is going to work hard to try to do those things, buy into those things. I think that's philosophically why Gary has been very, very successful, because we both had a great mentor to start with.”
Although Pinkel had a successful coaching career, he and everyone else cannot compare to what Saban has done at Alabama. Much has been written about his success but perhaps the best explanation of why Saban really has no peers is provided by Ben Glicksman in the article below.
“I think it probably goes back to his roots, our roots,” Saban said during the coaches' final news conference before the 2014 SEC Championship game. “I think the way we both run our programs to a large degree is the way Coach James did it when we were players. It was a lot about developing people, a lot about helping people be successful, a lot about emphasizing the importance of graduating from school, developing a career off the field, a lot about being all you could be in everything that you did, including being a good player. Always used the lessons of athletics to the lessons of life, how that could help you be successful.
“So Coach James was very, very successful wherever he coached. I think you get a certain kind of person in the program that is going to work hard to try to do those things, buy into those things. I think that's philosophically why Gary has been very, very successful, because we both had a great mentor to start with.”
Although Pinkel had a successful coaching career, he and everyone else cannot compare to what Saban has done at Alabama. Much has been written about his success but perhaps the best explanation of why Saban really has no peers is provided by Ben Glicksman in the article below.