Former MSU Legend Nick Saban Reveals Insight into Coaching

Seven-time national champion Nick Saban may not have won a title in East Lansing, but the former Michigan State coach is nonetheless celebrated by Spartan faithful. He gave an interesting insight into his thought process.

October 25, 1997; East Lansing, MI; MSU head coach Nick Saban protests to a game official during the MSU U of M matchup at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Killips/Lansing State Journal-USA TODAY NETWORK | Lansing State Journal-USA TODAY NETWORK

The greatest college football coach of all time, Nick Saban patrolled the sidelines in East Lansing from 1995 to 1999 before he left Michigan State for Baton Rouge to begin a seven-time national championship career in the SEC (with a brief detour to the NFL).

While he never won a national title with the Spartans, Saban is still cherished by Spartans faithful for his part in coordinating the 1988 Rose Bowl-winning defense and his successes against bitter rival Michigan, as well as building the green and white's standing as the new millennium neared.

Recently, the renowned and recently retired coaching genius shared some insight into his mentality while on Monday's national championship edition of "The Pat McAfee Show" ahead of the national championship (won by Ohio State).

“I think I had nerves going into every game,” Saban said. “Sometimes I was more nervous about the games that we were supposed to win, like when you’re a big favorite, but you’re playing a pretty good team. You know your team’s probably not looking at the game like you need to. I think all players and all coaches have anxiety when you into games like this. And I always thought as a coach, the most important thing I needed to do was manage that anxiety, because that anxiety was not going to help you perform well. To keep things simple -- play in, play out, do your job, dominate your box, don’t worry about the scoreboard -- all those kinds of things minimize anxiety because everybody wants to win.

"Can we focus on doing the things that we need to do to win? That was what I always tried to promote to the players. And I didn’t want to make them think that I was anxious because if they saw me nervous and anxious, then that means I don’t believe in them. I never listened to music. I just kind of thought things through. I did a little stretching. I tried to keep busy, but I always made notes like of what I was going to say to the team … I was anticipating what was going to happen so that we didn’t have to respond in spur-of-the-moment-type things.”

Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.