"Bear" Bryant, Nick Saban Top List of All-Time Greats

Published on September 12th, 2021 12:11 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Nick Saban is considered to be one of the all-time great college football coaches. It's tough to argue that the two greatest college football coaches of all time have both coached at Alabama.

There are many names that demand consideration for the title of "greatest college football coach".

Any list of nominees must include the likes of Joe Paterno, Woody Hayes and Tom Osborne, just to name a few.

All of these coaches led dominant football programs, and all of these coaches won multiple national championships.

In addition, names like Urban Meyer, Glenn "Pop" Warner and Bud Wilkinson would need to be up for consideration as well.

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There are two names that stand above the rest of the pack, however - Paul "Bear" Bryant and Nick Saban.

Some people put "Bear" Bryant at the top of the list of greatest college football coaches of all time, while others believe that Nick Saban has now passed him.

Bryant coached at Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Alabama. He is best known for his dominant run at Alabama, which included six national titles, including back-to-back titles in 1964-65 and 1978-79.

Bryant had a lifetime record of 323-85-17 before retiring in 1982.

In addition to all of the national titles and success at Alabama, one of Bryant's most impressive feats may have been turning around Texas A&M from a record of 1-9 to 9-0-1 over just two seasons.

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As impressive as Bryant's record is, Nick Saban's is even more impressive.

Saban won his first national title with LSU in 2003. After a short stint with the NFL's Miami Dolphins, Saban returned to college football after he was named the new coach of Alabama in 2007.

Since that time, Saban and Alabama have won an additional six national titles.

Saban is the only college football coach with seven national titles, and is the only college football coach who has won national titles with two different programs.

As of the team that that this article was written, Saban had a career record as a college head coach of 258-65-1. This includes a record of 17-10 in bowl games and 8-3 in tournament games.

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When discussing college football coaching greatness, national titles must play a big factor in determining the cream of the crop, which is why Nick Saban is the greatest college football coach of all time, followed closely by Paul "Bear" Bryant.

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