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What we know about Nick Saban's coaching tenure with Ohio State football under Earle Bruce

colin gay, columbus dispatch
·2 min read

After 17 seasons as the head football coach at Alabama, Nick Saban is retiring.

With the Crimson Tide, Saban won six national championships — tied with Paul "Bear" Bryant for the most in Alabama history — along with a national championship win at LSU in 2003.

But before the nine SEC championship wins or the 44 first-round NFL draft picks, Saban was a defensive backs coach at Ohio State under coach Earle Bruce.

1980: Earle Bruce, kneeling front, heads a staff of nine assistants as he begins his second season. Kneeling behind Bruce, from left, are Glen Mason, offensive coordinator; Bill Myles, tackles and tight ends; Fred Zechman, quarterbacks and wide receivers. Standing, from left, Bob McNea, recruiting coordinator; Wayne Stanley, running backs; Bob Tucker, outside linebackers; Dennis Fryzel, defensive coordinator; Steve Szabo, tackles and middle guards; and Nick Saban, defensive backs.

In 1980, Saban, who had previously been a defensive backs coach at West Virginia in 1978-79, replaced Pete Carroll, who was Oho State's secondary coordinator in 1979 before being named as North Carolina State's defensive coordinator from 1980-82.

With Saban on staff in 1980 and 1981, Bruce's Ohio State teams finished with 18 wins in 24 games. In 1980, Ohio State suffered losses to UCLA, Michigan and Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. 1981 saw Ohio State losses to Florida State, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Saban and the Buckeyes defense allowed 15.1 points per game in 1980 and 21.1 points per game in 1981 In two seasons under defensive coordinator Dennis Fryzel.

According to ESPN, Saban was fired from Bruce's staff after the 1981 season after allowing 28 points to Navy in the Liberty Bowl.

"What it made me realize is that you have to work to please the person that you're working for," he explained. "I really look back at all of the things that I did, the mistakes that I made — and even sometimes if you're right, it's not worth it to be right."

After the 1981 season, Saban left Ohio State to become the defensive backs coach at Navy.

How many wins did Nick Saban have against Ohio State?

Alabama coach Nick Saban, left, and Ohio State coach Ryan Day already compete fiercely on the recruiting trail. Could pending name, image and likeness rules give Alabama an advantage in its pitch to recruits?
Alabama coach Nick Saban, left, and Ohio State coach Ryan Day already compete fiercely on the recruiting trail. Could pending name, image and likeness rules give Alabama an advantage in its pitch to recruits?

Throughout his head coaching career, Saban and the Buckeyes rarely crossed paths.

In his time with Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama, Saban's teams faced Ohio State five times. Saban's teams won three of the five meetings, including a national championship win for Alabama to cap off the 2020 season.

Here's how Saban's teams did against Ohio State during his coaching career.

  • Nov. 1, 1997: Ohio State 37, Michigan State 13

  • Noc. 7, 1998: Michigan State 28, Ohio State 24

  • Nov. 6, 1998: Michigan State 23, Ohio State 7

  • Jan. 1, 2015: Ohio State 42, Alabama 35 — College Football Playoff semifinal at the Sugar Bowl

  • Jan. 11, 2021: Alabama 52, Ohio State 24 — College Football Playoff National Championship

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Nick Saban coached Ohio State football under Earle Bruce: What we know