Leave it Nick Saban to turn a phrase.

The former Alabama coach revealed during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” he once suffered from a case of “the dumb ass.”

He was talking about taking the Miami Dolphins head coaching job. It isn’t that Miami is a bad organization. In fact, he raved about then-owner Wayne Huizenga.

The “College GameDay” analyst was talking about what coaches need to check off their list before taking an NFL coaching gig.

“You have to look at the roster,” he explained. “You got to take a look at the salary cap. You have to look at the quarterback situation.

“You have to take all those things into consideration because, if you don’t, you could end up in a no-win situation.”

Saban, 73, left LSU to take the Miami job in 2005, and the signs were there.

“We were $17 million over the cap, which was a lot back in those days,” Saban explained. “That was 20 years ago. We had the oldest team in the league. They were 4-12. Got no quarterback.

“I’m thinking I’m gonna make it right.”

He added the franchise had no draft capital after the Ricky Williams trade either.

“I knew it,” he said, “but I had a bad case of the dumb ass.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.