"When the New York Giants hired defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in 2007, cornerback Corey Webster felt a sense of deja vu. He said Spagnuolo's intensity, his attention to detail, and even his small stature reminded him of his former LSU coach, Nick Saban.

"The closest personality I could ever see, that I had been around like that, was Coach Saban," Webster said. "They had kind of that small-man complex, that toughness, and that showed throughout their defense. They had a physical, aggressive-style defense. And it made the players want to play, want to be into that. All you had to do was go out there and do what he said, and you were going to be successful.""