In 2007, when Coach Saban took over, I would probably have considered anyone to be crazy if they claimed that, in this era of limited scholarships, any team could win 3 BCSNC in a 4 year period and be favored to win a 3rd consecutive.
Saban and Alabama combined to create the perfect storm:
A football coach that:
- has a reputation of producing winning teams everywhere he's been at the collegiate level
- has a respected college and NFL pedigree
- is recognized as a great developer of NFL-level defensive talent
- has a lineage of his own assistant coaches that are now head coaches at top programs
- has an unmatched work-ethic
combined with a traditional football power that:
- had fallen on hard times because of externally-imposed actions
- is located in a fertile recruiting area
- is located in a state that inordinately loves its football
- has millions of fans worldwide
- has a huge number of fans that are willing to give money to improve the program
- has traditionally been founded on the tenets of strong defense and ball-control offense
- was willing to provide the facilities, salaries, and resources needed to implement the vision of the AD and the coach
I think that in the end, it's Coach Saban's ability to recruit and develop top talent both in his players and his coaches that sustains his success. He makes the most of his time with those he works with and its a win-win for them all. His players are assured of being part of a championship team, many of them are able to achieve their dreams of playing in the NFL, and the experience in his program (with the personal development that he puts at a high priority) serves to give them a platform for increased success in life. His assistant and position coaches are also assured of championship experiences as part of his staff, many of them are also able to move on to better opportunities, and the experience in his program gives them a blueprint for how to improve their own performance as coaches or in any other business endeavors.
I tend to think that it will be a long time, if ever, that a coach like Nick Saban matches up with a program and the synergy has the ability to facilitate such a domination of college football like we are seeing at the moment.