Nick Saban instantly regretted leaving Michigan State, new book says

Nick Saban immediately regretted his decision to leave Michigan State for LSU in 1999, going as far as placing a teary phone call requesting his job back, according to a new book about the heralded Alabama football coach.

As detailed in the book, Monte Burke's soon-to-be-released "Saban: The Making of a Coach," Saban called MSU trustee Joel Ferguson asking to return to the program shortly after abandoning his job with the Spartans for a new opportunity in Baton Rouge.

"He was down there by himself in a hotel room," Ferguson is quoted as saying in the book, referring to Saban, as reported by Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press. "He was lonely without (wife) Terry there and seemed fragile. He told me that he didn't like it there, and that he didn't think he wanted the LSU job and he wanted to come back."

According to Burke, Ferguson placed a call to the school's then-president Peter McPherson, who was reportedly open to Saban's return.

The day after speaking to Ferguson, Saban apparently called the Spartans then-athletic director Clarence Underwood, who claims that the coach was emotional and regretted his decision to leave MSU.

"It was five-thirty in the morning," Underwood said. "He just said, 'I made a mistake, and I want to come back.' He said he was lonely. He was crying."

Ferguson, however, was then unable to reach Saban later that day to tell him to come back to East Lansing, according to Burke's account. And when he finally did, Saban had changed his mind.

The rest is college lore.

With Saban at the helm, LSU won the national championship in 2003. Two years later, he left the Tigers to coach the NFL's Miami Dolphins.

And, after only two non-playoff seasons in South Florida, Saban returned to the college ranks, this time with Alabama.

Saban coached the Crimson Tide to a perfect 14-0 season in 2009, capped off by winning the national championship game.

He then led Alabama to back-to-back national titles in 2011 and 2012.