Nick Saban Legacy Awards honor Pat Dye, David Cutcliffe
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Legendary football coach Nick Saban honored two of his coaching brethren Monday night at the Nick Sabana Legacy Awards ceremony. The late Pat Dye and former Ole Miss and Duke coach David Cutcliffe were this year’s recipients of the annual award.
The Nick Saban Legacy Award (NSLA) is a national award created in 2022 to honor and recognize the lifetime achievement of a college coach and his contributions to the game of football — and celebrates his contributions to the game of football, his community and his development of young men and coaches as they further their own careers.
Coach Pat Dye
Coach Pat Dye Dye played college football at the University of Georgia, then went on to play in the Canadian Football League for the Edmonton Eskimos from 1961 to 1962.
When his playing career ended, his coaching career began, as Dye became an assistant coach with the University of Alabama, coaching linebackers from 1965-1973. He then became the head coach at East Carolina, then coached one season at Wyoming before taking the head coaching job at Auburn.
During his career at Auburn from 1981-1992, he guided the Tigers to four SEC championships and was named SEC Coach of the Year three times.
Dye was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005, and passed away in 2020.
Pat Dye, Jr. was on hand to accept the award for his father. He said having his father’s name mentioned with Saban’s was a “very humbling” experience. He also stressed how much Auburn has meant to his family.
“Auburn was great to me dad, and still is great to him. We have wonderful memories and a bond with the school and the city of Auburn that is very special.”
Pat Dye, Jr
Saban said Dye represented for him the right way to coach and was not just a winner, but a developer of good men.
“Coach Dye won the right way. He coached the right way, and for the right reasons. Every time I came across him in my career, there was always a mutual respect for each other, and for the profession and the game.”
Nick Saban
Coach David Cutcliffe
A Birmingham native, David Cutcliffe attended Banks High School and the University of Alabama (although he did not play football at Alabama). He returned to Banks as the head football coach of the Jets before being hired as an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee.
At Tennessee, Cutcliffe worked his way up to offensive coordinator and QB coach, where he coached some of the SEC’s most legendary signal-callers in Heath Shuler and Peyton Manning.
He was hired as the head coach at Ole Miss in 1998, where he mentored and coached Eli Manning. He coached the Rebels to their first 10-win season in 32 years in 2003.
Cutcliffe was hired as the head coach at Duke in 2008 and remained at the helm for the Blue Devils until 2021. He led Duke to the ACC Championship Game in 2013, falling to eventual national champion Florida State.
Cutcliffe, Saban said, “was one of the best quarterback teachers and one of the best offensive minds in the history of the game.”
“I am not even humbled by having my name mentioned in the same breath as Coach Dye and Coach Saban. I am almost humiliated. We all got into this for the same reasons. To make ma difference in the lives of our players. It’s those relationships that measure our success. And Coach Dye and Coach Saban were two of the best at building those relationships.”
David Cutcliffe
The Nick Saban Legacy Awards
The award was established in 2022 and has included some of the greatest coaches to ever walk on a football field.
Previous recipients include:
- Frank Beamer (2024)
- Bobby Bowden (2024)
- Bill Snyder (2023)
- Vince Dooley (2023)
- Steve Spurrier (2022)
- Eddie Robinson (2022)
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