Nick Saban Reveals Who He Thinks Is the Greatest Coach of All Time

Nick Saban is one game away from making Alabama history, but he said the legend he's tied with is still the greatest to ever coach.

Saban enters Monday tied with Bear Bryant with six national championships with the Crimson Tide—and owns seven overall with his title at LSU in 2003—but a win over Georgia would see him surpass the Alabama legend in school history.

Saban credited Bryant's legacy for paving the way for his success with the program.

“I still think in my mind, he’s the greatest coach of all time," Saban told ESPN. "I still look up to him just that way. And if it wasn't for the legacy of what he did at Alabama, there would be no way that we could have the success that we have had at Alabama.

"Because he established a tradition and a standard that helped us just emulate it to a degree so that we could have success in the program. But he was really the pioneer that set the foundation for a lot of things in our profession."

Saban's 176 wins in 15 seasons with the program is still well short of Bryant's 232, but he could also equal Bryant on Monday by repeating for the second time in his Alabama tenure. 

Alabama will take on SEC rival Georgia in the College Football Playoff title game in Indianapolis at 8 p.m. ET.