re: Matt Mauck comments on 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."

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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."

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"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."

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."

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I personally remember the leadership he displayed in rallying the athletes across all sports at the university to get out and volunteer. Many looked to him for guidance immediately following the tornado.