Lou Saban
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| Lou Saban | |
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| Date of birth | October 13, 1921 |
| Place of birth |  Brookfield, Illinois |
| Position(s) | Head Coach Guard |
| College | Indiana University |
| Honors | American Football League Champion, 1964 and 1965 |
| Career Record | 95-99-7 |
| Championships Won |
1965 AFL Championship 1964 AFL Championship |
| Playing Stats | DatabaseFootball |
| Coaching Stats | DatabaseFootball |
| Team(s) as a player | |
| 1946-1949 | AAFC Cleveland Browns |
| Team(s) as a coach/administrator | |
| 1960-1961 1962-1965 1967-1969 1970-1971 1972-1976 1977-1978 1983-1984 |
AFL Boston Patriots AFL Buffalo Bills AFL Denver Broncos NFL Denver Broncos NFL Buffalo Bills NCAA Miami NCAA UCF |
Louis Henry Saban (born October 13, 1921), a football coach in the American Football League, played college football at Indiana University where he was named All-Big Ten as a quarterback one year and All-Big Ten as a fullback in another. He began his pro career with the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). He was the team captain as the Browns dominated the AAFC in all four years of the league's existence. Saban was twice voted to the league's All-Star team as a linebacker. He went on to be head coach at Case Institute, and assistant coach at Northwestern University. In 1955, Saban was named as the head coach at Northwestern. Two years later, he moved on to Western Illinois University, where he would remain as head coach until he entered the professional football ranks to guide the Boston Patriots of the newly formed American Football League (AFL). In his last season at Western Illinois, his team had a perfect 9-0 record.
In the early 1960s the Buffalo Bills enjoyed an era of glory. The driving force behind it was Lou Saban, whose style of coaching won him the respect, love, and loyalty of his players. "Trader Lou" came to the Buffalo Bills as head coach in 1962, from the Patriots. He set to work building the Bills into a formidable defensive team, with a strong offense as well. His record at Buffalo during the AFL years was 36-17-3, with winning seasons in each of his four years.
In 1964 and 1965, the Bills went 12-2 and 10-3-1, en route to consecutive AFL championships. Saban was the only man ever to achieve that honor. He was named Coach of the Year twice, but one week after winning his second title, he quit to become head coach at the University of Maryland, and then the Denver Broncos. He returned to the Buffalo Bills (by then in the NFL) from 1972 through 1976, and was credited with coaching Bills running back O.J. Simpson to his full potential.
Saban served as head coach at the University of Miami from 1977 to 1978, and is credited with helping lay the foundation for the Hurricanes' future success, in particular recruiting quarterback Jim Kelly to the university. However, despite a winning record in 1978, Saban departed Miami amid controversy. That April, three Miami players threw a twenty-one-year-old Jewish man who worked at a campus gathering place for UM's Jewish community into a lake. When Saban returned to campus a few days later, he was unaware the man was Jewish and reportedly said "Getting thrown in the lake? Sounds like fun to me." Miami's Jewish community complained, and despite numerous apologies, Saban could not stem the protests and at the end of the season he left to coach at Army. [1]
Saban had a very short stint coaching an expansion Arena Football franchise known as the Milwaukee Mustangs in 1994. Saban then served as the first Head Coach at SUNY Canton from 1995 until retiring in 2000 and moving to coastal South Carolina. He returned to coaching in 2001 as head coach at Chowan College in North Carolina.
His cousin, Nick Saban, is currently the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide Football Team.[2]
| Preceded by Sam Weir |
University of Central Florida Head Football Coach 1983-1984 |
Succeeded by Jerry Anderson |
| Preceded by Carl Selmer |
University of Miami Head Football Coach 1977–1978 |
Succeeded by Howard Schnellenberger |
| Preceded by Harvey Johnson |
Buffalo Bills Head Coach 1972–1976 |
Succeeded by Jim Ringo |
| Preceded by Ray Malavasi |
Denver Broncos Head Coach 1967–1971 |
Succeeded by Jerry Smith (coach) |
| Preceded by Tom Nugent |
University of Maryland Head Football Coach 1966 |
Succeeded by Bob Ward |
| Preceded by Buster Ramsey |
Buffalo Bills Head Coach 1962–1965 |
Succeeded by Joe Collier |
| Preceded by First coach |
Boston Patriots Head Coach 1960–1961 |
Succeeded by Mike Holovak |
| Preceded by Bob Voigts |
Northwestern University Head Football Coach 1955 |
Succeeded by Ara Parseghian |
| Preceded by Sid Gillman |
AFL Championship winning Head Coach 1965, 1966 |
Succeeded by Hank Stram |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Saban's 1960 Fleer football card
- American Football League Website
- Saban's citation on the AFL Hall of Fame website
[edit] References
- ^ title='Cane Mutiny | author=Bruce Feldman | date=2007-07-24 | publisher=New American Library}}
- ^ Nick Saban - Biography
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