Saban returned to the Bills—by then in the National Football League (NFL) following the AFL–NFL merger—from 1972 to 1976, reaching the playoffs once but failing to bring Buffalo another championship.

A runner and passer, he led his high school's athletic conference in scoring as a senior and was named an all-state and all-conference halfback.

[5] Saban was also a standout shot putter, winning a Big Ten Conference competition at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1943 with a throw of 48 feet and 11 1/2 inches.

[13] Saban, then stationed at Fort Benning in Georgia, was named the college team's second Most Valuable Player after quarterback Glenn Dobbs of the University of Tulsa.

[9][16] Saban was selected in the 10th round of the 1944 NFL draft by Card-Pitt, a temporary merger between the Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers made necessary after the teams were gutted by players' military service.

[29] Saban beat more than 50 applicants to win the head coaching job at Case in February 1950, thanks to what the university's president called his "unusually sound knowledge of football" and his "leadership qualities".

[39] Saban moved on to a job as head coach at Western Illinois University in 1957, where he quickly built up a successful team.

[40] The Western Illinois Leathernecks finished with a record of 6–1–1 in 1958, followed by an undefeated 9–0 season in 1959, when Saban also served as an assistant under Otto Graham in the College All-Star Game.

[43] The following April, Saban brought in quarterback Babe Parilli, who formerly played for the Browns and Green Bay Packers, as a backup in the AFL's biggest-ever trade at the time.

"[46] In January 1962, Saban was named the coach of the Buffalo Bills, another AFL team, signing a one-year contract worth $20,000 ($201,000 in 2023 dollars).

[49] Saban also acquired Jack Kemp, a quarterback, from the San Diego Chargers, who had put him out on waivers while he recovered from a finger injury.

[52] Helped by Gilchrist's running and quarterback Kemp's passing, the Bills finished the 1964 season with a 12–2 record and won the AFL championship.

[54] The team won despite drama involving Gilchrist, who came into conflict with Saban frequently and asked to be traded on numerous occasions.

[57][58] In the 1965 AFL championship game against the Chargers, when offensive linemen Billy Shaw and Dave Behrman were injured, Saban inserted veteran Ernie Warlick opposite rookie Paul Costa in a double tight end formation, which helped the Bills win the game, 23–0.

[59] Saban was named coach of the year for the second time in a row, silencing critics who had said he was indecisive, did not use his players properly and was not a good play-caller.

Saban later stated that a variety of factors all came to play in deciding to leave, ranging from his satisfaction in having two great years to believing the Maryland job would be best for his family over the grind of pro football.

[64] He returned to professional football as coach of the AFL's Denver Broncos in December 1966, signing a 10-year contract with an annual salary of $50,000 ($470,000 in 2023 dollars).

[64] He replaced Ray Malavasi, an assistant who took over after Saban's former Browns teammate, Mac Speedie, resigned from the post after the first two games of the season.

[70] Although he was not successful in Denver, he was cited by team owner Gerald Phipps as bringing in the "basic organization that we have now--administrative, scouting, coaching, the whole thing.

[75] Under Saban, Simpson continued to improve in 1973, setting a single-game rushing record with 250 yards in the season opener against the New England Patriots.

He was reportedly angry about how Bills owner Ralph Wilson handled the re-signing of Simpson, who had demanded a trade at the beginning of the season.

[85][86] He had double-bypass heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in the summer of 1977, but recovered by the time Miami's season began later that year.

[89] Saban instituted an extensive recruiting network to rebuild Miami's program, and was named the school's athletic director in early 1978.

[90] One of his recruits was quarterback Jim Kelly, who starred at Miami and went on to a Pro Football Hall of Fame career with the Bills.

That April, three freshman Miami players attacked a 22-year-old Jewish man wearing a yarmulke who was walking to religious services on campus.

[93] By the time Saban joined Army, he had developed a reputation as an itinerant coach, a "notorious job-hopper" who was nevertheless respected for rebuilding teams in poor condition.

[98][99] At the end of 1982, Saban left the Yankees to take a job as head football coach at the University of Central Florida (UCF), a Division II school that aspired to move its program to the top of the college ranks.

[105] He left after two seasons and was appointed head football coach at South Fork High School, a rival of Martin County that had a record of 1–9 the previous year.

[112] Shortly after his firing, Saban signed on to help start a football program at Alfred State College, a two-year technology school southeast of Buffalo.

Lorraine committed suicide at their home in Orchard Park, New York, in the summer of 1977 while readying to join Lou at his new job in Miami.