Saban, 53, will coach LSU in the bowl game before taking over a Dolphins franchise enduring its worst season since the 1960s. He's the sixth coach in team history, and the fourth since Huizenga took over as owner in 1994.
Touted as NFL material even when he was at Michigan State in the late 1990s, Saban has turned down previous overtures from at least five pro teams, including Atlanta and Chicago a year ago. He has been considered the favorite to become the Dolphins' coach since Dave Wannstedt resigned last month when they were 1-8.
Saban is 9-2 this season and 48-15 in five years at LSU, taking his team to a bowl game every season. Saban was an assistant coach in the NFL with the Houston Oilers in 1988-1989 and the Cleveland Browns from 1991-1993.
The highest-paid coach in college football, Saban is in the first year of an US$18.45 million, seven-year contract at LSU, but the deal has no buyout clause penalizing him for taking another job.
LSU went 3-8 the year before he arrived and 8-4 in his first season. An SEC title followed in 2001, and he led the Tigers to last season's BCS national championship.
"You look around and say, `OK, who's out there that's better than that?'" Huizenga said. "I couldn't find anybody."
RSS