Alabama Football: No one in CFB has achieved as much as Nick Saban

Alabama football coach Nick Saban has achieved greater accomplishments than any other college football coach throughout the game’s history.

The statement above is a bold claim but it is true. What Nick Saban has achieved is unmatched, not just by his contemporaries, but throughout the comparative history of college football.

There could be a minority opinion arguing otherwise but it would have no merit. Between 1872 and 1894, Yale and Princeton dominated what would later become the college football game known today. During the period either Yale or Princeton won or shared national championship honors every season but two – when Harvard was the champion. Neither the Bulldogs or the Tigers had one head coach who came close to matching Nick Saban’s championship record.

In the history of college football coaches, Amos Alonzo Stagg became the unquestioned leader in refining the game from rugby/soccer to football. It could be argued Pop Warner and Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant did more with less talent than any other college coaches.

None of the aforementioned legends can match Nick Saban in national championship continuity. Not even the Bear, who some of us have been reluctant to admit is only the second GOAT, behind Saban.

Measuring national championship continuity, the only coach close to Saban is Bernie Bierman, who Led Minnesota to five national championships between 1934 and 1941. Nick Saban edges Bierman in two significant measurements. Saban’s five Alabama football national championships from 2009-2017 are unquestioned. Minnesota, under Bierman, won two of five before the Poll era began when picking a national champion was often problematic.

Nick Saban also holds a significant trump card. Unlike Bierman (who came close), every high school player who has played three seasons for the Crimson Tide and Saban has won a national championship. Take a look below.

• 2007 and 2008 Signing Classes – National Championship in 2009
• 2009 Signing Class – National Championships in 2009, 2011 and 2012
• 2010 and 2011 Signing Classes – National Championships in 2011 and 2012
• 2012 Signing Class – National Championship in 2012
• 2013 and 2014 Signing Class – National Championship in 2015
• 2015 Signing Class – National Championships in 2015 and 2017
• 2016 and 2017 Signing Classes – National Championship in 2017

The 2009 class also stands out for a four season cycle. Four-season Crimson Tide players from the 2009 class were on three national championship teams.

Saban was building a similar championship program at LSU before he left for the NFL. His 2000 class won a national championship in 2003. His 2004 class won a national championship under Les Miles in 2007.

Even more extraordinary under Saban is the consistency of Alabama football playing in national championship games. In the 10 national championship games going back to 2009, the Crimson Tide has played in seven. Playing in 70 percent of the national championship games in a 10-year period is almost as impressive as winning five of them.

Fans of other schools may want to believe otherwise, but Nick Saban’s national championship consistency is unmatched throughout the history of college football. And the chances are he is not finished.