If there’s one thing Nick Saban knows, it’s how to win.
While his new job as minority owner of the Nashville Predators may have Saban swapping cleats for skates, the legendary college football head coach is hoping that success doesn’t know the confines of a playing surface.
Formally introduced as the team’s minority owner on Monday, alongside Predators chairman Bill Haslam, Saban spoke about his experience with hockey, Nashville, and of course, winning.
“I’m no expert in hockey. So don’t look at me like I’m gonna make some huge impact coaching around here, ’cause that’s not gonna happen,” Saban said. “But I do have a pretty good idea of what it takes to have successful organizations. And one of the reasons why we wanted to partner with Mr. Haslam and this organization is that they want to be successful.”
Saban, one of the winningest college football head coaches of all time, announced the decision to purchase a minority stake in the team last week alongside business partner Joe Agresti through Dream Sports Venture LLC.
Haslam mentioned that the partnership between him and Saban began when they were looking into the possibility of bringing a WNBA franchise to Nashville. Saban then brought up that he may also be interested in hockey, so bringing him in as part of the Predators was “the greatest no-brainer of all-time.”
“You have somebody that understands building a championship culture,” Haslam said of Saban. “Who understands, I think better than almost anybody in sports, the process that’s needed to get to where you compete as a champion. And somebody who, just like I do, loves sports.”
32 Thoughts: The Podcast
Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.
Process was a key talking point for the seven-time national champion. Saban stated that while he may not have a complete understanding of the intricacies of hockey — “I have skated. I can’t say I’m a skater,” — he does understand people.
“What does it take to be a successful organization? Process,” Saban said. “There’s some of the things we did when I was in the NFL, as well as in college, from how you bring players to a team, how you manage the organization from a financial standpoint … How you get people in the organization to work together, the kind of leadership that takes.”
The 74-year-old stepped away from his long-time job leading the Crimson Tide in 2023. He won six titles in Tuscaloosa and another at Louisiana State in 2003. His 297 Division I wins are the sixth most in college football history.
Since retiring, Saban has had a successful run in broadcasting as an analyst on ESPN’s College GameDay. He has also served as an analyst for the NFL Draft and has dipped his toes into business ventures, purchasing 10 car dealerships in Tennessee with Agresti as part of the Dream Motor Group.
What led him here, though, is that he’s actually spent some time around hockey, catching Predators games and even visiting the team during rookie camp in June and imparting on the players what it takes to be successful.
“Be a team that nobody wants to play against. That was always our goal at Alabama,” Saban said. “That’s how you compete, the toughness that you play with, the disposition that you go out there and compete with. Those kinds of things I’d like to continue to do.”
So while fans shouldn’t expect to see Saban on the bench with a headset on and a clipboard in his hand, the College Football Hall of Famer certainly won’t be too far away, helping guide the organization in ways that he knows how.
“I’m not qualified to be a coach in hockey,” he said. “I am qualified to support the coach and help him provide the leadership to help his players maybe develop the kind of psychological disposition, competitive character, to go out and play and be more successful because of it.
“If we can get everybody in this organization playing like a champion, we might have a chance to win a championship.”