The Nick Saban Legacy, Greatest of All-Time, Final Numbers at Alabama
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We just kept adding to the list ... and adding ... an now it appears to be complete.
For years, we've has been trying to put Nick Saban's success into perspective, from comparing his numbers with the best coaches the sport has ever known, to charting statistics one can't find anywhere else.
There's no longer any doubt that Saban stands alone among his peers, especially in terms of accomplishments. His teams kept playing for national championships, challenging for recruiting titles, and dominate the NFL draft in unparalleled fashion.
He turned 72 during the 2023 season and said he'd keep going as long as he didn't feel like a burden to the program, but the changing landscape of college football might have given him pause.
Or maybe that trip to Italy was a little too enjoyable last offseason.
We'll begin with ...
• National championships: Saban stands alone with seven, while Paul W. Bryant has six (and was involved in more split titles). Both coaches had six at Alabama. Saban's titles: 2003, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020.
For his career, Saban averaging a national championship every 4.0 season he’s been a head coach (Toledo and Michigan State included). The next best averages in history are Frank Leahy and Knute Rockne tied at one every 4.3 seasons, and John McKay at 5.3.
• Wins: He didn't quite catch catch Joe Paterno with 409, but he's sixth at the Division I level, and finished the 2023 season with 297.
Moreover, he’s the only coach during the modern era of college football to average 10-plus wins a season (although Kirby Smart is on pace to do the same).
• Recruiting: There’s no one near Saban in terms of recruiting rankings, which are still a relatively new phenomenon. Still, it might be a long, long time before anyone else can claim to win seven straight recruiting titles, or 12 out of 16.
• Dynasty: With six titles between 2009 and 2020, and playing for more, the stretch is unparalleled in college football history.
• All-Americans: In 2017, Saban blew past Paterno for the most consensus All-Americans in history, and he's only been adding to it since.
• First-round draft picks: With six in 2021, which tied the record for most in a single NFL draft, Alabama has had 49 first-round selections under Saban, with the 2024 NFL Draft to go. overall. That didn't include players he recruited and helped develop at Michigan State and LSU who went on to be first-round picks more than a year after the coach moved on. Next on the all-time list are Paterno (33) and Bobby Bowden (32).
• Players in the NFL: Last season, 2022, Alabama broke the record for most former players to appear in games throughout a single season with 70. It topped it this year, when quarterback AJ McCarron entered a game for the Cincinnati Bengals. For years, the Crimson Tide has had the most active player on NFL roster, a trend that likely won't change for quite some time.
• NFL contracts: Saban's drafted players from Alabama alone have been paid over $2 billion over the last 16 NFL seasons.
• Wins against teams ranked No. 1: Saban has had the record for most wins against No. 1 teams for nearly a decade. Saban has the most in history with nine, the most recent being against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. He just missed No. 10 when Alabama lost to Michigan in the Rose Bowl. No one else in college football history has more than four. That statistic is ever more remarkable when you factor in all the weeks Alabama has been ranked No. 1. Speaking of which ...
• Fixture at No. 1: Saban has coached the most games as the Associated Press poll’s No. 1 team, 98.
• Top 5: Saban has the most all-time wins against top-5 teams with 30, out of 45 games, and the best winning percentage all-time (.667). Following Saban on the all-time victory list are Bobby Bowden (18/.378 winning percentage), Barry Switzer (15/.516), Woody Hayes (15/.516), Steve Spurrier (15/.429) and Lou Holtz (15/.419).
• Top 25: With SEC Championship Game victory, Saban notched career win No. 104 against a ranked opponent, and No. 82 with the Crimson Tide. Joe Paterno was second on the all-time list (86), followed by Bobby Bowden (82) and Paul “Bear” Bryant (66).
• Wins against unranked opponents: The longstanding streak reached 100 straight victories, the longest in Bowl Subdivision history, with the 2021 Southern Miss victory. The previous record was 72 games, shared by Miami (Fla.) (1984-95) and Florida (1989- 2000).
| Category | Total/Statistic |
|---|---|
Seasons | 28 |
Consensus national titles | 7 |
Top 5 finishes | 13 |
Top 25 finishes | 21 |
Overall record | 297-71-1* |
Winning percentage | .806 |
Losing seasons | 0 |
CFP/Bowl record | 19-12 |
CFP/Bowl percentage | .613 |
Conference titles | 12 |
Conference record | 175-47-1 |
Consensus All-Americans | 52 |
First-round draft picks | 49+ 2024 |
Record against ranked teams | 104-48 |
Winning percentage against ranked teams | .684 |
Record against top 10 teams | 48-25 |
Winning percentage against top 10 teams | .657 |
Ratio: National title seasons | One every 4.0 seasons |
Ratio: Consensus All-Americans | 1.86 every season |
Ratio: First-round draft picks | 1.86 every season+ |
Average wins vs. ranked teams | 3.7 each season |
Wins over top 10 teams per year | 1.7 per season |
• Revenge: Saban has endured 29 losses at Alabama. During the 27 times the Crimson Tide had an opportunity to face the team again its gone 25-2 in the rematches. The only two times the Crimson Tide has fallen in back-to-back games against the same opponent is LSU (2010-2011) and Ole Miss (2014-2015).
• Most College Football Playoff games: Alabama has played in 14 in the four-team era.
• Awards: Saban coached four Heisman Trophy winners, joining for the most in college football history. He is the only coach to ever coach Heisman Trophy winners at three different positions (running back, quarterback and wide receiver). The Alabama program had just six individual national award winners when Saban arrived on campus, but Crimson Tide players have secured 60 national awards since 2008.
• The stat that will likely never be matched, Part I: The Crimson Tide was No. 1 in the AP Top 25 at some point of every season from 2008 until this past one, 2203. The previous longest streak was seven years by Miami (1986-92).
• The stat that will likely never be matched, Part II: Since the 2008 season, Alabama has played in 184 of 190 regular-season games that had national championship implications. The final three games of the 2010 campaign and the final three weeks of the 2022 regular season were the exceptions (although no one knew it in 2002 until Alabama was ranked fifth by the CFP selection committee for the four-team playoff).
More will be aded to this post.
