Alabama Crimson Tide Head Coach Nick Saban. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Nick Saban has a chance to win his 7th national championship and 6th at Alabama when his top-ranked program faces Clemson tonight but, long before Saban was a college football titan, he worked under Bill Belichick in Cleveland in the early 90's.
Saban's known Belichick since coaching with his father at the Naval Academy in 1982.
The two became great friends and even went on to coach against one another during Saban's brief stint leading the Dolphins in 2005 and 2006.
Saban told ESPN he's learned a great deal from Belichick.
"I learned probably more when I was a defensive coordinator in Cleveland working under him for four years, not just about football but about the organization of having a good program, and how to define the expectation for people in your organization so that they knew exactly what to expect, and exactly what you expected from them so that they could do their job well," he said.
Belichick's Pats will host the Chargers Sunday in the divisional round of the playoffs, with hopes of eventually reaching a fourth Super Bowl in five years.
WBZ NewsRadio's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports