One of the biggest what ifs in LSU Football history is, what would've happened if Nick Saban stayed at LSU instead of taking the Miami Dolphins job? Would LSU, who is already just one of three teams to win three or more national titles in the 21st century, have become what Alabama was under his guidance? Would the Tigers have been the ones with six national titles since 2009?

We'll never know, but in an interview with former LSU DB, Ryan Clark, Nick Saban made an interesting comment about his decision to go to leave LSU and go to Miami.

"When I left LSU, that was probably, professionally, the biggest mistake that I ever made."

Saban told Clark that, when he was deciding whether to stay at LSU or go to Miami, he spoke with his agent, Jimmy Sexton, and he asked Saban whether he wanted to be Vince Lombardi or Bear Bryant.

"Jimmy Sexton stood on the balcony when I was about to make my decision to go to Miami or stay at LSU and he said, 'what do you want your legacy to be as a coach? Do you want to be Vince Lombardi or Bear Bryant?' and without hesitation I said, 'Bear Bryant.' Then he said, 'then what are you doing going to Miami?' I don't know if I ever told that story, but that's the truth."

Saban went on to take the Miami job and told Clark that during his time in Miami, he learned that he liked coaching college ball better than pro ball. He enjoyed the developing of players, both on and off the field, and said that, in the NFL, you don't get the opportunity to do that as much as in college.

"I found out [coaching the Miami Dolphins] that I like coaching college better because you could develop players personally, athletically, academically and all that a little more than in pro ball," said Saban. "Even though I loved the status of coaching in pro football and the kind of guys you coach and you're coaching in the best league against the best players."

After a two-year stint in the NFL where he went 15-17, Saban wanted to return to the college ranks, but knew he couldn't go back to LSU, who hired Les Miles and had gone 11-2 in both seasons with him as head coach. So, instead he took the Alabama job and went on to build them into the powerhouse of college football, winning six national championships from 2009-2022.

Since Saban's retirement after the end of the 2023 season, he has expressed his love for the state of Louisiana and the fans of LSU multiple times, but he never said out loud that it was one of the biggest mistakes of his life until his interview with Clark.

What would've happened to LSU if Nick Saban had stayed? Nobody knows, but it's truly one of the biggest what ifs in college football that could've changed the course of the sport over the last 15 years.

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