The List of Coaches to Beat Nick Saban at Alabama Only Further Proves His Greatness
Nick Saban’s record at Alabama speaks for itself. The legendary coach went 206–29 with the Crimson Tide, winning over 87% of his games. He captured six of his seven national championships at the school, winning the BCS national title in 2009, ’11 and ’12, and bringing home the College Football Playoff trophy in ’15, ’17 and ’20.
For years, an Alabama loss—especially in the regular season—felt like an event, especially when over 20% of those losses came during the 7–6 2007 campaign. That first season in Tuscaloosa was a true rebuild. Just a year later, the Tide went 12–2 with a Sugar Bowl appearance, giving way to a national title in 2009, just Saban’s third season with the program.
Saban lost just 29 games across 17 seasons at Alabama, winning six national championships along the way.
Gary Bogdon/Sports Illustrated
Some of the losses feel fluky for sure. Louisiana-Monroe’s win over Alabama in ’07 is a fun footnote that should make for good trivia for years to come. However, the full list of Saban’s 29 losses at Alabama only serves to illuminate just how dominant his run was.
Saban’s 29 losses came from 22 different coaches. Only five managed to do it more than once. Five of the coaches with just one win against Saban picked it up during the ’07 season.
Of those coaches, 11 have captured national championships, with 16 total titles between them. At least four of the other coaches—Brian Kelly, Gus Malzahn, Mark Richt and Kyle Whittingham—can be argued as among the most successful of their generation. The jury is out on current SEC coaches Hugh Freeze, Steve Sarkisian and Josh Heupel, but it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see them join that group as well.
Additionally, only two of the coaches to beat Saban—Monroe’s Charlie Weatherbie and Mississippi State’s Sylvester Croom—have career records under .500.
In total, these 22 coaches have a record of 29–58 against Saban at Alabama. Check out the full list here:
| Coach | School(s) Coached vs. Saban | Record vs. Saban at Alabama (Wins) | Career Record | National Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gus Malzahn | Auburn (2013 to ’20) | 3–5 (’13, ’17, ’19) | 101–54 | 0 |
Les Miles | LSU (2005 to ’16) | 3–7 (’07, ’10, ’11) | 145–73* | 1 |
Urban Meyer | Florida (2005 to ’10), Ohio State (’12 to ’18) | 2–2 (’08, ’15) | 187–32 | 3 |
Dabo Swinney | Clemson (2009-) | 2–2 (’17, ’19) | 170–43 | 2 |
Hugh Freeze | Ole Miss (2012 to ’16), Auburn (2023-) | 2–4 (’14, ’15) | 89–50* | 0 |
Bobby Bowden | Florida State (1992 to 2009) | 1–0 (’07) | 377-129-4 | 2 |
Charlie Weatherbie | Louisiana-Monroe (2003 to ’09) | 1–0 (’07) | 76–115 | 0 |
Kyle Whittingham | Utah (2004-) | 1–0 (’09) | 162–79 | 0 |
Bob Stoops | Oklahoma (1999 to 2016 | 1–0 (’14) | 191–48 | 1 |
Sylvester Croom | Mississippi State (2004 to ’08) | 1–1 (’07) | 21–38 | 0 |
Tommy Tuberville | Auburn (1999 to ’08) | 1–1 (’07) | 159–99 | 0 |
Steve Spurrier | South Carolina (2005 to ’15) | 1–1 (’10) | 228-89-2 | 1 |
Steve Sarkisian | Texas (2021-) | 1–1 (’23) | 71-49 | 0 |
Michigan (2015-) | 1–1 (’24) | 144–52 | 1 | |
Josh Heupel | Tennessee (2021-) | 1–2 (’22) | 27–12 | 0 |
Mark Richt | Georgia (2001 to ’15) | 1–3 (’07) | 171–64 | 0 |
Gene Chizik | Auburn (2009 to ’12) | 1–3 (’10) | 38–38 | 1 |
Brian Kelly | Notre Dame (2010 to ’21), LSU (’22-) | 1–3 (’22) | 283–103–2 | 0 |
Kevin Sumlin | Texas A&M (2012 to ’17) | 1–5 (’12) | 95–63 | 0 |
Kirby Smart | Georgia (2016-) | 1–5 (’22) | 94–16 | 2 |
Ed Orgeron | Ole Miss (2005 to ’07), LSU (’16 to ’21) | 1–6 (’19) | 67–47 | 1 |
Jimbo Fisher | Florida State (2010 to ’17), Texas A&M (’18 to ’23) | 1–6 (’21) | 128–48 | 1 |
(Asterisks indicate a career record that includes wins vacated by the NCAA.)
