Nick Saban spent 17 seasons coaching the University of Alabama to unprecedented success. A new six-part documentary series on ESPN aims to show what was happening behind the scenes during all of it.
According to Variety, Saban will debut at 6 p.m. on October 8 on ESPN. The series was produced by Words + Pictures, the same company that worked with ESPN on the project. During Saban's tenure at Alabama, he maintained a strict policy about internal footage. Russell Dinallo, who directed the series, explained that Saban "sort of had this standing policy that none of that was to ever leave the building while he was coaching. As part of telling his story, he said. 'OK, now this is the time to go ahead and release that stuff. So we had access to all that."
That footage includes what Dinallo described as "moments in the locker room with him speaking to the team after some of their biggest wins, after some of their most crushing losses." Words + Pictures and ESPN gained access to hundreds of hours of that previously unreleased material.
The series goes beyond Alabama. It also covers Saban's time at Louisiana State University and his tenure with the Miami Dolphins, which the documentary treats as a difficult chapter in his career. Viewers will also learn about his relationship with his father, who died before he could see his son coaching at the highest levels of the sport.
More than 70 people who have worked with or played for Saban appear in the series. The interview list includes Bill Belichick, LSU head coach and former Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Kirby Smart, Tim Tebow, former Alabama quarterback and Super Bowl champion Jalen Hurts, and Tua Tagovailoa. Saban and his wife, Ms. Terry Saban, also participated.
Brian Lockhart, senior vice president of ESPN's original content production, said in a statement that "Nick Saban's impact extends far beyond the championships and historic success he achieved on the field" and called the series "a definitive portrait of one of the most consequential figures in college football history."
Dinallo noted that audiences may feel they already know Saban from watching games. Fans will no doubt recognize "the super intense guy on the sidelines, but I don't know that he has ever really opened up to tell his story," he said.
The series is produced by Words + Pictures' Connor Schell, Libby Geist, Aaron Cohen, and Alexa Conway, along with Tom Rinaldi. Gabe Honig serves as co-executive producer and showrunner. Saban premieres October 8 on ESPN.
