Mel Tucker spent decades learning from Nick Saban, starting when Saban recruited him to Toledo and gave him his first coaching job. Tucker calls Saban "the great explainer" for his obsessive focus on detail and his ability to teach the why behind every decision. Saban once told him none of his assistants would ever beat him, a promise backed by relentless recruiting and refusal to accept loss.
Chapters
Speaking of mentors, as you said, you worked for Coach Saban at Michigan State, but you also worked for him at Alabama. And I think an incredible stat is, and I know you know the stat, and we all know it, and I have a fond appreciation for it, and I'm sure you do as well. None of his assistant coaches has beaten him. And it's funny because Smitty, Steve Smith, as you know, he said, Draymond, I have a lake house on the same lake as Nick. And Nick say, Draymond, and Nick say, Steve, ain't none of them motherfuckers gonna beat me. I'm gonna always be my assistant coach. So here we are, obviously not to get too far ahead of things, but that could possibly be a matchup in the playoff. And I'm sorry, Coach Saban, but you gotta go down this time, boss. I'll tell you what.
Coaches, I've known Coach Saban since I was a senior in high school.
Wow.
He recruited me when he became the head coach of Toledo. I remember getting a phone call after school one day. I picked up the phone and it was Coach Saban and said, "Hey, this is Nick Saban from the Houston Oilers." I'm like, "Houston Oilers? I'm in high school. What's the deal?" He said, "He said he just got the head job at Toledo where my dad played football and baseball." And that's how I got to know Coach Saban. And he gave me my starting coaching. I actually coached— I was his defense backs coach at LSU his first year there. And then I went back there with him in 2015. We won a national championship there. And so he's taught me everything.
Wow.
He laid the foundation for me in coaching. 3 of my first 4 years in coaching, I was with Coach Saban. And whether it goes from recruiting to player development, to defensive scheme, you name it, you know, just running the entire organization, strength and conditioning, you know, operations. I mean, he, from A to Z, he knew it, he knows it all. He's a great explainer. That's the one thing I love, one of the things I love about Coach Saban, you know, he's very demanding, and which he should be, and he's very detail-oriented and he has a sense of urgency. But he'll always tell you why he wants things done a certain way. He'll give you great detail, explain to you, you know, he'll give you an example, he'll tell you a story and he'll tell you why. So, you know, it's on you if you don't get it done.
Yeah.
Because he's gonna tell you exactly what he wants, how he wants it, why he wants it that way. And there's a reason why, you know, he's undoubtedly the greatest coach in the game right now. And he's extremely tough to beat, whether you were a former, whether you were assistant or not, because he's a relentless recruiter. You know, he's a great coach and he never slows down. Yeah. I mean, he's a fierce competitor. And it doesn't surprise me when I hear that he said that none of his assistants won't ever beat him because he's extremely competitive. Extremely. And losing is not part of his deal.
