I, along with the rest of Tuscaloosa, was tuned in to ESPN as Alabama clinched its 16th national title. As the party ensued across the state, I stayed tuned to the television because I wanted to see what the bald man guru, who had covered football in this state for so long, had to say. Paul Finebaum surprised me – he found a microphone and announced that Nick Saban is now the greatest coach of 
all time.

For a second I was puzzled. Really? But the Bear… He has six! But then I began to think a little more, and I looked up some stats. At first it looked like Finebaum had jumped the gun. Paul “Bear” Bryant has a better winning percentage of .780 to Saban’s .765. The Bear’s postseason record was also a little better too. He had a record of 15-12-2 to Saban’s 10-8. So I decided to look at the national titles themselves, and that is when I thought Saban got the edge.

For starters, Nick Saban is not done. So his five titles will most likely grow if his teams continue the trend he has set. He has five titles in 20 seasons, whereas Bryant has six in 38 seasons. Saban also won a national title at a different school, which Bryant never achieved. Also two of Bryant’s championships can be argued since the team lost its bowl game but still claimed a title.

Bryant’s 1964 team was undefeated but lost to Texas 21-17 in the Orange Bowl. Meanwhile, an undefeated Arkansas team, which beat Texas in the regular season, went on to beat No. 7 Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl. Yet, for some reason, the Razorbacks fell short of Alabama in the final rankings … That is a head scratcher.

Then it happened again. In 1973, Alabama played Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl and lost 24-23. Notre Dame received a share of the national title through the AP poll, but the UPI poll votes national champions before the bowl games. Of course the Crimson Tide was No. 1 in that poll and claimed another championship. Bryant’s teams were good, but they were never held up to the same amount of scrutiny that Saban’s have been under the BCS and College Football Playoff eras.

So let’s adjust the stats here. Saban has five national tiles in 20 seasons while Bryant has four in 38 seasons. Now who is better? It seems the arrow is pointing Saban’s way. Not to mention, there were no scholarship restrictions on Bryant when he first started. It wasn’t until 1973 that it was limited to 105 scholarships. It was limited one more time during his tenure to 95 in 1978, but it was never as low as 85, which is the amount of scholarships Saban has always been restricted to.

I know it hurts some people to compare the two coaches, but if Bryant is not the best coach, he is definitely the second best. His numbers are still out of this world. If you look at the stats, though, there is no question that Saban has now surpassed the Bear. The only question remaining now is how far will he surpass him before he finally decides to stop.

More Saban Statistics

• 191-65-1 overall record for .743 winning percentage
• 100-23 at Alabama for a .813 winning percentage
• Four out of the last seven titles
• Most wins against AP top-3 teams (13) 13-8
• Most consecutive seasons reaching No.1 in the AP poll (8-2007-2015) at some point during the season
• Most wins against AP top-3 teams (13) 13-8
• Most SEC championship game wins (6)
• Averages 9.55 wins per season