What a day it has been in the football coaching world. In the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks moved on from head coach Pete Carroll, who of course shined in college with the USC Trojans. But just hours later, an even larger bombshell dropped, and it involved one of the biggest names in college football.
Chris Low of ESPN reported on Tuesday that Alabama head coach Nick Saban was retiring at the age of 72. With that, the Crimson Tide have the unenviable task of finding someone to replace Saban, who brought the university six national championships. But yet again, this is a prestigious job, so they could potentially land a huge name to replaced Saban.
But before Saban's time at Tuscaloosa, he was the head coach for the LSU Tigers (2000-04), Michigan State Spartans (1995-99), and Toledo (1990). That's 28 years as a head coach at the collegiate level.
So, where does Saban rank all-time on the coach's win list in college?
Where does Nick Saban rank all-time on coaches' win list?
First things first, let's look at the amount of wins Saban had during his four head coaching stints. Overall, Saban has a 297 wins, paired with just 71 losses and one tie. That's impressive.
But that 297 wins total ranks fifth all-time in college football. The most wins belong to Joe Paterno, who earned 409 during his 46 years coaching the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Placing second on the all time wins list is Bobby Bowden, who earned 357 wins during his time with the Florida State Seminoles and West Virginia Mountaineers. Ranking third is Bear Bryant, who has 323 wins as head coach of the Crimson Tide, Kentucky Wildcats, Maryland Terrapins, and Texas A&M Aggies. Fourth all-time is Pop Warner with 311 leading Carlisle, Cornell, Pittsburgh, Stanford, and Temple.
Here is the Top 10 on college football's all-time win list for head coaches:
Coach | Wins | Schools |
|---|---|---|
1. Joe Paterno | 409 | Penn State |
2. Bobby Bowden | 357 | Florida State, West Virginia |
3. Bear Bryant | 323 | Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, Texas A&M |
4. Pop Warner | 311 | Carlisle, Cornell, Pitt, Stanford, Temple |
5. Nick Saban | 297 | Alabama, LSU, Michigan State, Toledo |
6. Amos Alonzo Stagg | 282 | Chicago, Pacific, Springfield |
7. Mack Brown | 276 | North Carolina, Texas, Tulane |
8. LaVell Edwards | 257 | BYU |
9. Tom Osborne | 255 | Nebraska |
10. Lou Holtz | 249 | Arkansas, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, William and Mary |
It is still shocking to see that Saban will no longer be coaching football, but the record shows that he will be among the most successful head coaches in collegiate history.