Rival SEC Coach Reveals Nick Saban’s Wife Miss Terry Always Called Shots for Him at Alabama
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Nick Saban ran Alabama football with an iron fist for 17 years, winning six national titles. But Texas coach Steve Sarkisian recently admitted that one person held even more power than the legendary coach. Before Saban ever offered anyone a job in Tuscaloosa, candidates had to pass an official dinner interview with his wife, Miss Terry.
Sarkisian brought up the famous dinner policy while speaking to reporters ahead of ESPN’s new documentary on Saban. His wife, Loreal Sarkisian, traveled to Tuscaloosa for the premiere. The trip brought back memories of how Terry Saban served as the ultimate gatekeeper for the most powerful program in college football.
“That’s when you really get the stamp of approval. It doesn’t really matter how much Coach Saban likes you. Miss Terry’s got to like you too. They’re great people… They’ve been great to us, our family, for quite some time now,” said Sarkisian, as Tyler Horka reported on X.
Nick and Terry Saban go way back. They met at a seventh-grade science fair, have been married since 1971, and adopted two children. Off the field, the couple has stayed busy with charity and community projects.
Terry’s influence is hard to ignore. During a rapid-fire College GameDay segment in 2025, Pat McAfee teased Nick about a $50 million Penn State job. Terry, sitting in the audience, closed the door on his return. She said Nick could win an eighth title, but they were having too much fun.
“I have no doubt if Nick wanted to go back to coaching, he could win his eighth national championship,” Terry Saban said. “But we’re having too much fun, and we wouldn’t want to take that opportunity away from all of our baby coaches, like Kirby [Smart] and Lane [Kiffin].”
Nick joked, “Mrs. Always Right has spoken,” and Terry flashed a thumbs-up.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian knows that influence well. He worked under Saban in 2016 and again from 2019 to 2020. He has said several times that Saban saved his career after Sarkisian had been fired at USC after alcohol issues.
“He believed in me at a time when I was having a hard time even getting an interview,” Sarkisian said.
He thanked Saban in person after Texas beat Alabama 34 to 24 in Tuscaloosa in 2023.
“None of this would’ve been possible without you,” he told him at midfield.
That win spearheaded Texas’ run to the College Football Playoff after a Big 12 title, and Sarkisian later reflected on it.
“As great as it was for us to go and get that win, that would never have been possible without Nick Saban, ironically,” Sarkisian said. “To think that was where I kind of resurrected my career, in that stadium with him, to have that moment, which was our biggest moment in three years here, was something I won’t forget. I’m forever grateful that he and Miss Terry were both there for me at a tough time in my life.”
Now that bond is showing up again. Sarkisian told reporters during Wednesday’s SEC Media Teleconference that his wife, Loreal, will attend the premiere of ESPN’s Nick Saban documentary in Tuscaloosa on Thursday night.
Steve can’t make it because he’s finalizing game-day preparations, as the No. 1 Longhorns enter week six with the rest of the conference chasing them.
Still, her presence says a lot about what the Sabans have meant to the family.
Sarkisian spoke about it with the media.
“They’re great people,” Sarkisian said of the Sabans. “My wife is actually going to the release tomorrow night in Tuscaloosa as well. They’ve been great to us and our family for quite some time now. So, really happy for them.”
The six-episode ESPN docuseries “Saban” follows the Hall of Fame coach through 17 seasons at Alabama and six national championships, with hundreds of hours of footage never seen before.
More than 70 voices appear, including Bill Belichick, Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Kirby Smart, and Tim Tebow. All six episodes stream on the ESPN App Thursday at 6 p.m. ET, and the series airs on ESPN through October and into November.
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