Saban faces Flashes as a ‘James Gang Disciple’

As the final 12 seconds ticked off the game clock in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship, O.J. Howard and Derrick Henry lifted an orange, 10-gallon Gatorade cooler high above University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban and doused the back of his crimson windbreaker with the fruit punch flavored thirst quencher.

Saban’s trademarked toughness, discipline and meticulous attention to detail had once again catapulted the 64-year-old to the pinnacle of the sport and an unprecedented fourth title in seven years.

But the trek to Tuscaloosa and college football stardom wasn’t without its fair share of stops. There was the one season spent at Syracuse University as the outside…