Thursday, November 8, 2012

Les Miles and Nick Saban Coaches with Different Birth Orders

  
Les Miles
                                                           
                                                                    Nick Saban


Les Miles coach of the LSU Tigers and Nick Saban coach of 
the Alabama Crimson Tide just met on the football field. 
Saban’s team came away with the win in the last possession 
of the game erasing LSU’s lead and the hope for a win in their 
home stadium only to lose 21-17.Both coaches are proven 
winners but their birth orders show them to approach their 
jobs with different personalities.


Unmasking Personalities
Understanding Birth Order can unmask the personalities of
people and understand how they see themselves and relate
to others. Each birth order has both positive and negative
qualities which are influenced by ones interaction with family
members, especially with their siblings.

Les Miles a Firstborn
Les Miles is a Firstborn with a sister 3 years younger than
himself. As a Firstborn he would look to the role of the
dominant parent and in his case it was his father. Hope
“Bubba” Miles was a big man of 300 lbs who loved to laugh
and eat. He supported his firstborn son in everything he did.
Hope had been in the Navy and was a gregarious Irishman.
He gave Les a good self image and the confidence to 
succeed. Les did not have to work to keep the throne and 
his position in the family. Being the oldest and a son to a 
father that loved sports secured the top spot for Les. He 
would be relaxed in this position as he had no fear that his 
younger sister would dethrone him. Les was a natural leader 
and played both football, baseball and was on the wrestling 
team in high school. In college he was an offensive lineman 
for the University of Michigan. He replaced Nick Saban as 
head coach at LSU in 2005.

Personality Traits
The first born is the natural CEO, they like to be in
charge. If they don’t feel threatened they can project
a relaxed atmosphere but the work ethic is strong and if
comfortably in their position they can make hard work
look easy.  Les likes to tell a lot of jokes and laughter is
a frequent sound coming from his office. As hard workers
most firstborns are harder on themselves than others. For
Les his late father is always never far from his thoughts.
He has said, “I was a guy raised to please my Dad”.
Firstborns also have a bit of an ego and like the limelight. 
He is described as the media’s darling and has done two
commercials for ESPN. He even has a following on Twitter
with 64,000 followers the most of any coach using social
media. On occasion he even “tastes” the grass from the
football field much to the delight of his fans. Secure within
himself he takes risk’s. Fake punts and onside kicks are just
a few of his elaborate plays that have earned him the name,
“Mad Hatter”. On his more personal side he is a family man
with four children who he does not neglect and takes his role
as a parent very seriously.   


Nick Saban a Second Born
Nick Saban is a Second born with sister Dianna just one
year older.  His sister called him “Brother” as his father
had the same first name. People in his coal mining town
still call him “Brother”. His father, Nick Sr. was the owner
and operator of Saban’s Service, a gas station but his passion
was football. He helped start the Pop Warner football program
in the 1960’s which still survives today. In high school Nick 
played both quarterback and defensive back but was also a
guard on the basketball team and shortstop on the baseball
team. He went to Kent State on a football scholarship playing
cornerback and safety. He has had numerous coaching 
positions and was the Head coach for LSU in 2004 when 
they won the National Title at the Sugar Bowl. He then went 
on to the Miami Dolphins and the NFL.


Personality Traits
As the Second born Nick would instinctively try to “dethrone”
his older sister, Dianna. At one time he tried to compete with
her and play the accordion. His mother made him stop all
athletics and practice, he soon changed his mind.  As a boy
it would have been easy to demote his sister as his father was
very involved in sports. Another trait of Second borns is that
they don’t like to be told what to do. Usually they strive to
earn enough money so others cannot control them. As the
Coach of the Alabama Tide Nick has a 32 million dollar
8 year contract, a record for any college coach. Coming
back to college football from the NFL may also have
something to do with the control of his players. He has said
he wanted to come back to college because that is where
he can make a difference in the lives of young people. That
may be true but they also don’t have multimillion dollar salaries.
He is known as a no nonsense coach that is driven to win,  
another common trait of the Second born.  Nick has been 
known to work all night looking at the same game film. Many 
reporters at news conferences see him as angry but Nick says 
he is just intense. Another trait of this birth order is that 
Two’s can be very secretive. While with the Dolphins he 
forbade his assistant coaches from speaking to the media. 
His assistant coaches say he is very demanding and he works 
his people hard. He is slow to laugh as he takes everything 
very seriously. As a perfectionist everything is focused on 
winning and success, anything that gets in the way is an 
obstacle. Some have labeled him a control freak and dictator 
but, just look at his results. As a Second born he feels 
everything that happens under him is a reflection on him and 
that he is responsible.

LSU vs. Alabama
Here we have the classic match up of two coaches one a 
Firstborn and the other a Second born that has moved up 
into the Firstborn position. Their football backgrounds 
show Les Miles to be more of an offensive man and Nick 
Saban would lean toward defense. Nick will show less 
emotion and keep control of both himself and his team. 
He will be the less flashy. Les will be the risk taker but 
Nick will show that never give up number Two birth order 
as slow and steady wins the race.  What will next year 
bring when these teams meet again?

For more information on Birth order get my book
Life’s Fingerprint: How Birth Order Affects Your Path 
Throughout Life; by Dr. Robert V.V. Hurst or visit
my website  www.mybirthorder.com

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