Nick Saban opens up about ‘the most humiliating defeat’ he’s ever had at Alabama in 17-year stint

Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban spent 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, leading them to six national titles. And he remembers every high and low moment.

At the Irondale (Alabama) Mayor's Prayer Breakfast, the 72-year-old opened up about his most humiliating defeat, which came during his debut campaign with Alabama in 2007: a 21-14 loss to the Louisana-Monroe Warhawks at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"If you remember back the first year we were at Alabama, we lost to ULM. You may not even know what that stands for. ... It was the most humiliating defeat maybe of my entire coaching career.

"I think we had five guys suspended by the NCAA, we had three more suspended for disciplinary reasons. We played horrible in the game. I was almost ashamed of how we represented the university and the program. We fumbled the ball six times. ... "So, everybody's disappointed. Fans are disappointed, coaches are disappointed, players are disappointed.

"But when you're the coach, you have to win the locker room after the game and try to inspire your guys when they didn't perform very well."

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Nick Saban shares memory of funny altercation following ULM loss

Nick Saban continued sharing a memory of the loss. He said he went to a gas station while wearing his LSU national championship ring. And this led to a funny interaction with the gas station employee.

"So, I go to pay the guy. And the guy says, 'Wow, what's that ring?' And I said, 'That's a national championship ring, and we're gonna do the same here at Alabama.' And the guy looks at me and says, 'We'll never do it as long as that Nick Saban is the coach.'"

Despite finishing his debut Alabama campaign with a 7-6 record, an NCAA investigation revealed that players received improper benefits. Thus, five wins were vacated, adjusting the record to 2-6.

However, he later achieved redemption, finishing his glorious 17-season stint with Alabama with six national championships.