Saban Leaving Alabama with Arkansas Guy Still Having Most Wins

Bryant had more wins, SEC championships but saying who's better impossible task

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Jan 11, 2024 1:38 PM EST

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Caught up in the raw emotion right now, there will be a lot of people in college football calling Nick Saban the greatest coach of all time. Most of that is warm and fuzzies. An Arkansas guy still has more coaches and conference titles, so I guess it comes down to whatever criteria you want to use.

Both are great coaches. You cannot compare different eras, regardless of what you think of historical changes in society and the rules. The Crimson Tide won before there was even an NCAA, had titles in the formative years and then again in the NIL and transfer portal.

Over the last 100 years, changes in the game have always dictated certain coaches deciding it was time to retire or not. Saban really didn't want to deal with all of this name, image and likeness stuff or have unrestricted free agency. He's won 7 national titles and has enough money that none of that is an issue. Saban didn't want to deal with it anymore.

Alabama coach Nick Saban reacting on sidelines against Razorbacks on Saturday

Paul "Bear" Bryant, a native of Fordyce where high school football started in Arkansas, still has the most wins in Tuscaloosa. He also kept the trophy the Razorbacks claim should be theirs from 1964, but Bear probably figured it balanced out the other two he already had for that year that mattered (AP and UPI). Both won 6 with the Crimson Tide, but Saban added one more at LSU.

Let's not start applying today's rules to history. That's a ridiculous argument to even try and make. Bryant won under the rules in his era and Saban won in his era. Unlike Lou Holtz, who used the argument he wanted to step away at Notre Dame because he didn't want to pass the legendary Frank Leahy for wins with the Irish, he didn't care about the 11 more wins he needed to pass Bear in Tide wins. Bryant has 220, Saban will have 189.

We might still be having this argument today if the Japanese hadn't bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. Bryant had told them he was coming to the Razorbacks and it happened on his drive back to Tuscaloosa. He joined the Navy and the rest is history. Of course it may not have lasted until 1958 when he returned as coach of the Crimson Tide, but Razorback fans love to "what if" hypotheticals.

Saban likely simply just wants to coach. If he had wanted to deal with paying players he would have been coaching the NFL. At least there are some guardrails there and no unrestricted free agency. Plus, if somebody isn't playing well you can simply cut them. I don't even know if college coaches can do that in the middle of the season these days unless they commit a felony.

Now the race is on for a successor. That's Alabama's program to deal with and will be entertaining to watch play out. Who the Crimson Tide choose won't be the Razorbacks' problem unless they pick a coach from the Hogs' schedule. Who knows if that's going to happen or not.

But for now, Bear Bryant is still the winningest coach in Crimson Tide history. As he said in his autobiography back in 1974, "I ain't nothin' but a winner." At Alabama, that still holds true. Arkansas folks can say, "you're welcome."