“It was beyond my imagination”: Nick Saban shares raw childhood story as he gets emotional ahead of Hall of Fame honor

Nick Saban is arguably the greatest college football coach of all time. Saban won seven national championships, 11 SEC titles, and numerous other accolades in his storied coaching career.

The Alabama Crimson Tide legend is now set to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Ahead of his induction, Nick Saban has shared a delicate childhood story.

"Little did I know as a kid growing up in West Virginia pumping gas at my dad’s service station that some of those lessons that I learned it was beyond my imagination that I would ever end up here.”

"Regardless of any responsibilities I was ever given as a kid, washing a car if there were any streaks left on that navy blue Buick, you had to do it over."

"There was always a reckoning for what I did. That helped me tremendously, I think, from an accountability standpoint, because my dad used to always say, ‘If you don’t have the time to do it right the first time, how you going to find the time to do it again?"

Nick Saban is one of the individuals set to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on December 9, 2025, in Las Vegas. Other notable names include Michael Vick, Montee Ball, Michael Strahan and Ryan Yarborough.

Nick Saban spoke to Lane Kiffin ahead of LSU move

Nick Saban has worked as a broadcaster since his retirement from coaching. One of Saban's coaching tree members is Lane Kiffin, and Saban has closely followed his career moves.

According to Yahoo Sports, Saban spoke to Lane Kiffin before the latter agreed to a seven-year, $91 million deal with LSU. Saban said that he told Kiffin to follow his heart. He also said he receives many calls from coaches because of his experience and track record.

"The first thing I ask a coach, if he’s talking about contemplating changing jobs, is, what do you want to do? And I want them to follow their heart in terms of what they want to accomplish and what they want to do."

"I never tell anybody what they should do. I just try to bring some thought into it so that they can make good decisions for themselves and their family and their future." said Saban.

Kiffin has since taken his talents to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as he looks to get the Tigers back to the summit of college football. The LSU Tigers haven't won a national championship since 2019, when they were coached by Ed Orgeron and quarterbacked by Joe Burrow.

Lane Kiffin's old team, the Ole Miss Rebels, is currently in the College Football Playoffs. They're looking to go all the way and put an exclamation point on what's been an impressive campaign.