Lou Saban, R.I.P.

Vagabond football coach Lou Saban passed away this morning at his home in Myrtle Beach, SC. He was 87. 

Late in his career, after stints in the NCAA, AFL and NFL, Saban spend two years at the University of Miami. He came to Coral Gables by way of the Buffalo Bills and brought name recognition to a then obscure bunch of Hurricanes. Saban went 9-13 between 1977-1978 and was instrumental in the recruitment of quarterback Jim Kelly.

Saban was essentially run out of Miami after a 6-5 record and win over arch rival Florida. Controversy brewed after Saban was deemed unsympathetic to a young man three of his players tossed into an on campus lake. The man was Jewish and outcries within the Jewish community proved impossible to overcome. Saban then spent a year at Army and then two years at Central Florida before returning to coach high school football in the late 1980s.

In his youth, Saban played for Indiana University and spent three years with the Cleveland Browns. One of the more colorful coaches in the game, Saban will truly be missed.

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