Former Alabama football head coach Nick Saban said he loves Ohio State and took the blame for OSU dismissing him in 1981.
Saban appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" Aug. 21, and the ESPN personality Pat McAfee started the interview by asking Saban if he'd ever been fired. Saban reminded McAfee that he was let go after two seasons as a Buckeyes assistant.
"I actually love Ohio State," Saban said. "I mean, I've always liked Ohio State. I loved them when I coached there. It's a great institution. It was my fault I got fired; I can't blame anyone for that."
"I got fired when I was a defensive backs coach at Ohio State.. I actually love Ohio State and I loved it when I coached there.. It was my fault and I can't blame anybody else for that" ~ Coach Saban
#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/I5MO8mViqZ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 21, 2026
Saban worked under head coach Earle Bruce as a defensive backs coach. He replaced Pete Carroll, who left to become North Carolina State's defensive coordinator in 1980.
While Saban was on staff, Ohio State went 18-6. In 1980, Ohio State suffered regular-season losses to UCLA and Michigan and fell to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. 1981 saw Ohio State lose 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.
Despite beating Navy in the 1981 Liberty Bowl, the closer-than-expected final margin and the fact that OSU allowed 250 passing yards and two passing touchdowns to a team that had struggled all year through the air led Earle to fire the entire Ohio State defensive staff, according to ESPN.
"What it made me realize is that you have to work to please the person that you're working for," he explained via ESPN. "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 his brief Buckeyes tenure, Saban faced Ohio State five times as a head coach for Michigan State and Alabama.
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
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Coaching legend Nick Saban talks about his firing from Ohio State
