(Photo: CNN)
When I decided to start analyzing college football, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It keeps me involved with the sport of football as a whole and the guys you see playing on Saturdays will more than likely make it to the league which is the ultimate goal and play on Sunday’s. In the history of the sport, there have been many great coaches to grace the sidelines. Bobby Bowden is one and what he did to put Florida State on the map as a program can’t be forgotten. Paul “Bear” Bryant is another one. After all, the stadium in Tuscaloosa is named after him. Knute Rockne is a legendary name in our sport. The man I’m about to bring up now needs no introduction. Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. He’s become a common name in the sport. Even those who don’t watch the sport know who this man is. After 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the iconic Head Coach shocked us all and announced that he is retiring from the game.
Nick Saban is the greatest college football coach that I have come to know. He has been labeled as the “Belichick” of his sport which makes sense with all the success both men have had during their tenures. I still remember the day when he took the job in Tuscaloosa after an unsuccessful stint in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins. Here’s my thing about college coaches moving up to the next level. Just because you had success at one level doesn’t mean it’ll happen at the next level. Nick will forever be known as a brilliant football mind with a great for talent. Let’s look at all the big names who played for this man who became stars of their own and moved onto the NFL. Mark Ingram won a Heisman in 2009, the first year the Crimson Tide won the first of many titles under Coach Saban. Then, there was Julio Jones, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Jerry Jeudy, Mac Jones, Derrick Henry, DeVonta Smith, Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Bryce Young, Will Anderson and so many more. We know all of these players because of one Nick Saban. Each year, you always noticed how his football teams were always so structured and disciplined in each aspect of the game. Nick was incredible when it came to keeping his teams focused on the task at hand which was winning football games. His Crimson Tide teams would win games in a variety of ways and that’s why they had so much success. You always knew coming into the fall that Alabama would be one of the best defensive teams in the country. At one point, the Tide had one of the more explosive offenses in the country which was something you never thought you’d see because they were always built to run the football and play stingy defense with the Quarterback controlling things on the offensive side. Nick revived a struggling program when taking the job and won 80.6 percent of his games.
Just how good was Coach Saban you ask? He’s simply the architect of the greatest run in college football history. Nick recalibrated this entire sport and it’s better because of him if you ask me. Alabama was ranked number one in his second season as Head Coach and a year later in 2009, he wins his first title with the program. Nick retires with seven National Championships under his belt (one at LSU and six with Alabama), ten SEC championships, eight appearances in the College Football Playoff, four Heisman winners (Ingram, Henry, Smith and Young) and 297 wins as the Alabama Crimson Tide’s Head Coach. We will never see another run as dominant as this. There were 44 first round picks in the NFL Draft during Nick’s tenure. He only recorded 29 losses in Tuscaloosa. That right there should show you just how great he was at what he did. He’s a for sure first-ballot College Football Hall of Famer and he’s left his mark on our game. I was absolutely thrilled to be able to break down his teams and see him lead them to titles. All the man did was win and won more than anyone. Well done Nick and I wish you the best in the next chapter. Most importantly, thank you for what you did for the game of football.
