Is Nick Saban the greatest college football coach of all time after winning Monday’s championship game over Clemson?
The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Clemson Tigers 45-40 on Monday night, crowning Alabama National Champions for the fourth time in seven years. Nick Saban was able to make some gutsy calls down the stretch to swing the momentum toward the Crimson Tide, ultimately squeezing the last bit of life out of Clemson.
Since the win on Monday night, there has been one burning question in the mind of seemingly everyone: Is Nick Saban the greatest college football coach of all time?
For the most part, legendary former Alabama head coach Bear Bryant is revered as the greatest coach in college football history, and everyone thought there would never be another Bryant to come through the ranks of college football. That was until Saban showed up in Tuscaloosa. Both of these guys are incredible coaches, but let’s take a look at their stats and see how they compare.
Bryant was Alabama’s head football coach for 25 years from 1959-1982. Bryant turned Alabama into one of the greatest programs in college football history over Bryant’s 25-year reign. Bear went 232-46, which gives him a win percentage of .824. Bryant led Alabama to 24 straight bowl games, winning 12 of them. The big number that makes Bryant thought of as the greatest college football coach, though: six. Six is the number of National Championships he brought home to Alabama.
Saban became Alabama’s head coach in 2007, and it only took him two seasons to win his first National Championship in Tuscaloosa. Saban’s winning percentage to this point is .854 at Alabama, which is higher than Bryant’s. As of Monday night, Saban claimed his fifth National Championship, and his fourth with Alabama in the last seven years.
These are two of the best head coaches in college football history, but does Saban claim the title over Bryant of the greatest college football coach of all time?
I think — yes. Saban is coaching in the most competitive era college football has ever seen, with everything about the game turned up a few notches since the days Bryant roamed the sidelines. Recruiting, TV deals — everything about the game is just different.
Bryant won three of his six championships in the midst of the highest point of segregation, which cut ties in recruiting with a large percentage of Alabama’s population, making his feat of six championships that much more impressive.
However, Saban has had to deal with more obstacles than Bryant had to, such as only having 85 scholarships to give players. Bryant could recruit whomever he wanted, and he could just stockpile them on the bench to keep those players away from rivals. In today’s game, Saban can’t do that, which means those guys he could stockpile end up going to play for another major university that competes against Alabama.
Saban, without any question, is the greatest college football coach of all time because he has won four national titles in seven years, creating the best dynasty college football has ever seen.