Six National Championships In 12 Years Surpasses The Accomplishments Of Bear Bryant
Nick Saban, Bear Bryant, Alabama football
Published Jan. 11, 2020
By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com College Football Editor
The University of Alabama has been blessed to have had some of the greatest coaches in the history of college football.
Wallace Wade and Frank Thomas were two of the early ones who set the standard by winning National Championships in the 1920s, 30s and 40s.
The one who is largely recognized as the best of all time at the school is Paul “Bear” Bryant, who revived a morbid program and won six National Championships in 25 years. Were it not for Notre Dame (twice in the polls and twice in the field) he would have won 10.
But there is a new King at the Capstone and he is Nick Saban.
It’s not just because Saban has equaled Bryant with six titles at the helm of the Tide. It’s because of the unparalleled excellence of his teams. Even the Bear had a “dip,” three consecutive underwhelming seasons (8-3-1, 6-5, 6-5-1), sandwiched between two excellent eras.
Saban hasn’t had a dip. And that is what ultimately separates him from Bryant. Saban wins a title and he goes out and wins another one. Or at least competes for one. His worst years, after his first at Bama, is just two losses.
He gets a #1 recruiting class and follows that up with another #1 recruiting class.
He loses players – a projected six first-rounders this year – to the NFL Draft, many of them underclassmen.
He loses coaches – Steve Sarkisian and Butch Jones this year – to other schools yet he continues to win. This is one of his most remarkable achievements. Bryant lost a lot of coaches, too, and kept winning, so that’s kind of an Alabama tradition.
So it’s time to end the friendly argument. Saban is the best coach in Alabama football history.
At the same time he is also the the greatest coach in college football history.
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