Lou Saban
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lou Saban | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | October 13, 1921 (age 85) |
| Place of birth | |
| Position(s) | Head Coach Guard |
| College | Indiana University |
| Career Record | 95-99-7 |
| Championships Won |
1965 AFL Championship 1964 AFL Championship |
| Playing Stats | DatabaseFootball |
| Coaching Stats | DatabaseFootball |
| Team(s) as a player | |
| 1946-1949 | AAFC Cleveland Browns |
| Team(s) as a coach/administrator | |
| 1960-1961 1962-1965 1967-1969 1970-1971 1972-1976 |
AFL Boston Patriots AFL Buffalo Bills AFL Denver Broncos NFL Denver Broncos NFL Buffalo Bills |
Louis Henry Saban (born October 13, 1921), a legendary coach in the American Football League, played college football at Indiana University where he was named All-Big Ten as a quarterback one year and All-Big Ten as a fullback in another. He began his pro career with the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). He was the team captain as the Browns dominated the AAFC in all four years of the league's existence. Saban was twice voted to the league's All-Star team as a linebacker. He went on to be head coach at Case Institute, and assistant coach at Northwestern University. In 1955, Saban was named as the head coach at Northwestern. Two years later, he moved on to Western Illinois University, where he would remain as head coach until he entered the professional football ranks to guide the Boston Patriots of the newly formed American Football League (AFL). In his last season at Western Illinois, his team had a perfect 9-0 record.
In the early 1960s the Buffalo Bills enjoyed an era of glory. The driving force behind it was Lou Saban, whose style of coaching won him the respect, love, and loyalty of his players. "Trader Lou" came to the Buffalo Bills as head coach in 1962, from the Patriots. He set to work building the Bills into a formidable defensive team, with a strong offense as well. His record at Buffalo during the AFL years was 36-17-3, with winning seasons in each of his four years.
In 1964 and 1965, the Bills went 12-2 and 10-3-1, en route to consecutive AFL championships. He was named Coach of the Year twice, but one week after winning his second title, he quit to become head coach at the University of Maryland, and then the Denver Broncos. He also served as head coach at the University of Miami from 1977 to 1978.
Saban had a very short stint coaching an expansion Arena Football franchise known as the Milwaukee Mustangs in 1994. Saban then served as the first Head Coach at SUNY Canton from 1995 until retiring in 2000. He returned to coaching in 2001 as head coach at Chowan College in North Carolina.
His cousin, Nick Saban, is currently the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide Football Team.[1]
| Preceded by Sam Weir |
University of Central Florida Head Football Coaches 1983-1984 |
Succeeded by Jerry Anderson |
| Preceded by Carl Selmer |
University of Miami Head Football Coach 1977–1978 |
Succeeded by Howard Schnellenberger |
| Preceded by Harvey Johnson |
Buffalo Bills Head Coaches 1972–1976 |
Succeeded by Jim Ringo |
| Preceded by Ray Malavasi |
Denver Broncos Head Coaches 1967–1971 |
Succeeded by Jerry Smith (coach) |
| Preceded by Tom Nugent |
University of Maryland Head Football Coaches 1966 |
Succeeded by Bob Ward |
| Preceded by Buster Ramsey |
Buffalo Bills Head Coaches 1962–1965 |
Succeeded by Joe Collier |
| Preceded by First coach |
Boston Patriots Head Coaches 1960–1961 |
Succeeded by Mike Holovak |
| Preceded by Bob Voigts |
Northwestern University Head Football Coaches 1955 |
Succeeded by Ara Parseghian |
Michie • Williams • Bliss • Graves •Dyer • Koehler • Kromer • Nolan • King • Boyers • Smither • Nelly • Beacham • Graves • Daly • Keyes • Mitchell • Daly • McEwan • Jones • Sasse • Davidson • Wood • Blaik • Hall • Dietzel • Cahill • Smith • Saban • Cavanaugh • Young • Sutton • Berry • Mumford • Ross • Brock
| Buffalo Bills Head Coaches |
|---|
| Ramsey • Saban • Collier • Johnson • Rauch • Johnson • Saban • Ringo • Knox • Stephenson • Bullough • Levy • W. Phillips • Williams • Mularkey • Jauron |
| Denver Broncos Head Coaches |
|---|
| Filchock • Faulkner • Speedie • Malavasi • Saban • Smith • Ralston • Miller • Reeves • W. Phillips • Shanahan |
Skinner • Harding • Bannon • Lewis • Kenly • Cooke • Peters • Dunbar • Markey • Nielsen • Melick • Lang • Larkin • Alston • Donnelly • Byrd • Faber • Dobson • Shaughnessy • Spears • Bryant • Tatum • Mont • Nugent • Saban • Ward • Lester • Claiborne • Ross • Krivak • Duffner • Vanderlinden • Friedgen
| Boston/New England Patriots Head Coaches |
|---|
| Saban • Holovak • Rush • Mazur • Bengtson • Fairbanks • Erhardt • Meyer • Berry • Rust • MacPherson • Parcells • Carroll • Belichick |
Ames • Noyes • Ewing • Culver • Van Doozer • Bannard • Hollister • McCornack • Johnson • Horr • Hammett • Grady • Murphy • Bachman • McDevitt • Thistlethwaite • Hanley • Waldorf • Voigts • Saban • Parseghian • Agase • Pont • Venturi • Green • Peay • Barnett • Walker • Fitzgerald
Categories: UCF Golden Knights football coaches | Army Black Knights football coaches | Miami Hurricanes football coaches | Maryland Terrapins football coaches | Northwestern Wildcats football coaches | 1921 births | Living people | American football quarterbacks | American football running backs | Indiana Hoosiers football players | Cleveland Browns (AAFC) players | Case Western Spartans football coaches | Washington Huskies football coaches | Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks football coaches | Boston Patriots (AFL) coaches | Denver Broncos coaches | Buffalo Bills (AFL) coaches