How the April 27 Tuscaloosa Tornado Changed Nick Saban

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Two days after a tornado ravaged Tuscaloosa and left more than 50 people dead, Nick Saban met with his players and told them they needed to be more than only a football team.

The worst tornado in Alabama history created more than $2 billion worth of damage and Saban wanted his team out helping those suffering from the traumatic event. He told them even being out in the community could help lift the spirits of a town that supports Alabama football with all its might. With the help of sports psychologist Dr. Kevin Elko, Saban focused on a phrase to guide his players: "I'm not looking for blessing to come to my life; I'm looking to be a blessing in someone's life."

It was a charge that he had to live up to, too. He had to do more than provide financial support to heal a broken community; he had to be out there to provide hope. He had to be there emotionally for Carson Tinker, his starting long snapper, who lost his girlfriend Ashley Harrison to the storm. Terry Saban told people it was the first time her husband stopped thinking about football since he started playing when he was 11-years old.

"People don't know Nick Saban well; you maybe see him in press conferences," Elko said. "He was incredible, just an unbelievable leader. He did one of the best pieces of leadership work you ever could imagine."

In the aftermath of the storm, Saban and his team built 17 houses in the area. Alabama football players were active around town, helping out in any way they could, whether that was repairing roofs or carrying away debris. When the football season started in September, they were tasked with uplifting a community on Saturdays. There were bumps along the way, particularly a home loss to LSU in the "Game of the Century," but come January Saban was hoisting Alabama's 14th national championship trophy. After an icy Gatorade bath and hugs with players, Saban told an ESPN reporter he thought it'd give "everybody a lot of joy and spirit and hope."

"We are going to continue to work and move forward and try to help people restore their lives in our community," he said. "Things like this make everybody happy and give them a lot of hope."
"I wouldn't say it was pressure. I would think of it more as pride."

Nearly five years after the tornado leveled Tuscaloosa on April 27, 2011, the experience continues to reverberate with the Alabama head coach. That day forever changed Saban and made him into more of a "we" guy, says Elko. Saban never shied away from doing charity work -- his Nick's Kids foundation had long been a priority -- but the tornados encouraged him to be more active in the community.

That's not always easy for the Alabama head coach. At his core, Saban is introverted and not particularly comfortable hobnobbing and working the fundraising circuit. He doesn't enjoy talking about himself to strangers, but the experience forced him to overcome it for the sake of helping others. Lars Anderson, who wrote "The Storm and The Tide," said his inner circle of friends grew from five to 10 people in the aftermath of the tornado.

"It doesn't sound like a lot, but he let more people into his life," Anderson said. "And it made him realize the power he wields in this state and really just how he can comfort people in a way that no one else can as the head coach at Alabama."
His players noticed a change in his outward involvement, too.

"I noticed he became more charitable after that," former Alabama kicker Cade Foster said. "You hear more stories of him donating his time and money through his Nick's Kids program and through the Catholic center on campus. So perhaps it did. Looking back, I'm sure it did."

Since the tornado, Saban has won three national championships, but his "we" mentality is still there. He's been very active with youth suicide preventionorganizations and in 2012 received the Grant Teaff "Breaking the Silence" Award for his work. Recently, Saban played a key role in getting youth suicide prevention legislation introduced in Alabama.

Saban does even more work behind the scenes. When former Alabama running back Altee Tenpenny passed away last October, Saban made a sizable donation to cover the funeral costs. When a reporter asked Alabama about it, the school's spokesperson didn't want to acknowledge it; Saban didn't want anyone to know he did it.

When Kerry Goode, another former Alabama running back, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) last year, Saban quickly reached out privately to help.

"Nick tells me all the time, 'Let me know how I can help,'" Elko said. "Nick and Terry helped get (Kerry) up at Emory for his treatment. He just doesn't flaunt it. He just doesn't tell anybody."

Saban and Elko, who has a new book "The Sender" coming out next month, will both be raising money for Goode at an upcoming charity event in May. Saban wasn't particularly close with Goode before his diagnosis but realized the right thing to do as the face of the Alabama football program was to help out in any way he could. It all stems back to the phrase he used to guide his players through one of the hardest times in their lives: "I'm not looking for blessing to come to my life; I'm looking to be a blessing in someone's life."

Saban will forever be judged by his wins and losses and all the national championships he acquires during his time at Alabama. But if April 27, 2011 taught Saban one thing it was that he can -- and should -- make a difference outside of the football field.

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