Lindy's Sports Annuals Presents PREVIOUS COACHES TRIED, WITH MODEST SUCCESS, to revive LSU's once• proud footbali tradition. Mike Archer and Curley Haliman couidn't sustain Bili Amsparger's momentum from the mid-1980s. When Gerry DiNardo took over in 1995, he calied it his responsibility to "bring the magic back to Tiger Sta• dium." Five seasons iater, David Copperfield couldn't have rescued the DiNardo era, which ended with a 3-8 thud. LSU Chancelior Mark Emmert opted to cut through the politics of past searches and hire someone he thought could awaken what he calied a sleeping giant - a program with enor• Emmert said iong hours are only a part of Saban's blueprint for suc• mous potential. cess. With a little luck and a lot of money, Emmert lured Nick Saban from "Many people work very hard," Emmert said. "Many people work as Michigan State. hard as Nick does. But to stay as focused on the detail of what needs to Yes, he was widely seen as an opportunis- tic carpetbagger on his way to the NFL. And, no, he realiy hadn't accomplished enough to warrant the miliion-doliar salary. And, weli, he didn't even have any real ties to LSU. Yet, four seasons, two SECchampionships and three January bowl games - and, yes, one national championship later - Saban proved to be the perfect guy for the job. With a golden touch built not on sleight of hand but on hard work and an almost-obses• sive focus and attention to detail, Saban took LSU to the 2004 Nokia Sugar Bowl and brought back to Tiger Stadium a national championship banner. Skip Bertman, who became the school's director of athletics before Saban's second sea• son, coached LSU to five basebali national titles in a 10-year span. He speaks with increasing respect about the turnaround Saban orches• trated. "Nick might be the best coach I've ever seen," Bertman said. "Not occur and to have a systematic game plan for achieving that success is, just the best footbali coach, but the best coach, period. What he's done I think, a realiy distinct characteristic that he has." here is utterly remarkable." LSU fans are believers. Some scoffed when Emmert agreed to pay LSU fans waited a long time for the sequel to the national champi• Saban $1.2 miliion a year for five seasons. Fewer raised eyebrows after onship season of 1958, the days of Paul Dietzel and his Chinese Bandits the 2001 SECchampionship season, when LSU raised Saban's salary to and Biliy Cannon, who a year later would win the Heisman Trophy. $1.6 miliion. Although it was 45 years later, Saban delivered with lightning speed. Before the 2004 Sugar Bowl, Emmert said the only comments he "Nick has exceeded my expectations in the rapidity with which he's heard from fans about money were pleas to do whatever it takes to keep been able to transform the program," Emmert said. "I think everything Saban from leaving Baton Rouge for the NFL. He and Bertman began that's happened has happened largely as I expected, but a lot sooner working on a new contract for Saban, a deal they said would be the most than I expected." lucrative in coliege footbali in terms of incentives, deferred payments and In a populist state whose natives wink at political shenanigans, shout other extras. "Let the good times roli" in Cajun French, and cast a wary eye on out• Not since the late Charles McClendon's last four years (1976-79) had siders, Saban rebuilt LSU into a national power with a businesslike an LSU coach produced four consecutive winning seasons. Saban's 39-13 approach that won him few bouquets in the media, but found grass-roots record featured the most victories in any four-year span in school history. aliegiance. Not bad for a self-proclaimed West Virginia hilibilly. His tireless work ethic - Saban's wife says he sleeps about three Before Saban arrived, the Tigers had eight losing seasons in 11 years. hours a night - is almost legendary in Louisiana. Saban hasn't had a losing season in 10 years as a coliege head coach. LSU defensive back Travis Daniels finished practice one night at 5:30 One of the most appealing aspects of coaching at LSU, Saban said, p.m., and five hours later he passed the coaches' offices on a late-night was its high profile in Louisiana. He grew frustrated at Michigan State, fried chicken run. He saw Saban's Mercedes-Benz S430 in the parking where his program played second fiddle to Michigan for that state's foot• lot. bali aliegiance and even took a backseat to the basketbali team in support "I don't think he goes to sleep," Daniels said. "I think he's working on campus. ali night. I don't know how he stays married. His car's always there." Nothing of the sort would impede him at LSU, where he expected to 12 A CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON 2003 ~, ,"*i*tJ!!",Wi,%iT ~ 325Justin2966-46-3 Vincent6-2GuardBack2926-3223 6-2 257 OFFENSIVEAI -.,Wi.*"~:,y'-_,-'~-""""' '"STARTERS'c:,",,',6-2'6-4' ~,;,,AndrewTackleKyleTravisDavid200StephenCoreyMarquiseLaRonMichaelSo.Sr.LinebackerBen6-4313Jr.Jack180Fr.Back2596-7ChadEricLionel208Matt2287RodneyNate295213KevinRandallFr.5-10'88 AlexanderWilkersonWilliamsHuntMauck.LivingsLavalaisJonesWebsterSteltzDanielsTurnerLandryGuardJr.6-4BackEnd243Whitworth6-1Cornerback187ReedGayFr.-RSClayton321Sr.PetermanJr.6-5HillQuarterRight Strong6-1Sr.Linebacker197 178Back5-11 Jr. I ~ " 5-9 t1'S*:~''%iT "Safety6-3 Sr. ~Safety Jr. _'VI'~1i6 ••.•• 189244Sr.6-0ReceiverEnd I."'''SoJr6-4220297. .. End": . '" Jr.201 . Eric Edwards i'c'" Tackle 6-5 Sr. Cameron6-4~ Vaughn" ,Y " 6-0 Marcus DeverySpears Henderson Tight . WideLeft DEFENSIVE STARTERS Li"b"k" [0~,:1 Com""'" ;'~"JI'!&1H'r, T"kI, IF,,,iL'" L,ftI'&mIRighlT'ghlIFO"RoooiogRighiEodL,"Flook"C"I"RigmRighi.. I'Mik"I'NiOkl'" "Will" I L" II mine the state's rich recruiting base, relieved. You know: 'If I can just get the electric bill paid this month, Still, he recognized he would have to win the hearts and minds of I'm relieved. I can sit and watch TV and I'm 01<,' the LSU faithful, which often clings to "it's hard to change. Those people the past as much as it laments its mis- don't become the preside~t of IBM next takes. Even as they grow weary of "the COACHING CAREER week. You've got to build. It's an expec• way things have always been done Year School Record Bowl tation you grow up with. It's a culture. 1990 Toledo 9-2 here," they maintain a reverence for None It becomes a part of everything you do, "the way things have always been done 1995 Michigan State 6·5·1 Independence and it becomes a standard." Sun here," 1996 Michigan State 6·6 Whatever they call Saban's system, 1997 Michigan State 7·5 Aloha After Steve Spurrier and Florida LSU fans aren't looking for change any• 1998 Michigan State 6·6 None drilled LSU in each of Saban's first two more. He began 2004 with a national 1999 Michigan State 9·2 Citrus* seasons in Baton Rouge, Saban 2000 LSU 8·4 Peach championship victory and a chance to reminded fans the Fun 'n' Gun wasn't 2001 LSU 10·3 Sugar land what many recruiting analysts see as built in a day. He also spoke of the dan• 2002 LSU 8·5 Cotton the nation's top recruiting class for the gers of being content with the status 2003 LSU 13·1 Sugar second consecutive year. quo. Total 10 years 82·39·1 He and his standard are a part of the "Some people expect to win," *Saban did not coach Michigan State in the Citrus Bowl, culture now. The good times - and the a 37·34 win over Florida. Saban said. "Some people expect to be Tigers - are rolling .• A CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON 13 ONE, THE TEAM'S ELDER STATESMAN, is a former professional baseball player and an unlikely pass• ing quarterback of a national championship team. The other, the senior member on defense, is a former prison guard and an improbable consensus All-American, the reluctant marquee lineman of college football's stingiest defense of 2003. Meet Matt Maucl< and Chad Lavalais, a couple of 24-year-old men whose indirect paths to Baton Rouge led LSU to a national title at an age when their peers are raising families and becoming veterans of the work force. These guys had the time of their lives as teammates referred to them as Gramps, Pawpaw, Pops and Old Man. Those rings they have these days have a big 01' #1 on them, and say nothing about their age. But their "advanced" age probably has some• thing to do with how and why the Tigers earned those BCS fatties for their fingers. One a settling force on defense, the other on offense ... guys who know about hard work, patience and stepping up when they had to ... guys who younger players looked to and learned from ... and guys who have been through enough to recognize and relish the astounding accomplishment they helped their team achieve. LSU coach Nick Saban said the Tigers had a mature mindset for their championship run. He credited freshmen who grew up fast, high-profile juniors who learned from the SECchampionship season of 2001 and a disappointing finish a year later, plus role players of every development ~ level. ~ Certainly it would be simplistic to ascribe too much credit to Lavalais ~ and Mauck for the advanced poise and discipline of this team. ~ Still, Saban and his players say, there's no doubt that Lavalais, ~ a homegrown late bloomer, and Mauck, a transplanted Indiana boy, shaped and exemplified the personality of a team that rose from presea• son status of "other contenders/pretenders" to national champion.