Nick Saban Shares Lifelong Love For Mercedes-Benz At SUV Launch in Tuscaloosa

Nick Saban loved Mercedes-Benz cars long before he became the greatest college football coach of all time or owned any dealerships, which he said makes it easy for him to be such an effective spokesperson for the brand.

Saban was one of many major public figures at Mercedes-Benz U.S. International in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday for the world premiere of their new GLE and GLS models. In a Q&A with MBUSI CEO Ola Kaellenius, Saban shared several personal stories about why he was naturally drawn to a manufacturer with the slogan "the Best or Nothing."

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"It actually started when I was a kid, probably 7 or 8 years old in West Virginia. I saw my first Mercedes car, and I saw that badge on the front, and it just looked different and better than anything I've ever seen," Saban said. "Finally, in 1981, coaching at the Naval Academy, I got a 240D. That was my first Mercedes, and ever since that time, we've had a Mercedes. We're so happy and proud to be a part of the brand."

The technologically stunning SUVs that debuted on Tuesday are a far cry from the diesel-powered four-door sedan Saban bought 45 years ago, but the coach said his 2009 national championship at Alabama looked a lot different than his last one in 2020, too.

"It's all about culture. I would take culture over system any day, because regardless of the system, your culture will make it work," Saban said. "We won running the ball and playing good defense. Then we became a no-huddle, spread team. We scored more points, and we didn't play as good on defense, but we won the championship doing that because the culture never changed. The culture never changed. How we played offense, how we played defense, what our system was all changed, but that didn't change."

Mercedes, likewise, has maintained a culture of excellence at their Tuscaloosa plant, where workers are celebrating the manufacture of the facility's five millionth vehicle.

"When you have a brand like we have at Mercedes or like we had at Alabama, you have an iconic brand. There's a responsibility, an obligation, and a high level of expectation that goes with that," Saban said. "We were expected to win every game. We're supposed to win the championship every year. At Mercedes, we're supposed to be the best quality, the best car anybody can drive or make, and have the least amount of problems. Well, we all have to have a responsibility and obligation to that standard."

Not once for mincing words, Saban also said when he got to Tuscaloosa in 2007, he wasn't interested in partnering with a brand he saw as inferior.

"When I first came to Alabama, they had the coach doing Kia commercials. So I said, 'I want my own marketing rights. You're not going to catch me on the damn stadium steps doing a Kia commercial.'" Saban laughed. "No disrespect to Kia - I'm just saying that was not the brand I wanted to associate with."

And it's not just about style or sophistication - Saban said Mercedes is committed to making safe vehicles, which he credits for saving the life of his own son, Nicholas.

"I would like to thank all of you because you've been one of the pioneers of safety for years and years and years," Saban said. "I guess you don't have an appreciation for that until you see your son when he's going to college, who was in an E class with five kids in the car, and they got T-boned by somebody who went through a red light. The car's totaled, and all five kids walk away. Nobody's hurt. So, you get a great appreciation for the technology and investment we've made in safety all through the years."

MBUSI CEO Ola Kaellenius said he expects the Tuscaloosa plant to operate and grow for decades to come, and we'll have more from a roundtable discussion with him in an article to come soon.

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